Smith's for Airports

[eandj]

Used Smiths for a group of us formed on our roll call. Picked us up on time and very pleasant. I'd use them again for sure.

 

When you book your transfers, just get all the fees included in your quotes. Some insist on larger cars when they count your carry on bags. As they won't allow the smaller bags inside the car and need the bigger trunk. Too there will be a wait time fee added if being picked up at the airport. That's common for all companies and required. That covers the car sitting in a waiting area while you get your bags and any delays up to that 30 min. More than that and you will be charged more.

[clo6216]

I know this thread is old, but I was wondering if anyone who reads this who used Smiths for Airports could report back on how their service was. I am probably going to book them for a trip from Southampton to Heathrow in August. Thanks!

 

We used SmithsforAirports a few weeks ago and recommend them highly. They met us upon our arrival at Heathrow and took us to our hotel in Southampton. At the end of our cruise, they were waiting for us at the port and drove us to Heathrow. We arranged everything online and they had terrific follow-up. Don't hesitate to get a quote and use them.

[pmjnh]

I am happy to hear these recommendations for Smith's as we are thinking about using them from Heathrow to Harwich in July 2015

[John Bull]

I want to thank everyone for their replies here. We will use them for the first time later this summer--both from the airport to our hotel in London and then again from London to Dover the day before we cruise.

 

I'll report back! :)

 

I am happy to hear these recommendations for Smith's as we are thinking about using them from Heathrow to Harwich in July 2015

 

Smiths (and Aquacars) are based near Southampton, 70 miles from central London, so London or London airport trips to/from Harwich or Dover are a long way out of their patch. They might quote in the expectation of dove-tailing in with a Southampton to London job, but probably for a considerably higher fare than their usual excellent value. So don't rely on just a quote from them.

 

For Harwich consider http://www.harwichtaxis.com/ and for Dover http://www.folkestonetaxi.com/ or http://www.dovertaxis.com/

Comparatively few mentions on CC, but all positive.

 

JB :)

[pmjnh]

Smiths (and Aquacars) are based near Southampton, 70 miles from central London, so London or London airport trips to/from Harwich or Dover are a long way out of their patch. They might quote in the expectation of dove-tailing in with a Southampton to London job, but probably for a considerably higher fare than their usual excellent value. So don't rely on just a quote from them.

 

For Harwich consider http://www.harwichtaxis.com/ and for Dover http://www.folkestonetaxi.com/ or http://www.dovertaxis.com/

Comparatively few mentions on CC, but all positive.

 

JB :)

 

I received quotes from both Smith's , Harwich taxis and Eddie Manning. They were all competitive and actually Harwich Taxi tours was the most expensive of the 3!

[cruiserdt]

:)Also used them for transport from Heathrow to the port at Harwich. We were transported in a mini van for 4 + luggage. Booked online several months before. As others have stated, the driver was prompt and courteous. The van was comfortable and clean - and the price was great. We wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Edited August 1, 2014 by cruiserdt

[pmjnh]

When I was contacting the different companies for quotes, what struck me about Smith's is that they only take reservations 6 months out. Several other companies wanted me to book now for a cruise next summer. That made me wonder..I like a company that doesn't pressure me to make a decision too soon.

[LovesToRead]

We just returned from a cruise where we used Smiths. They took us from airport to London hotel, from hotel to Southampton, from Southampton to London hotel, and back to the airport. We found the drivers extremely professional and prompt (often early) and were very pleased with the service.

[TravelKnitter]

As a follow-up to my earlier posts, it pleases me to report that we were extremely happy with Smith's and would definitely use them again. They were prompt and the drivers were excellent -- safe drivers. They have an amazing system that keeps them ahead of the game and allows them to make sure they are on time. GREAT JOB.

[Underwatr]

The one slight hiccup I had with Smith's was that they scheduled my pickup for about 15 minutes after my scheduled arrival into Heathrow from JFK. There was a considerable queue at immigration and my phone didn't have reception in that room. The driver said he probably wouldn't have waited much longer for us.

[EightFurryPaws]

I am surprised that Smith's would schedule a pick up 15 minutes after arrival. There is no doubt that getting through Heathrow immigration and baggage would take at least 45 minutes. I was going to book them from Heathrow directly to Southampton with no means of communication to call them or they to call me.

 

Am I able to schedule them at least 45 minutes after we arrive, or do they make that decision?

[Underwatr]

In my case they asked for the flight arrival time, and said "OK, your driver will be waiting for you at (15 minutes after the time I provided)." I pointed out that it would be an international arrival and they acknowledged that. You could probably intervene if necessary and ask for a later time as part of the communications but I figured they knew their business (but maybe not, in my case). It may have been a one-time slip-up by the dispatcher in my case.

 

To be honest, the service was fairly priced and the driver helped me find an ATM en route to Southampton (all I saw at LHR were Travelex machines which are a ripoff with dynamic currency conversion). I'd book Smiths again without hesitation - but I'd be more insistent that they not plan to pick me up 15 minutes after arrival.

Edited September 1, 2014 by Underwatr

[cruiseri]

Used Smith's last week for transport from Southampton pier to hotel in London, excellent service. In fact the driver texted me to tell me he was waiting just outside the terminal. Very curious and even helped me find an ATM.

 

SAS

[lexmiller]

We recently used Smiths for Airports twice - the first time on August 16 to pick us up at Heathrow and take us to the Celebrity Eclipse docked in Southampton. It took us much longer than anticipated to exit our plane, get through customs, etc, in part due to the fact that my daughter has a physical disability. Smiths called me on my mobile to make sure we were ok, and told us where our driver would be waiting (right outside the coffee shop, our name in hand on his placard, just outside of border control). He whisked us away to Southampton, all went well.

Then upon our return from our cruise, Smiths picked us up at Southampton and took us on a day excursion of London before our flight that evening. Our driver, Robby, was very kind, knowledgeable and sensitive to our physical accessibility needs and limitations. We wanted to see as many iconic sights as possible (I know, it's London, you need a week at least!) in a short amount of time. A ride on The Eye was first on our list. Robby dropped us off as close to the entrance as possible. When we were finished, we connected via mobile and he picked us up promptly. After that, he did a fabulous job of condensing the sights and the history of London into a 3.5 hour tour and got us to Heathrow in plenty of time to catch our flight.

I highly recommend Smiths for Airports!

[suni]

I am looking to book Smiths for next week, Heathrow to our hotel.Do I need to be concerned with additional fees if our flight is delayed? The cost seems quite high, but in line with all the other quotes I received. I just want a safe and prompt ride and a long long flight! There is another company named Totally Driven . Prices were a bit lower, but can't find as many positive reviews.

[Underwatr]

In my Smiths rate I had to pay for the driver's LHR parking. Other than that there was no additional cost when the driver had to wait ~1 hour for me to clear customs.

 

The driver will be informed as to your flight status but if there's a delay in Immigration they might wonder where you are. Perhaps you could call the Smiths office when your flight arrives but before entering the Immigration hall (I had no cellphone reception in Immigration but it maybe my phone was just slow to establish roaming).

Edited September 5, 2014 by Underwatr

[lexmiller]

We had a full two hour delay from when our flight arrived until we finally exited immigration at Heathrow. Smiths did call me on my mobile while I was in the immigration line, just to make sure things were moving along, and I was told precisely where the driver would be waiting (outside Costa Coffee where all of the drivers wait, directly outside the immigration exit area). Waiting to collect you is part of their service, no extra fees, except for the parking lot cost. Prior to booking with Smiths, we had checked with West Quay, who also gets excellent reviews, but their cost for our purposes was quite a bit higher for the same service.

[Paulchili]

How do Smith's fares compare with 24/7 (http://www.airports247.co.uk/) whom we have used before.

Our cruise is next year so I am not able to get a quote from Smith (LHR to London hotel in W1)

[lexmiller]

Our transfers with Smiths were from Heathrow to the cruise port in Southampton; then, at the end of the cruise, from Southampton, a day tour of London, then to Heathrow. The cost from Heathrow to Southampton, which took approximately 90 minutes, was 71GBP with a 6GBP Heathrow parking fee. The cost for our pickup in Southampton, the day tour and the dropoff at Heathrow, was 270GBP.

I also looked very closely at West Quay. The prices they gave me for the same exact trips were 115GBP for the transfer from Heathrow to Southampton and 345GBP for the transfer from Southampton, the day tour of London and the dropoff at Heathrow.

Thus, we are looking at 71 vs 115 and 270 vs 345, when comparing Smiths and West Quay - quite a difference, and both companies are very well reviewed. We went with Smiths and everything went swimmingly.

[nikel]

I just sent for a request to Smiths and they quoted me from Heathrow to our hotel in London

76 pounds;6 pounds to park; 11.50 pounds congestion That comes out to 93.50 pounds. It seems a little excessive, am I correct? Thanks

[Bob++]

I just sent for a request to Smiths and they quoted me from Heathrow to our hotel in London

76 pounds;6 pounds to park; 11.50 pounds congestion That comes out to 93.50 pounds. It seems a little excessive, am I correct? Thanks

 

Since Smiths are based in Southampton, I am a little surprised that they even quoted you.

 

Here are a few more local that you might try: http://www.justairports.com http://www.expressways.co.uk http://www.skyexpresscars.net http://www.ticktocktaxi.co.uk and http://www.bloomsburycars.co.uk

Edited October 12, 2014 by Bob++

[nikel]

Since Smiths are based in Southampton, I am a little surprised that they even quoted you.

 

Here are a few more local that you might try: http://www.justairports.com http://www.expressways.co.uk http://www.skyexpresscars.net http://www.ticktocktaxi.co.uk and http://www.bloomsburycars.co.uk

 

Thank you

contacted 247 airport transfer = 48 pounds

just airports = 36 pounds

 

Which is more reliable?

[John Bull]

Thank you

contacted 247 airport transfer = 48 pounds

just airports = 36 pounds

 

Which is more reliable?

 

Smiths are very competitive for jobs involving their own patch, but this isn't the first time I've heard of a high price from them for a London airport to city job. I guess they try to tie in such jobs with their airport runs from Southampton. And they avoid tying in jobs too tightly in case of flight delays etc.

And that £11 central London congestion charge is for a full day - the Hesthrow-based operator's cars can spread that charge over half-a-dozen and more jobs.

So I can understand why their prices would be higher for such jobs.

 

24/7 and Just Airports and Simply airports are probably the three busiest Heathrow to central London operators, and they compete on price in a very competitive market.

Because of that volume they can switch jobs around to cope with delays - but it doesn't always work out, so all get a proportion of unhappy customers amongst the many many satisfied ones. A matter of luck, so after checking for add-ons such as cc charge, waiting time terms, etc I'd be inclined to choose the cheapest of those established operators.

 

JB :)

[orchestrapal]

Would not even consider Smiths unless it's out of Southampton.

 

We leave London this week and our round-trip Heathrow London Heathrow was 36 pounds in and 34 back on http://www.Totallydriven.CO.UK. Always cheaper to book a round trip and to book weeks early.(months n advance in our case)

[Bob++]

To use a Southampton or Portsmouth based cab firm for a Heathrow to London Trip would be like calling a cab from Philadelphia to take you from JFK to Manhattan.