Skyparksecure Travel Blog - THE TRAVEL BLOG by Skyparksecure

Our main guy, SkyPark Steve is just as dedicated as we are to making sure your holiday gets off to the perfect start. Yesterday Steve started his UK Tour to meet and greet customers and check up on all the car parks offered on our web site.

His first stop was Manchester Airport where he met a delighted couple about to start married life with a honeymoon in Cyprus – what better way to get your marriage off to a fly than a hug from Steve?

Steve also made some new friends at Manchester Airport’s Aviation Viewing Park where he watched in delight as planes took off right before his eyes – it was a little worrying to see him more excited than the school children on a day trip.

Steve will be visiting more and more airports over the coming weeks and will be giving more information on what he finds at the car parks.

Yesterday Steve had the pleasure of inspecting JetParks 1, 2 & 3 and Shuttle Park at Manchester Airport. He reported that the security at these car parks is fantastic and the staff are very welcoming.

Customers get to the airport in big comfy shuttle buses that seem to arrive in a never ending stream – no-one waited for more than a couple of minutes for a bus while Steve was there.

JetParks 3 is the farthest from the airport but it is still only 5 minutes away in the bus so it may be the cheaper option from the JetParks range but it is a great official service from Manchester Airport.

Watch out for Steve at more airports over the coming weeks – he may even have a gift for you.

After the re-development of terminals 1 & 2, Terminal 3 has had the final stages of its re-development project unveiled.

The changes at terminal 3 were made after passenger scores dropped following the completion of re-development work at terminals 1 & 2. Passengers suggested that they would like to see better way finding, more seats in the departure area, more flight information screens, an improved security area with more lanes open and better retail and catering.

Manchester Airport Said “Although this work addresses the main five areas of concern for our passengers, we know that there’s more to do. Passenger feedback will continue to be part of our focus on creating a great experience for travellers through Manchester Airport.”

More than £2 million has been invested in Terminal 3’s redesign in addition to the £80 million investment in redeveloping Terminals 1 and 2 since the start of the project in 2007.

The Terminal 3 work includes the modernisation of flight information screens with the introduction of several plasma screens, clearer way finding signage, replacement flooring tiles on the upper level, plus the creation of four brand new shops and one new catering unit on the upper level.

Belfast international has become the first airport to charge passengers, should they want to have one last cigarette before takeoff.

There has been a growing trend amongst most UK regional airports to charge passengers for services which used to be provided free of charge. These ancillary charges have become a useful way for these airports to raise extra cash. However, Belfast International have gone one step further and have introduced a £1 charge. The fee is paid via a coin in a machine which opens doors to a special smoking area situated near the main duty-free zone.

Quoted in Belfast Telegraph, outgoing Assemblywoman Dawn Purvis, a former smoker, described the fee as “ridiculous.”

She said, “I used to smoke before I got on a flight and it used to calm me down. Most people who smoke know it’s going to be a long time before they get another smoke, so they go for a puff before they get on the plane.”

In a statement, Belfast International said, “We recognise that there was a demand for a smoking facility from some customers given that all public places (including airports) are now, and have been for a number of years, non-smoking.”

“We are responding to that demand. However providing a specialist facility for a relatively small number of users is expensive to build and to maintain so it is not unreasonable that a small charge should be levied for the use of the facility.”

The airport is also keen to point out that passengers who do not wish to pay for the privilege can smoke in the front of the terminal building. But this location is landside (whereas the £1 zone is airside) so unsuitable if you need to smoke shortly before boarding.

Our legendary hero, back from the dead a couple of years ago, is currently undergoing an extreme make-over, going all nip/tuck and getting himself sorted out.

SkyPark Steve is under the knife as we speak and our friends at Frenzy Creative are turning Steve into the super, travel extras hero that we have always believed that he would become.

Not only is Steve going to look infinitely cooler than he ever has before, he will be appearing at airports and car parks up and down the country this year. He may even star in the odd movie or two.

Keep your eye out for Steve when you arrive at the car park or airport terminal as he may have a little surprise for you.

At the end of last year we said goodbye to an old friend. SkyPark House at Sycamore Trading Estate in Blackpool had been our base since our inception circa 2003. She served us well; but the cream coloured, barred windowed cuboid we affectionately called Our Mexican Prison had become too small for us.

As we’ve been adding specialist team members consistently for a few years we needed to find a home more suited to the needs of a highly strung group of creatives and developers, space for members of our family who like to hoard and a project for one of our beloved (albeit short) leaders.

And so we moved … we moved to Newton Drive. A fresh start, a step up; where the walls are white and the air is clean. Our new home is a lovingly restored funeral home and now, thanks to a marauding team of builders, painters, plumbers and electricians there is not a trace of formaldehyde and no sign of a single lost soul haunting us as we work to do all we can to see that your holiday gets off to the perfect start.

Onwards and upwards …

Britain is looking into the possibility of passing law that will make it possible to fine airports that fail to make adequate preparations due to issues like bad weather resulting in travel disruptions. The move comes after tens of thousands of Christmas travelers were left stranded when major Airports across the UK, including heathrow, were closed due to snow. If approved, these new penalites will affect the busiest airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond says that it’s unacceptable no punishment from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has been handed down on BAA, the owner of Heathrow. There should be an economic penalty for their failure to serve, he continued, and their performance and passenger satisfaction ratings should carry more weight.

Ministers are now considering a new bill on airport economic regulation, which would give regulators more power to impose fines on airports for a wider range of failures of service. Under the existing system, the CAA can impose fines for failures such as cleanliness and passenger queues at security checkpoints. The maximum penalty they can impose for these failures is 7% on airport charges, which could end up being as much as £63 million.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said ” the government is committed to reforming the regulation of airports, and passengers are being put at the very heart of how they are run. This will mean primary legislation is required”

2010 has been a nightmare for the jetsetter, starting with the snow in January/February, the dreaded Ash Cloud in April/May, terrorist threats, the recession, and now coming full circle the snow has returned.

While trying to improve our service, we have made it our mission to make you, our client the number one priority to help calm the continuous wave upon wave of disasters, which have hit the aviation industry throughout this year.

We have found to some of our competitors treat situations such as snow and ash clouds as acts of God, and therefore credits are not applicable, while refunds and amendments are chargeable or invalid.

In contrast since April of this year we have given our clients approximately £25,000 in credits for future bookings, in addition to the £52,000 (approx) we gave to our clients in discounts.  We have seen the popularity of our cancellation cover (still only £1.49) dramatically increase as the months have gone, with our clients becoming more wary of how the future may affect their travel plans.

Whilst it isn’t always possible in all instances, our customer support team are on hand to answer any questions or solve any problems you may have regarding our services, so don’t hesitate to contact us, there is no such thing as a stupid question.

Take care, and remember if you are travelling this winter, ensure that you allow more time in departing to the Airport.

Paul Chambers, the man who joked about blowing up an airport on twitter, has gained a substantial amount of support from other “tweeters” after his appeal was rejected.

Chambers had planned to fly to Ireland to meet up with a woman but was frustrated with the fact that Robin Hood Airport had been closed due to winter weather conditions. He chose Twitter to express his anger and wrote, “Robin Hood Airport is closed. You’ve got a week to get your s**t together; otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!”

Chambers, who was arrested by the police and fined £1000 for posting the jovial threat to blow up the airport, has gained support from several twitter users who have started posting similar comic threats to the regional airport out of solidarity.

Twitters top celebrity tweeter Stephen Fry, lead the charge by offering to pay the fine that was imposed against Mr Chambers and started by tagging his post with “IAmSparticus” in homage to the 1960 film Spartacus in which rebel slaves confuse the enemy by claiming that they are all Spartacus. Within 2 hours of posting, there were over 5000 posts on Twitter that carried this tag in their tweets.

The ugly truth of this story however is very simple. Freedom of speech on the internet has suffered a serious blow, and in the future be very careful when venting your anger over the internet.

Skypark Secure have donated a prize of 2 weeks free airport parking for an event being organised by Catherin Bell, in order to raise funds for a charity called the Muir Maxwell Trust.

The Muir Maxwell Trust, a paediatric epilepsy charity, aims to make a difference by providing children and their careers with practical support and by speeding up what can be a frustratingly slow diagnostic process.

Catherine’s 3-year-old son, Jack, suffers from a severe epilepsy condition called Dravet Syndrome. He has multiple seizures, up to as many as 10 in one day, has severe learning difficulties and limited communication.

Catherine and a collective group of close friends known as “Jack’s Belles” are hosting a Ladies Luncheon for 180 ladies on the 6th of November 2010. Last year events like this raised over £14,000, and the organisation is targeting much higher for 2010.

Click here to read more about the Muir Maxwell Trust & Jack Bell

Thousands of British travellers across the country were forced to change their travel plans yesterday as a 24 hour general strike by Spanish airport workers took hold.

British travellers on budget airlines were hit hardest, with Ryanair cancelling more than 300 flights to Spain and all flights from Spain into Scotland. Easyjet was also forced to scrap around half of its Spanish flights. Easyjet said it had written to travellers some days ago, warning passengers of the potential disruption to its flights and had offered them alternative travel dates.

Ryanair, who was also forced to scrap over 250 flights last week due to French air traffic controllers strike, have called on EU leaders to act against those who have caused the disruptions.

The current Spanish strike has affected flights to other popular destinations such as Majorca, Ibiza and the Canary Islands.

Any one affected by this crisis is advised to contact their airline for more information. SkyparkSecure will not be charging an amendment charge on airport parking and will be issuing credits for clients affected by this strike.