Flight to Edinburgh Changed What Would You Do?

[scottie99]

We come off Anthem of the Seas on 26 May 

 

Loganair have changed our Edinburgh flight to 8.45 am. Check in closes at 8.05.

 

If we are amongst first off and taxis available, we could make it.  The alternative flight offered means hanging about until 4pm which we don’t fancy.

 

is it worth the stress to make early flight?  What would you do?

[Jamietravelstheworld]

Change to the later flight, not worth the stress. 

[Scottishclover]

Assuming you live in Scotland and are travelling home, I’m going to suggest an EasyJet to Glasgow. It’s a new route this year. That’s what we’re doing ( although Edinburgh airport is handier for us) and flight time is around 11am, so perfect.  Ryanair also flies from Bournemouth to Edinburgh, not sure of timing. Although  4pm is a bit of a hang about, I’m sure you could fill the day by going for a nice brunch/ lunch/ drink somewhere and reflect on the great time you had on your cruise. 

 

I can see how you might be tempted by the earlier flight. I don’t think Southampton Airport is huge so you probably could make it. Locals with experience could confirm. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if you miss it. There’s plenty other ways to get home.

[scottie99]

2 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

Assuming you live in Scotland and are travelling home, I’m going to suggest an EasyJet to Glasgow. It’s a new route this year. That’s what we’re doing ( although Edinburgh airport is handier for us) and flight time is around 11am, so perfect.  Ryanair also flies from Bournemouth to Edinburgh, not sure of timing. Although  4pm is a bit of a hang about, I’m sure you could fill the day by going for a nice brunch/ lunch/ drink somewhere and reflect on the great time you had on your cruise. 

 

I can see how you might be tempted by the earlier flight. I don’t think Southampton Airport is huge so you probably could make it. Locals with experience could confirm. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if you miss it. There’s plenty other ways to get home.

Thanks for taking time to reply 

I am aware EasyJet now do the route but their flight on a Sunday is also 4pm

 

The lunch idea is good but I’m not aware of anywhere to store 2 suitcases. Is there such a place?

[Scottishclover]

That’s a shame about the EasyJet flight- we are travelling back up on a Saturday.  Can’t help with luggage storage but usually train or bus stations have some facility. I’m sure I also read that the Premier Inn in the city centre has a storage facility even if you are not staying there. 

[John Bull]

Unassisted disembarkation from RCI is usually 7am or a little earlier.

That early in the day cruise terminal formalities are little more than a walk-through and you should be able to jump into a taxi without delay.

It's a sunday 🙂, no rush-hour traffic and the  journey should take little more than 15 minutes.

You could be at the airport from about 7.30.

But for a variety of reasons that 30 minute leeway could be lost.

 

Since Loganair changed your flight time I'm assuming they would re-book you at no extra cost, and there's that same-day 4pm flight - they're currently showing availability,

Especially because a re-booking doesn't mean an overnight in Southampton for a flight on the monday, I'd strongly suggest you do that - even if you did make that 8.45 flight you'd have the risk on your mind from now until then. 

 

No left-luggage facility at train or coach station, and this is the first I've heard of it at Premier Inn,

But there definitely is at Maynards food & news shop on Civic Centre Road opposite the front of the Civic Centre.

Adjacent the Civic Centre is https://seacitymuseum.co.uk/ which focuses on Titanic,

Or a 7 minute walk down the main shopping street (called Above Bar) takes you to the Bargate - the entrance to the old part of the city - and the city wall.

Beyond are the city's few historic places (much lost during 1941 blitzes) like 

https://tudorhouseandgarden.com/

https://godshousetower.org.uk/

and

https://www.solentsky.org/

and some good historic pubs like the Duke of Wellington and The Dancing Man.

Southampton's not a tourist city, but there's more than enough to interest you for a day.

 

JB 🙂

Edited April 25 by John Bull

[Markanddonna]

We have the same problem on the 15th going to Edinburgh. Logan Air's later flight is all sold out so they said our only option is a refund. Egads!

 

It looks like our best bet is the train through Birmingham with one easy transfer at their station. Not happy we are losing time on our first day. There are other flight/train combos but with luggage added on, they are getting to be too costly and require transfer from train station to airport. The SOU to Glasgow flight on easyjet is sold out.

 

 

[John Bull]

39 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

We have the same problem on the 15th going to Edinburgh. Logan Air's later flight is all sold out so they said our only option is a refund. Egads!

 

It looks like our best bet is the train through Birmingham with one easy transfer at their station. Not happy we are losing time on our first day. There are other flight/train combos but with luggage added on, they are getting to be too costly and require transfer from train station to airport. The SOU to Glasgow flight on easyjet is sold out.

 

 

 

 

That's a downer 🙁

Being forced into booking late, other flight options are almost-always more expensive. 

 

Due to the nonsense pricing on UK trains I did check the cost of your same route & train times but using separate bookings from Southampton Central to Birmingham New Street (8.15 to 10.51) and from Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh (11.03 to 4.16pm) known as "split-ticketing". Separating the tickets costs £47.30 plus £73.70 = a total of £121 versus the one booking for both at £156.40  - a saving of £35 per person using the same trains and operator (Cross-country). 

 

Even better.....That same first train to Birmingham (8.15 to 10.51) at £47.30 and a different train & operator (Avanti West Coast) from Birmingham New Street to Edinburgh (12.07 to 4.18) at £47.00 costs a total of £94.30 - a saving of £62 per person.

Altho that means over an hour between trains at Birmingham New Street there's much more leeway for the first train being late, and because the second train is run by a different operator (Avanti West Coast) and on a much more direct route it actually gets to Edinburgh two minutes before the 11.03 as well as the big £££ saving.

 

All prices for all options are for Advance tickets and are only good for the train times that you book, so you do need to be on that 8,15 from Southampton.

To be sure its best to disembark unassisted (haul your own luggage from your cabin), usually 30 minutes before regular disembarkation starts. 

 

The expensive Advance through-ticket is good for a later train on the same route from Birmingham if the first train is late - the next Cross-country train from Birmingham is an hour later.

Split-ticketing doesn't have that advantage, but the cheapest option does allow leeway for the first train to be over an hour late.

 

Advance fares start to go up as the travel date gets closer, so don't delay too long. But don't jump just yet - perhaps some kind soul who knows the UK train system  better than I, like @Cotswold Eagle or @Globaliser can check my workings in case I've blundered.

The only options offered by split-ticketing sites that I've checked go via an awkward London change and save very few ££

 

Now I'm gonna take two dozen headache pills and going for a lie-down 😏

 

JB 🙂

 

 

[Markanddonna]

Thanks so much, John Bull. You are a wealth of knowledge. We are also starting to have a splitting headache thinking of taking a train to GAT and then a flight. So, we decided to take the 10:15 train to Edinburgh and just chill. The only transfer is at Birmingham, and the platforms are right across from one another. Not stressing when you travel is important, and I think the train/fly combo would put me over the edge. I'm a big planner and even traveled solo last year to Poland using trains and buses around the country. No problem!

 

We decided to go with the trains when we discovered another ship passenger had the same problem. We will be traveling together.

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, Markanddonna said:

So, we decided to take the 10:15 train to Edinburgh

Great. So this means I don't need to check JB’s railway maths, right? 😀

[Cotswold Eagle]

6 hours ago, John Bull said:

No left-luggage facility at train or coach station, and this is the first I've heard of it at Premier Inn,

Some (I don’t think all) Premier Inns now offer storage for non-guests through Stasher in addition to their usual locations in convenience stores. 

[Markanddonna]

23 minutes ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Great. So this means I don't need to check JB’s railway maths, right? 😀

He's always accurate anyway...

[scottie99]

I’ve looked at the train options but they don’t seem to work well on Sunday 26th

 

We are seniors and don’t want to consider the London transfer options with 2 suitcases.

[FionaMG]

Re luggage storage at the Premier Inn Westquay, going back to October 2022 now so can't be sure it's still the case, but at that time they definitely did offer luggage storage even if you weren't staying there in exchange for a donation to a charity. I can't remember which one, but I'm fairly sure it was something to do with children. They had a collection tin on the reception desk and you just dropped your donation into it.

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

Re luggage storage at the Premier Inn Westquay, going back to October 2022 now so can't be sure it's still the case, but at that time they definitely did offer luggage storage even if you weren't staying there in exchange for a donation to a charity. I can't remember which one, but I'm fairly sure it was something to do with children. They had a collection tin on the reception desk and you just dropped your donation into it.

The charity was probably GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital, a leading children’s hospital  and medical research centre), which is PI’s longstanding charity partner. 
 

I wonder if this storage arrangement survives, given PI’s now commercial relationship with Stasher.  

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Great. So this means I don't need to check JB’s railway maths, right? 😀

 

3 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

He's always accurate anyway...

 

I wish 😃

 

Because I had @scottie99's predicament in mind I automatically checked out the trains to Edinburgh at around Scotty's time (8.15) because he / you / someone (re-reading, it was Scotty 🙄) wanted to get to Edinburgh soonest.

 

Because later trains are cheaper (no commuter trade) the straightforward change-at-Birmingham-New-Street 10.15 off-peak option is cheaper (make that less-expensive) at £111 than the 8.15 Advance option at £156 🙄

Due to the nonsense of ticket pricing, split-ticketing actually works out at a few £ more for the 10.15 🙄

And there's no suitably-timed Avanti West Coast option from Birmingham 🙄.

So a straightforward through-ticket is the way to go.

Make sure that you select the single-change 10.15 train - the same train is also offered at the same price but getting off the train at Reading, into London Paddington, then tube across central London to London Kings Cross for an east-coast train to Edinburgh.🙄

 

No need to rush off the ship ahead of the herd.

And being an off-peak option you can buy tickets at the station in case a flight option re-appears in the meantime.

 

Should you require any further complicated answers, you only have to ask 🙄

But I must end now because I need another lie-down, and because I've used my full quota of 🙄s

 

Have a great trip, and in Edinburgh give Greyfriars Bobby's nose a pat

 

JB 🙂

 

Edited April 25 by John Bull

[Markanddonna]

Also I'm looking forward to the statue of Wojtek the bear from WWII Poland.

[Globaliser]

If cheap is the principal consideration, there's an itinerary that's £66.60 per person:

• 1015 Southampton Central to Coventry arr 1227 (CrossCountry)
• 1327 Coventry to Edinburgh Waverley arr 1821 (Avanti West Coast)

 

It appears to be fared on split tickets:

• Southampton Central to Basingstoke
• Basingstoke to Banbury
• Banbury to Coventry
• Coventry to Penrith (North Lakes)
• Penrith (North Lakes) to Edinburgh

 

Usual health warning about split tickets, though: There are potential pitfalls for the uninformed or unwary if things don't go according to plan; they should be used only by people who understand what split tickets are about and what the downsides can be, and not by people who can't see beyond the £ signs.

[John Bull]

8 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

Also I'm looking forward to the statue of Wojtek the bear from WWII Poland.

 

 

I knew the story of the artillery shell-hauling bear, didn't know that when he was de-mobbed he went to Edinburgh Zoo & has a statue there.

Photos on the internet suggest his nose has been patted as much as Greyfriars Bobby's.

 

JB 🙂

[John Bull]

4 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

If cheap is the principal consideration, there's an itinerary that's £66.60 per person:

• 1015 Southampton Central to Coventry arr 1227 (CrossCountry)
• 1327 Coventry to Edinburgh Waverley arr 1821 (Avanti West Coast)

 

It appears to be fared on split tickets:

• Southampton Central to Basingstoke
• Basingstoke to Banbury
• Banbury to Coventry
• Coventry to Penrith (North Lakes)
• Penrith (North Lakes) to Edinburgh

 

Usual health warning about split tickets, though: There are potential pitfalls for the uninformed or unwary if things don't go according to plan; they should be used only by people who understand what split tickets are about and what the downsides can be, and not by people who can't see beyond the £ signs.

 

 

To clarify why @Globaliser has mentioned five tickets but just two trains 😕😕😕

 

That's taking split-ticketing to the next level.

Three tickets for three parts of the first train journey, two more for two parts of the second.

No need to get off & back on at the intermediate stations, just as long as the routing goes via those stations

Sneaky, but perfectly legal and there are websites which specialise in it.

Shows how ridiculous the fare pricing is.🙄

 

But one of the political parties appears to have picked up this thread, seen my comments, and today announced that their election manifesto will include re-nationalising the trains, simplifying fares and ensuring that everyone gets the cheapest fare without all the faffing around.

 

If they win the election (some time late this year or early next year) expect that to happen within the next 10 to 20 years 😏

In the meantime please address your train enquiries to @Globaliser cos JB is spending too much time lying down.

 

JB 🙂 

[Globaliser]

8 hours ago, John Bull said:

Shows how ridiculous the fare pricing is.

 

You keep saying this, but what's your alternative? I think that the only way of eliminating such anomalies would be to price all fares on a flat pence per mile basis.

[Cotswold Eagle]

39 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

You keep saying this, but what's your alternative? I think that the only way of eliminating such anomalies would be to price all fares on a flat pence per mile basis.

And there's often a conflation of fare level and fare complexity, Simplifying the fare structure does not mean cheaper fares all round, as the LNER experiment has shown. More people may be paying the same fare, but some will be paying more than before. 

Airlines have significantly more complex fare structures, which are very opaque to most travellers, who just accept that fares on any given day or time may be wildly different to any other given day or time. 

[FionaMG]

11 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

The charity was probably GOSH (Great Ormond Street Hospital, a leading children’s hospital  and medical research centre), which is PI’s longstanding charity partner. 
 

I wonder if this storage arrangement survives, given PI’s now commercial relationship with Stasher.  

 

Yes, I think that was the one.

 

[scottie99]

As OP can I bring subject back to dilemma.

 

There is no other flight available from Sou to Scotland on Sunday 26.  
 

There is no easy train alternative ( def don’t want to change in London).   If we do change at Birmingham, there is only 12 mins between connections.  That seems tight.

 

The other point is my car would be at Edinburgh Airport.   We would then have to travel from city centre to airport to collect.

 

Loganair are being totally unhelpful.  This comes back to my question, can we get off Anthem in time to be at Sou airport for 8am.   The way things are working out, I feel we may have to chance it.

Will there be plenty of taxis at 7 ish?

 

Edited April 26 by scottie99
Sp

[John Bull]

3 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

You keep saying this, but what's your alternative? I think that the only way of eliminating such anomalies would be to price all fares on a flat pence per mile basis.

 

I've always accepted that not all complexities are nonsense - ever since I was a kid it's been more expensive to take a train that arrives in London before 10am on a weekday. Whether you say that's to avoid over-crowding at commuter-time or supply-and-demand or screwing-the-commuter or whatever, there's a reason. 

Low prices to encourage travellers to use train times at quiet times makes sense.

But some commuter-time trains into London are now available at Advance ticket prices at well below half the cost - that encourages day-trippers who know about Advance fares - £22 single vs £54 single - and want to get to London earlier to book those commuter-time trains, adding to the over-crowding at that time, which make a nonsense of the afore-mentioned reasons. 🙄.

And presumably those commuters who find it worth the effort will book Advance tickets for each day because that's cheaper than a season ticket 🙄.

 

Hugely higher fares on long-distance journeys for those who "don't know the ropes" have no logical reason and are another nonsense.

Logic says that fares should be cheaper for long distances - more income for a single transaction, more competitive against road or air, etc.

So there's no logic in a higher ticket price for a complete journey than for buying at the same time different tickets for various short sections on the self-same trains running at the same time on the same day - the pricing is clearly screwed-up 🙄.

 

Then there are RailCards. They cost about £30 for a year and give about a third off most journeys (not all journeys, that'd be too simple). Probably another wheeze instead of a season ticket for those who qualify and who go thro the ropes.

But no use to visitors who make only a few short journeys

 

Lots of other complications including those due to different train operators, who have competition on some routes but have a monopoly on on most routes - a private operator having a monopoly on essential services. And all this on tracks which are owned & maintained by the govt.

 

If you believe that ticketing isn't unnecessarily complicated, you surely heard the national sigh of relief when it was mentioned yesterday that it was to be made simpler, altho that was also promised a while back by a party with a different-coloured rosette..

 

Look what a mess the privatised water supply & sewage monopolies have made of those services - fat salaries and bonuses for the bosses, fat dividends for shareholders, and services which through under-investment are falling apart with hosepipe bans after a few dry days, and un-treated sewage in our rivers and seas and on our beaches after a single day of rain. 

 

I regard privately-owned businesses as a good thing when there are competitors, I regard them as a nightmare where there's no competition. Which kinda shows I have no particularly strong right or left political views, and at the General Election I will probably vote for Screaming Lord Sutch, the Loony Party, or Lord Bucket-head.

"That was a Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the All Politicians Are a Waste of Space party. We now return to our scheduled programmes"

 

JB 🙂.