WARNPASS: Disruption to airport links

furnessvale wrote:

> If they "don't" think that they would already be on the train.

Not necessarily. Some people who weren't brought up on trains won't
consider them.

> Fair
> enough we may win a few passengers long term but the overcrowding will
> also lose some. I know that ex air passengers should realise that
> trains are not normally that overcrowded and it is their presence
> causing it BUT the majority will believe it is the norm and dash back
> to the silver bird ASAP.

Some might. I don't think they all necessarily will - especially on
routes like London-Manchester where the train can often be a lot
quicker, especially if you have to check baggage in.

Neil

Roland Perry wrote:

> I think this will depend on whether air passengers are *ever* allowed to
> take a laptop (or other electrical items) as hand baggage.

Give it a few weeks. I can't imagine the current situation continuing
indefinitely, as it would cause too much damage to the economy.

Unless, of course, you're Ryanair, who have reportedly been charging
people to check hand baggage in. Another reason not to go near them.
That said, at least they didn't cancel everything, give up and go home
like EZY did, and their website updates have been rather more frequent
and comprehensive than EZY's.

Neil

Tony Polson wrote:

> That's bollocks, and you know it. With Virgin Trains' expensive
> walk-on fares, anyone who can travel using another mode *will*.

Where that mode is car, perhaps. However, walk-on flexible air tickets
are not cheap either. For BA on Monday, fully-flexible, that'd be
gbp315.10, please. Rather more than a SOR from London to Manchester,
and probably not far off a FOR. Anyone paying that doesn't care what
it costs, and will use what is more convenient regardless of the price.

There might be some non-flexible deals, but there are on the railways
as well.

Neil

Roland Perry wrote:
> I think this will depend on whether air passengers are *ever* allowed to
> take a laptop (or other electrical items) as hand baggage. It's not just
> the hassle, danger of loss and damage etc, but will add half an hour to
> each end of the journey.

Indeed, not to mention that for many people checking laptops or work
papers could be a sacking offence. I was about to book flights from LON
to SEA in October for SWMBO and I when all this happened. I'm now
looking at (a reverse open jaw) CDG-SEA-LON instead, using Euro* to
leave the UK.
--
Rob

In message <1155300277.444101.16470@74g2000cwt..c om>, at
05:44:37 on Fri, 11 Aug 2006, Rob Hamadi <rob.hamadi@>
remarked:
>> I think this will depend on whether air passengers are *ever* allowed to
>> take a laptop (or other electrical items) as hand baggage. It's not just
>> the hassle, danger of loss and damage etc, but will add half an hour to
>> each end of the journey.
>
>Indeed, not to mention that for many people checking laptops or work
>papers could be a sacking offence.

I know people who (in theory) could be sacked for putting their laptops
or paperwork "in peril". But civil contracts can't exclude legal
requirements, so the company would have to decide whether they wanted
the person to travel or not.

>I was about to book flights from LON to SEA in October for SWMBO and I
>when all this happened. I'm now looking at (a reverse open jaw)
>CDG-SEA-LON instead, using Euro* to leave the UK.

Although the hand baggage restrictions will (if still in force) apply to
SEA-LON, apparently.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:
> Although the hand baggage restrictions will (if still in force) apply to
> SEA-LON, apparently.

Not according to AA, whose website says "Customers may carry-on
approved electronic devices such as personal computers, electronic
games, and cell phones, except when traveling from or thru the United
Kingdom."

So journeys terminating in the UK would seem to be OK. Of course the
restrictions on liquids etc. still apply.
--
Rob

Joe Patrick wrote:

> That 'fully-flexible' ticket might not even be as named, if the plane is
> already fullybooked also - you can't stand up on a plane or put the pax
> in the loos.

It has been reputed in the past (including in here, I think) that BA
will find another plane if they need one such that the
Manchester-London route effectively does offer guaranteed travel. I
don't know if they still do it, but I'm sure I heard a story (possibly
apocryphal) of someone getting a 747 to themselves because of such a
situation having arisen.

Nonetheless, it's a good point, and guaranteed travel is something that
air and coach generally doesn't offer in comparison with rail and car.
Give or take, of course, Eurostar.

Neil

Roland Perry wrote:

> Although the hand baggage restrictions will (if still in force) apply to
> SEA-LON, apparently.

None applied on any KLM flight into London today. I took my laptop and
a bottle of water on the 1800 Cityhopper into London City, which
notably was bang on time. Even for the US flights the only restriction
is "no liquids".

It is only flights out of the UK that is the issue, and I would be
surprised if it isn't back to normal (or near enough) by October.

Neil

On Thu, 10 Aug 2006 21:42:51 +0100, "Alek" <me@privacy.com> wrote:

>Yea just to reiterate my original thought that in an increasingly cynical
>world the Virgin Trains decision will have made a REAL difference to at
>least some unfortunates who were left hi and dry today.
>
>Once again IF it was a unilateral VT decison then Full Marks VT and even if
>it only gaiins them a single repeat journey it should be recognized as some
>form of REAL management rather than the usual "Safe" stuff that appears to
>be taught in Business Schools everywhere these days.

It should also be seen as a demonstration by VT that their new
Pendolino's make the journey between London and Manchester somewhat
faster than of old - not as fast as VT wanted but as fast as they can
be at the moment. An ideal business opportunity if you ask me.

Its several years since I first went on a Pendolino but now they are
able to travel at 125 mph rather than the 110 when I first went on
one. Pity they can't do 140 mph though...
--
John Wright

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

Groucho Marx

On 11 Aug 2006 05:44:37 -0700, "Rob Hamadi" <rob.hamadi@>
wrote:

>Roland Perry wrote:
>> I think this will depend on whether air passengers are *ever* allowed to
>> take a laptop (or other electrical items) as hand baggage. It's not just
>> the hassle, danger of loss and damage etc, but will add half an hour to
>> each end of the journey.
>
>Indeed, not to mention that for many people checking laptops or work
>papers could be a sacking offence. I was about to book flights from LON
>to SEA in October for SWMBO and I when all this happened. I'm now
>looking at (a reverse open jaw) CDG-SEA-LON instead, using Euro* to
>leave the UK.

Indeed, working for Johnson & Johnson we had an email which said
"normally we do not allow laptops to be part of checked baggage. For
the duration of the current crisis we are relaxing this rule."
--
John Wright

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read.

Groucho Marx