Southampton Airport or Heathrow

[5waldos]

We are arriving in Southampton and transiting same day to Amsterdam. Although there are many more flights from Heathrow it is occurring to me that the Southampton Airport might be much easier to navigate. The two flights to Amsterdam are not great- one almost certainly too early (9:20 am or something) and the other later afternoon (17:30 ish). But it must be less of a hassle than Heathrow. As far as the covid regulations- we don't travel until April so who knows what they will be. But does anyone have any words of wisdom about flying out of Southampton vs Heathrow?

[Post Captain]

23 hours ago, 5waldos said:

We are arriving in Southampton and transiting same day to Amsterdam. Although there are many more flights from Heathrow it is occurring to me that the Southampton Airport might be much easier to navigate. The two flights to Amsterdam are not great- one almost certainly too early (9:20 am or something) and the other later afternoon (17:30 ish). But it must be less of a hassle than Heathrow. As far as the covid regulations- we don't travel until April so who knows what they will be. But does anyone have any words of wisdom about flying out of Southampton vs Heathrow?

 

Given my druthers, for this trip I would much rather fly out of Southampton Airport (SOU) than out of Heathrow (LHR), even if the departure times out of the former are not ideal.  Having arrived off a cruise, there are several reasons why I would prefer SOU:

 

--- Ease of getting to the airport from the cruise terminal.  SOU is only five miles or so from the docks (depending on where you are docking)--about a 20-25 minutes' taxi ride.  Or, if you have a manageable amount of luggage, you can take a taxi to Southampton Central railway station, from which trains stopping at the airport depart several times an hour, arriving at SOU in about 7 to 10 minutes. (The Southampton Airport rail station is Southampton Airport Parkway, and is immediately adjacent to the airport. From the station, the entrance to the airport terminal is literally a 300-foot walk from the station platform.)

 

By contrast, if you take a coach transfer to Heathrow, you will be on the road for close to two hours, and will be at the mercy of any traffic delays. 

 

--- Ease and simplicity of SOU itself vs the complexity and crowds of LHR.  SOU consists of a single, fairly small terminal, whereas of course Heathrow is massive and handles a gazillion flights an hour. At SOU, you walk in the door, easily find the appropriate check-in counter, pass through security swiftly, and don't have a long schlep to the gate.  And you don't deal with crowds or long waiting times, as there are far fewer flights in and out of SOU compared to LHR.  Heathrow is just the opposite, with long distances within the terminal, not to mention the crowds.  Going through SOU is a fairly civilised experience and will keep your blood pressure much lower.

 

--- If you take the later afternoon flight out of SOU, you would have ample time to do some touring after disembarkation, before heading to the airport.  I haven't used any of them, but there are several luggage storage facilities in Southampton where you could drop your luggage and then enjoy a leisurely stroll in Southampton, or even take the train to Winchester for lunch and a quick look-round.  Search "Luggage Storage Southampton UK" on the internet, and you'll find several short-term storage services.

 

(I just did a quick search for "Luggage Storage Southampton Airport UK" and discovered that there is also a storage facility at the airport itself, which would make things even easier if you want to visit Winchester.  1. Taxi or train to the airport; 2. drop off luggage; 3. walk over to Southampton Airport Parkway station; take a train to Winchester, just nine minutes away; have lunch in Winchester and take a little stroll around town before taking the train back to the airport around 3 pm, allowing ample time to collect your luggage and check in for your flight.)  

 

Anyway, this is just I would do, given the same situation.  YMMV, as the kids say.

 

   

 

 

 

 

Edited August 30, 2021 by Post Captain

[5waldos]

 

Thanks Capt- pretty much was what my thoughts were. Although I hadn't considered dropping off luggage for the afternoon. May just make reservations and stop overthinking it all. 

 

"YMMV"- working on figuring this one out. 

Edited August 30, 2021 by 5waldos

[Post Captain]

3 hours ago, 5waldos said:

 

Thanks Capt- pretty much was what my thoughts were. Although I hadn't considered dropping off luggage for the afternoon. May just make reservations and stop overthinking it all. 

 

"YMMV"- working on figuring this one out. 

 

"Your mileage may vary." Slang expression used mainly by kids, internet nerds, and hipsters (demographic groups of which I am certainly not a member!). According to one internet "dictionary", it is "used as a disclaimer that results/satisfaction level might be different for every person. It is commonly used when answering technical-type questions in online conversations or when someone asks for a specific review of a product, service, or website."

 

But yes--flying out of SOU is far easier than flying out of LHR, for all the reasons I mentioned.       

[5waldos]

Now if I could only feel certain that we will be allowed INTO Europe in April.....

[John Bull]

7 hours ago, Post Captain said:

 

Given my druthers, for this trip I would much rather fly out of Southampton Airport (SOU) than out of Heathrow (LHR), even if the departure times out of the former are not ideal.  Having arrived off a cruise, there are several reasons why I would prefer SOU:

 

--- Ease of getting to the airport from the cruise terminal.  SOU is only five miles or so from the docks (depending on where you are docking)--about a 20-25 minutes' taxi ride.  Or, if you have a manageable amount of luggage, you can take a taxi to Southampton Central railway station, from which trains stopping at the airport depart several times an hour, arriving at SOU in about 7 to 10 minutes. (The Southampton Airport rail station is Southampton Airport Parkway, and is immediately adjacent to the airport. From the station, the entrance to the airport terminal is literally a 300-foot walk from the station platform.)

 

By contrast, if you take a coach transfer to Heathrow, you will be on the road for close to two hours, and will be at the mercy of any traffic delays. 

 

--- Ease and simplicity of SOU itself vs the complexity and crowds of LHR.  SOU consists of a single, fairly small terminal, whereas of course Heathrow is massive and handles a gazillion flights an hour. At SOU, you walk in the door, easily find the appropriate check-in counter, pass through security swiftly, and don't have a long schlep to the gate.  And you don't deal with crowds or long waiting times, as there are far fewer flights in and out of SOU compared to LHR.  Heathrow is just the opposite, with long distances within the terminal, not to mention the crowds.  Going through SOU is a fairly civilised experience and will keep your blood pressure much lower.

 

--- If you take the later afternoon flight out of SOU, you would have ample time to do some touring after disembarkation, before heading to the airport.  I haven't used any of them, but there are several luggage storage facilities in Southampton where you could drop your luggage and then enjoy a leisurely stroll in Southampton, or even take the train to Winchester for lunch and a quick look-round.  Search "Luggage Storage Southampton UK" on the internet, and you'll find several short-term storage services.

 

(I just did a quick search for "Luggage Storage Southampton Airport UK" and discovered that there is also a storage facility at the airport itself, which would make things even easier if you want to visit Winchester.  1. Taxi or train to the airport; 2. drop off luggage; 3. walk over to Southampton Airport Parkway station; take a train to Winchester, just nine minutes away; have lunch in Winchester and take a little stroll around town before taking the train back to the airport around 3 pm, allowing ample time to collect your luggage and check in for your flight.)  

 

Anyway, this is just I would do, given the same situation.  YMMV, as the kids say.

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

The Captain knows my local airport better than I do 🙂

 

Yes, un-crowded, massively quicker thro formalities, a great deal simpler and more laid-back than the zoo at LHR.

Your longest walk will be from terminal out to the aircraft - no fancy airbridges, or even a bus for that 30 - 40 yard walk. 

We've flown the route with now-defunct FlyBe, it's been taken back by KLM's regional subsidiary CityHopper using similar Embraer 175 jets (2 + 2 seating). A bit cramped, but flight time only 75 minutes & usually less. No significant taxi-ing or delays in take-off - but very different at Schipol, I swear you taxi further than you'd flown.

I don't know CityHopper's pricing strategy but I suspect it's similar to other European no-frills airlines - flexible pricing (pricey late bookings), headline prices don't include checked luggage, you may have to hand over your hand-luggage to go in the hold due to limited overhead storage in the cabin.

 

Check-in cut-off time for this route is 45 minutes before flight time, but with checked luggage it may be an hour..

For the 09.20 you'd need to leave the cruise terminal by 7.30am (later on a saturday or sunday). Possible with unassisted disembarkation and a taxi from the line, but yes a bit tight. YTMV 😛

 

For the 17.20 flight the Captain knows the airport, but not the left-luggage in Southampton - unless you want a self-storage room 😉. There's only one option in town, "Oceans" shop on High Street http://oceanssouthampton.com/ but it's convenient both to Southampton's few old-town sights and its modern shopping centre and West Quay Mall. ---And no more than a £10 taxi ride from any cruise terminal.

Or left-luggage at the airport would be very convenient en-route to Winchester.

Probably best to go to the airport by taxi, £20 - £25. If you went by train you'd need a taxi anyway to get to Southampton Central station so the saving would be pretty minimal.

Then 2 - 3 trains per hour from the airport (Southampton Parkway station) to Winchester, less than 10 minutes & £6 return fare. 

 

JB 🙂 

 

[5waldos]

I'm convinced. I don't think I'll try for the early flight-would be great but seems unlikeley. Will use ff tickets and figure if there is a miracle and I can get to the airport that early, and if there are seats- we might get out early. But an English lunch would be fine- and time to just collect our thoughts. And not dealing with Heathrow would be wonderful!

[debsjc]

I've worked at Heathrow, but I would choose Southampton too. Much quieter, less runway congestion, shorter distances to walk etc

The only downside is in the unlikely event of any tech issues, or sick crew etc it's always better to be flying with the airline who's main base it is. For example depart AMS on KLM, and LHR on BA.