Aer Lingus pax Check-in T2, depart T1

AfterDusk

It seems as many as 6 EI flights a day are still departing from T1. Passengers check-in and go through security in T2 before heading off on a nice stroll through a maze of corridors back to Terminal 1. I know the article is from the Daily Fail, but this is a pretty major fail on the DAA and EI's part don't you think? Especially considering Aer Lingus's many 'We Love Our New Home' advertisements plastered on the side of Dublin Buses around the city.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1384773/Terminal-stupidity-Passengers-check-swanky-new-terminal--taking-long-trek-OLD-boarding-gates.html

lord lucan

This was always going to be the case from my reading of it prior to opening. There was no way Pier E could deal with all EI's early departures along with the Transatlantics. With the summer schedule up and running there's an average of 6 flights in the morning rush that are using Pier B. One morning i noted 7. It'd be a different matter if they were sending them down to Pier D but Pier B is only a 10 minute walk or a 15 minute stroll from T2. Bit of a non-story imo.

Lapin

"A maze of corridors" eh? What utter bullshít.

Walking from T2 to Pier B is simple.
Walk down one corridor and turn left.
And its about the same distance as walking to some gates in T2.

Its also a much shorter walk and more straight forward than using T1 and boarding a plane in Pier D. Something thousands of people do daily without complaint.

So what if passengers check in at one terminal and have to walk a short distance to their flight in another. Its not as if they have to be bussed from one place to another (as is the case in many airports, some of them close to the home of the Sunday Mail). Nobody is being short changed.

I'm not a spokesperson for the DAA. (I give out about them enough), but I will defend them against this kind of cheap gutter journalism.

Complete non story.

David086

Daily Mail - May I say much more?

Bessarion

Bollix story.

Its a simple journey from the bottom of the escalator in T2 to the gates at Pier B. What fecking 'maze of corridors'? It is a single straight corridor that links T2 to T1. You walk through what used to be Pier C. Even the map in the Daily Mail article shows how clear it is.

If you are going to the DAA/EI lounge then you are already 30% of the way to T1 already. Pier E itself is nearly the length of O'Connell st, from the down escalator to Pier B in T1 is about the same.

To counter the claim of a 'major fail': the new terminal was designed to work with the old. Not designed as separate buildings. When (if) Pier F is built (East of T2, towards the cargo apron) we may see T2 able to handle all of its departures.

bkehoe

There are lots of airports with common airside areas but different terminals for check-in, security, restaurants, shopping, lounges, etc.
In Dublins case the passengers are all getting the benefit of T2 and as someone else mentioned I wouldn't be surprised if the walk to the B gates is shorter or similar to the walk to the end of the new pier E.
From the exit of T2's duty free, it takes me less than 5 minutes to walk to T1, past all the security and to the Starbucks there.

Now how about we look at T5 in Heathrow, on the doorstep of the quality newspaper which wrote this 'article'. Many times I've been getting on a bus to Washington or just 2 weeks ago I was boarding a bus to Larnaca - any time I'm on a 767 I'm usually expecting a bus transfer! Or other times you have to wait for the shuttle train to the B or C extensions, maybe 15 minutes fast walking and travelling. Oh and don't get me started on the fact that many BA passengers have to both check in and depart from the old terminal 3 and don't even get to see the bright new lights of T5 .

So yes, things in Dublin are wonderful compared to elsewhere in the world.

Whelanmj1

Really flabbergasted at the inane defence on this topic by what must be DAA or Aer Lingus apologists/employees. T2 is advertised but as happened lat night ( 11/2/14) at midnight 180 people landed at T1 and had to walk to T2 - no contact or support - a maze of corridors - yes - a maze - no lift - frustrating to watch 'customers ' - particularly elderly with cabin baggage trying to manage stairs after a 4 hour flight. Spurious comments about comparisons at other airports and walking distances is nonsense - in these airports/countries they use the advertised terminals - you know where you stand- AL advertise and extol T 2 but con you and abuse you as a customer. The pr people should talk to taxi men - they have heard it all - again and again. This is poor treatment of customers and really is not acceptable. Surely there is misleading info here - what does the DAA do as the landlord -.do they or anyone care for the customer.

urajoke

Whelanmj1 wrote: »

Spurious comments about comparisons at other airports and walking distances is nonsense

Well then if your mind is already closed to discussion then there is no point in answering this comment.

jesus_thats_gre

In fairness, have been caught out by this 7 or 8 times now. Not a massive deal but it is a pain in the bollox late at night.

lord lucan

Whelanmj1 wrote: »

The pr people should talk to taxi men - they have heard it all - again and again.

:pac::pac:

Sure they'd have the worlds problems solved by the time you got to the airport roundabout.

LXFlyer

Whelanmj1 wrote: »

Really flabbergasted at the inane defence on this topic by what must be DAA or Aer Lingus apologists/employees. T2 is advertised but as happened lat night ( 11/2/14) at midnight 180 people landed at T1 and had to walk to T2 - no contact or support - a maze of corridors - yes - a maze - no lift - frustrating to watch 'customers ' - particularly elderly with cabin baggage trying to manage stairs after a 4 hour flight. Spurious comments about comparisons at other airports and walking distances is nonsense - in these airports/countries they use the advertised terminals - you know where you stand- AL advertise and extol T 2 but con you and abuse you as a customer. The pr people should talk to taxi men - they have heard it all - again and again. This is poor treatment of customers and really is not acceptable. Surely there is misleading info here - what does the DAA do as the landlord -.do they or anyone care for the customer.

Well what would you prefer - a remote stand and a long bus ride? That's the only other alternative.

Due to the fact that there are three widebody arrivals prior to 06:50 each morning, that means 6 shorthaul stands have to be foregone - hence six Aer Lingus shorthaul flights arrive into the 3XX gates each night and leave from them in the morning.

All Aer Lingus baggage handling is through T2, so all passengers on Aer Lingus flights arrive/depart there, but technically they can board from any gate in the airport.

Whether you want to hear it or not - the walking distance is the same distance from the 3XX gates to T2 passport control as from the gate 426, the furthest gate on pier E, which does sort of make a mockery of the whole complaint.

Frankly they're using the airport capacity to the maximum by using the 3xx gates.

basill

End of Pier D to baggage hall , end of T2 to baggage hall or T1 to T2 baggage hall. All seem much of a muchness to me.

Perhaps if the OP calls ahead next time they can shift a load of aircraft to facilitate them. I always dind using the line "do you not know who I am" works just dandy.

cruais

Maybe he should get a private jet... and maybe a private airfield all for himself so when he arrives back from his hollibobs, el capitano can taxi his exclusive jet straight to his front door.

Cessna_Pilot

First world problems...

bikeman1

What mildly annoys me is that when you arrive in T1, you can't exit at T1. I use the 102 to get home and you have to walk T1 to T2 through passport and then back over to T1.

I normally don't have any bags to collect, so have no need to go to T2 but you are forced. There should be an option for sensible people who know where they are to exit straight out at T1 if the have no bags and want to.

OP try the Ryanair walk when the park at the very outer stands at the end of pier D. Now thats a walk! And in the elements for part of it as well!God forbid!

LXFlyer

bikeman1 wrote: »

What mildly annoys me is that when you arrive in T1, you can't exit at T1. I use the 102 to get home and you have to walk T1 to T2 through passport and then back over to T1.

I normally don't have any bags to collect, so have no need to go to T2 but you are forced. There should be an option for sensible people who know where they are to exit straight out at T1 if the have no bags and want to.

OP try the Ryanair walk when the park at the very outer stands at the end of pier D. Now thats a walk! And in the elements for part of it as well!God forbid!

While I can understand your point, I could absolutely guarantee you that some passengers with bags to collect would go the wrong way and then would have to somehow be brought to T2 from the T1 baggage hall. It just wouldn't work. You have to direct people the same way until they are through customs.


Added to that, I suspect that the passport control staff at the 3XX gates finish after the last BA and Lufthansa arrivals, so you would require extra staff to stay on duty to cover all the Aer Lingus arrivals after midnight.

Dublinflyer

bikeman1 wrote: »

What mildly annoys me is that when you arrive in T1, you can't exit at T1. I use the 102 to get home and you have to walk T1 to T2 through passport and then back over to T1.

I normally don't have any bags to collect, so have no need to go to T2 but you are forced. There should be an option for sensible people who know where they are to exit straight out at T1 if the have no bags and want to.

This is done to ensure that the people who have bags end up in the right baggage hall. I know it's not ideal but there was a problem for a while of people exiting through T1 by accident and then having to go back through security to get into the t2 hall to collect bags. There are a lot of people who don't know where they are going!!

spurious

bikeman1 wrote: »

What mildly annoys me is that when you arrive in T1, you can't exit at T1. I use the 102 to get home and you have to walk T1 to T2 through passport and then back over to T1.

Same issue with the quickpark bus, which isn't allowed pick up at T2, though I see Aircoach (who the DAA appears to bend over every time for) can.

L1011

basill wrote: »

End of Pier D to baggage hall , end of T2 to baggage hall or T1 to T2 baggage hall. All seem much of a muchness to me.

My memory of it is that the *start* of Pier D is further than the furthest point in T2 or the 300 gates. Someone did the measurements after another posters rant about how they'd be using Ryanair due to the "horrendous" walk Aer Lingus was subjecting him to. Opting for a longer walk every single time in the process.

lord lucan

spurious wrote: »

Same issue with the quickpark bus, which isn't allowed pick up at T2, though I see Aircoach (who the DAA appears to bend over every time for) can.

I suspect aircoach are more willing to get the cheque book out hence the better treatment. Also,quickpark are in direct competition with the daa for car park customers so they're not going to give them any sort of parity with their own operation.

LXFlyer

spurious wrote: »

Same issue with the quickpark bus, which isn't allowed pick up at T2, though I see Aircoach (who the DAA appears to bend over every time for) can.

The stops all go out to tender - Aircoach would have made the highest bid - it boils down to who is prepared to pay for the stops. Hardly "bending over" for them.

bikeman1

Oh I fully understand why it is done. Passengers in general are stupid and I wonder how they even make it to the airport!

I would just like to put in a code to let me through the door that lets me into the T1 arrivals. Anyway not the worlds worst problem!

Departing from the "B" gates reminds me of being a kid going on holidays. Virtually nothing has changed there in 20 years!

Dublinflyer

bikeman1 wrote: »

Oh I fully understand why it is done. Passengers in general are stupid and I wonder how they even make it to the airport!

Departing from the "B" gates reminds me of being a kid going on holidays. Virtually nothing has changed there in 20 years!

I would not go as far as to say that passengers in general are stupid, quite the opposite. The problem you do have is that the airport can at times be a busy and noisy place and people can get a little overwhelmed. It happens to us all at times, I got lost in JFK recently and have worked in the airport here for 10 years. When it is quite late at night people tend to follow the person in front and if that person takes a wrong turn or can use a pin to open a door due to lack of baggage then everyone will follow. I don't know if there is a perfect solution that fits all but that's the best we have at the moment.

As for "B"..... watch this space!

IRLConor

bikeman1 wrote: »

I would just like to put in a code to let me through the door that lets me into the T1 arrivals.

Ah, the magic "I know what I'm doing, please separate me from all the confused people" card. I'd love one too!

Whelanmj1

thanks for the info ixflyer - but thats not my point - if this must be done for operational reasons - and most of the passengers are unaware of this - then tell the people as far in advance as possible and communicate with passengers on the day and if the way requires going down a flight of stairs then provide some support at that point for those in need - ie customer service.

basill

Its impractial.

LXFlyer

Whelanmj1 wrote: »

thanks for the info ixflyer - but thats not my point - if this must be done for operational reasons - and most of the passengers are unaware of this - then tell the people as far in advance as possible and communicate with passengers on the day and if the way requires going down a flight of stairs then provide some support at that point for those in need - ie customer service.

There is no way that sort of information would be known in advance. Stands are allocated on the day of operation and can change by the hour.

If people have mobility problems, they should be advising the airline in advance of travelling, in the event of any issues.

There is always a member of Aer Lingus ground staff on duty to meet every flight.