Heathrow collections WTF!!!!!!

[numtumfutunch]

Good evening

I would like to pick up my son from Heathrow in a couple of Saturdays time

He's flying in from Auckland having been away for 10 months and his flight lands relatively late in the day so getting to Leeds by public transport would be moderately unpleasant esp combined with jetlag

No worries as they say Ive offered to collect him but have just been looking at the LHR website and it appears short stay parking is anything other than Yorkshire in price

I can book a long stay car park for £30 for a 3h window which requires a shuttle bus there and back or the short stay for £65
Drop off isnt an option as this is only for departures

Help!!!!!!!

The cost seems somewhat absurd and I can pay a much more modest sum to drop off but there is no pickup option

Is there a more cost effective way to facilitate this or shall I tell him to jump on the tube/train and I'll collect him somewhere else instead? If so where? After a significant long haul flight he'll be knackered and Im moderately surprised LHR dont offer a cost effective pickup option

Cheers

[Nobby Diesel]

Why do you need so much time there, to pick someone up?
Just park up, off the airport in a hotel, McDonalds etc and wait for him to call you to say he's collected his bag and is on the way out.
Swing in to short stay - job done. Less than a tenner.

[omniflow]

Nobby Diesel said:

Why do you need so much time there, to pick someone up?
Just park up, off the airport in a hotel, McDonalds etc and wait for him to call you to say he's collected his bag and is on the way out.
Swing in to short stay - job done. Less than a tenner.

Exactly this - it's really not hard.

Just accept the fact that it will cost you a minimum of £5. Figure out for yourself whether you're happy fannying about to save a few quid, or whether you're happy for your son to hang around to save you a few quid and then just get on with it. Waze will give you a pretty accurate ETA, so you can stop on the way down to check on progress and then choose somewhere to wait for free if you're early. It might be nice to be one of the people standing in the arrivals hall as people funnel through, but that might cost you another £5 - your call entirely.

[cowboyengineer]

£8.30 for 3 hours

[numtumfutunch]

cowboyengineer said:

£8.30 for 3 hours

Can you post a link please

[ettore]

[quote=numtumfutunch]
Good evening

I would like to pick up my son from Heathrow in a couple of Saturdays time

He's flying in from Auckland having been away for 10 months and his flight lands relatively late in the day so getting to Leeds by public transport would be moderately unpleasant esp combined with jetlag

No worries as they say Ive offered to collect him but have just been looking at the LHR website and it appears short stay parking is anything other than Yorkshire in price

I can book a long stay car park for £30 for a 3h window which requires a shuttle bus there and back or the short stay for £65
Drop off isnt an option as this is only for departures

Help!!!!!!!

The cost seems somewhat absurd and I can pay a much more modest sum to drop off but there is no pickup option

Is there a more cost effective way to facilitate this or shall I tell him to jump on the tube/train and I'll collect him somewhere else instead? If so where? After a significant long haul flight he'll be knackered and Im moderately surprised LHR dont offer a cost effective pickup option

Cheers





It’s really not that expensive - you can just rock up and park in short stay by the terminal and pay when you leave - I do it all the time and it will be under a tenner. Even if you’re there for a while it won’t be anything like the number above.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

As an alternative, get him to take the Piccadilly tube line to Oakwood or Cockfosters and collect him there. You're not that far off the A1 and can avoid going to West London.

[ettore]

CharlesdeGaulle said:

As an alternative, get him to take the Piccadilly tube line to Oakwood or Cockfosters and collect him there. You're not that far off the A1 and can avoid going to West London.

.

Sod that after a flight from NZ. OP’s just been on the wrong link £5-10 charge at most.

[essayer]

OP are you trying to prebook it? Not necessary for short stay - just turn up. £5.30 for <30 mins. Heathrow has lots of parking

[xx99xx]

ettore said:

Sod that after a flight from NZ. OP’s just been on the wrong link £5-10 charge at most.

Yes indeed!

An hour and a half on a tube to find yourself still a 3 hour drive from Leeds? No thanks.

OP - even being a tight Yorkshireman, just think of it this way..... Your son has just spent a hefty sum on a long flight and you're worried about a few pounds on parking?! Get some perspective.

Your son probably won't appreciate you moaning about the cost of parking either, given the amount he will have spent on his flight. Nice of you to go pick him up but don't spoil it by making your son think that he's not worth the 'expense' of short stay parking!

[cowboyengineer]

Sorry £8.30 for 2 hours


https://www.heathrow.com/transport-and-directions/...

Edited by cowboyengineer on Friday 2nd September 07:50

[Steve Campbell]

Heathrow long stay is free for 30 mins so if the pick up costs are too much, park away from the airport and when he arrives ask him to call you and head to the bus to the long stay car park and pick him up there. Link was already provided above.

Edited by Steve Campbell on Friday 2nd September 15:22

[numtumfutunch]

Thanks all

Had naively assumed I'd need to book in advance to get a decent price hence looked at their website plus the usual independent suspects

Didn't realise that unlike a weeks parking I'd actually get value turning up on the day

Cheers

Edit: I'd allowed a 3h window for the possible faff of a long flight and the chance to grab myself a coffee. Seems 2h is the cut off for sensible pricing

Edited by numtumfutunch on Saturday 3rd September 09:51

[gtidriver]

Heathrow t5 charge £5 just to drive past the drop off point now. Which I found out after missing the carpark entrance looking for the meet and great sign which isn't even there. grrrr

[swamp]

Why not just use short term parking? You only need 1/2 hour, or £5.20. Arrive at LHR no earlier than 45 mins after the plane lands.

[captain_cynic]

swamp said:

Why not just use short term parking? You only need 1/2 hour, or £5.20. Arrive at LHR no earlier than 45 mins after the plane lands.

I'd give it a full hour

Worst case scenario is that they have a coffee in the arrivals hall.

If someone picked me up from Heathrow, I'd offer to pay the parking for them.

[QJumper]

As others have said, if you get him to call/text when he's passed immiigration, then there's no need to spend more than an hour in short term parking, which is quite cheap. In fact negligible compared to the cost of the petrol driving to Heathrow from Leeds and back.