Aircoach WORD OF WARNING

whatsupdoc?

Great service, I have used them in the past with no problems but this story happened to a mate of mine very recently.

He arrives at the terminus at Bewleys Hotel in Leopardstown to get the Aircoach to the Airport.
Flight is 3.30pm so he arrives at 12.25 for the 12.30pm bus on a weekday.
Buses go every 10 minutes at that time according to the website.
12.30pm coach arrives but doesn't stop to let anybody get on, drives straight on!
Everybody standing there bewildered but sure not to worry the next one will only be 10 minutes away.....next coach arrives 1 hour later!
No real excuse apart from roadwork along with bad weekday traffic.
1.30pm he gets on the coach, flight is 3.30pm so it's going to be tight.
He arrives in the Airport at 2.50pm, check in closed 2.45pm and there's no way they will let the family on the flight.
Next flight with 5 seats available with the same airline is the following week!
After a lot of hassle, he managed to get 5 new flights with 2 different airlines to include an unscheduled stopover the following day.
He has now lost nearly 2 days holidays due to the Aircoach not showing up.
I could understand it at 4am but at 12.30pm?
Was he unlucky or has this happened to anybody else also anybody got any suggestions as to what if anything he should do now?

kippy

Would travel insurance cover something like that?
I am pretty sure you will get nothing from Aircoach-they are most likely covered by a number of "outside of our control" terms and conditions.
Something similiar happened me a few years ago except I got there just in time to check in. I generally give myself lots and lots of time when travelling to and from Dublin airport no matter how I am travelling due to the various "outside of my control" issues that can effect journey time.

penexpers

whatsupdoc? wrote:

Great service, I have used them in the past with no problems but this story happened to a mate of mine very recently.

He arrives at the terminus at Bewleys Hotel in Leopardstown to get the Aircoach to the Airport.
Flight is 3.30pm so he arrives at 12.25 for the 12.30pm bus on a weekday.
Buses go every 10 minutes at that time according to the website.
12.30pm coach arrives but doesn't stop to let anybody get on, drives straight on!
Everybody standing there bewildered but sure not to worry the next one will only be 10 minutes away.....next coach arrives 1 hour later!
No real excuse apart from roadwork along with bad weekday traffic.
1.30pm he gets on the coach, flight is 3.30pm so it's going to be tight.
He arrives in the Airport at 2.50pm, check in closed 2.45pm and there's no way they will let the family on the flight.
Next flight with 5 seats available with the same airline is the following week!
After a lot of hassle, he managed to get 5 new flights with 2 different airlines to include an unscheduled stopover the following day.
He has now lost nearly 2 days holidays due to the Aircoach not showing up.
I could understand it at 4am but at 12.30pm?
Was he unlucky or has this happened to anybody else also anybody got any suggestions as to what if anything he should do now?

He didn't leave himself enough time to get from Leopardstown to get to the Airport. I would have allowed two hours travelling time, at least, on top of being in the airport two hours before hand.

Wishbone Ash

Was it during the recent disturbances/bombscares at the airport? The driver may have been instructed not to bring anyone to the airport.

whatsupdoc?

No it was before the bomb scares.
He normally would check in an hour beforehand so i think he was leaving himself enough time to check in, he just wasn't expecting an hour delay.

I'm going out there next weeka nd it's making me very nervous about getting it.

Lisapeep

You can always hop in a taxi if the aircoach is being ridiculously delayed but I've never heard of this before!

BuffyBot

To be honest, he should have allowed himself much more time for this. Always factor in some "things go wrong" time for getting to the Airport.

Bluetonic

Do you not think he might have said to himself when it hit 1pm that only option he had left was a taxi with his family to be sure he'd make the airport on time.

People should use their head and give themself plenty of time.

Joliegood

There is a live GPS screen in the hotel which tells you the whereabouts of incoming and outgoing coaches. I'm suprised to hear this though, I've always found aircoach to be very frequent and an excellent service.

penexpers

whatsupdoc? wrote:

No it was before the bomb scares.
He normally would check in an hour beforehand so i think he was leaving himself enough time to check in, he just wasn't expecting an hour delay.

I'm going out there next weeka nd it's making me very nervous about getting it.

Turning up thr airport an hour before a flight leaves is not terribly advisable - especially if it's a family.

FlutterinBantam

I would certainly contact Aircoach..however don't expect any compo from Aircoach as they will no doubt tell you that they fulfilled their part of the contract...got you to the airport

okidoki987

To arrive at the Airport for 5.30am, what time would you get the Aircoach in Leopardstown or would you take the chance?

jrey1981

penexpers wrote:

He didn't leave himself enough time to get from Leopardstown to get to the Airport. I would have allowed two hours travelling time, at least, on top of being in the airport two hours before hand.

You only need to be at the airport an hour beforehand, so he left himself two hours to get from Leopardstown to the airport, so that should have been plenty.

I have only got the aircoach once - I got dropped off by the Stillorgan Park Hotel and caught it there at about half four one morning.

Perhaps he should have got a taxi if there were a few around the hotel and tried to catch up with the aircoach, overtake it if possible and try and get it one stop ahead of it.

Having said that, by the looks of things, he should have just got a taxi by about 1pm - if there were some hanging around the hotel - and he still should have made the flight.

Might have had to slip the driver a few quid to put his foot down though!

b3t4

jrey1981 wrote:

You only need to be at the airport an hour beforehand, so he left himself two hours to get from Leopardstown to the airport, so that should have been plenty.

They advise you be at the airport an hour and a half before your flight. Well that's what they keep saying in the ad's on the radio anyways.

A.

jhegarty

b3t4 wrote:

They advise you be at the airport an hour and a half before your flight. Well that's what they keep saying in the ad's on the radio anyways.

A.

most airlines say two hours now....but 1 hour only gives you 15 minutes to spear if things go wrong , not very much....

Wishbone Ash

FlutterinBantam wrote:

I would certainly contact Aircoach..however don't expect any compo from Aircoach as they will no doubt tell you that they fulfilled their part of the contract...got you to the airport

Yes, I'd agree - give them a call. The positions of all buses are relayed onto a screen at the shelter/depot so the controller can monitor them. (You can also see them on their website) It is unlikely therefore that the driver did this off his own accord. He must have been instructed to do so and for a valid reason.

Some people think the service has declined somewhat since John O'Sullivan sold most of it to First. He would never have allowed advertising on the buses as he always said it made them look tatty.

embraer170

As others, I can't understand why he didn't consider a taxi 1pm. Furthermore, for a family of 5, is there much of a price difference between a taxi and Aircoach?

John R

embraer170 wrote:

As others, I can't understand why he didn't consider a taxi 1pm. Furthermore, for a family of 5, is there much of a price difference between a taxi and Aircoach?

Not much and from Leopardstown it would only be 30-40mns via the M50

With only 2 hours to flight time there was no way that Bus was going to get there on time, especially if there hadn't been one for over an hour, it must have stopped everywhere along the way.

Aircoach can be pretty slow if there are alot of people using it, the luggage loading with the driver getting off and on really slows things down. It's the classic problem with bus travel, the later the bus is the slower it goes.

The first bus probably was at the end of a shift or had run late and the driver was out of hours so was returning empty. The big gap afterwards is pretty lousy though.

Wishbone Ash

John R wrote:

and the driver was out of hours

I thought they would be exempt from the 'hours' regulations John R as they are within the limit distance from base?

John R

Wishbone Ash wrote:

I thought they would be exempt from the 'hours' regulations John R as they are within the limit distance from base?

There are a few exemptions such as no tacograph being required based on limited distance and operating a scheduled service but the main time limits still apply.

There is some confusion as certain truck and coach employers ignore these rules and tell their drivers different.

The maximum hours without a break are 4.5 hours driving with a 45min break away from the vehicle.

56 hours driving a week and 90 hours a fortnight is the max allowed. There is also a minimum number of hours between shifts, 10 hours AFAIR.

Those are the current rules, less overall hours will come in when the Working time driective is enforced here.

kinaldo

What is with this company and late nght /early morning service? Coming home they're great but going to they absoltely suck.

I've been screwed over by Aircoach (and not for the first time) twice in the last 2 weekss. Each time I was waiting outside Bewleys/Four Seasons in the middle of the night for almost an hour and each time I resorted to a taxi.

The first time I arrived at 03.25 for the 03.30 bus on a Wednesday morning and gave up by 04.15.

The second time I arrived at 3am for the 03.30 on Saturday morning and give up by 04.05. If I were to miss the flight I would've had to cancel the trip. As I'm getting into a taxi the Aircoach typically drives by :mad:

The most annoying thing was not the waiting but the cost. I was banking on a €12 return journey on each outing but ended up paying €17 for the first taxi, and €22 for the second one, as well as €7 for each trip home.

This is really not acceptable and I will no longer be using their service when travelling to. There are few things more stressful than arriving late at the airport and it's something I can do without. Punctuality should be their top prioriy and I fail to understand how they can consistently be so late at such dead hours. I just hope their business suffers as a result.

Victor

What 03:30 bus?

http://www.aircoach.ie/aircoach.journey.wizard.php

Leopardstown / Sandyford route requested:

From Bewleys Hotel - Central Park
To Dublin Airport
Destination Time 05:00
Please make sure you have included time for check-in


Results:
Estimated Travel Time 1hr 25mins
Nearest Scheduled Times 02:45hrs 03:45hrs 04:45hrs
Please be at stop 15 minutes before


Aircoach accepts no liability for the accuracy or contents of the information provided by this Service or for any losses resulting from its use.

The recommended times are what we consider to be the most appropriate for our service based on normal traffic conditions.

kinaldo

Victor wrote:

What 03:30 bus?

http://www.aircoach.ie/aircoach.journey.wizard.php

Bewleys Hotel / Four Seasons BALLSBRIDGE (Simmonscourt Rd)

Buses meant to depart every hour from 00.30 to 04.30

Dellas

I have always found Air Coach very reliable, I use the Belfast Dublin Airport route and find it comfortable and value and I hate coaches!!!! But I like Air Coach.

Only problem I had was when I landed back from Vienna a few weeks back I was at the stop 2 mins before it was due to go and the ticket inspector saw me but didnt let me on !!! I was a bit miffed at that and had to wait an hour for another one .

I always allow 2 hours travel time and 2 hours check in time just to be safe.

Current check in times for UK 90 mins Europe 120 mins USA 180 mins