Posts Tagged ‘heathrow airport’
Reviewing The Airport Code
An airport code is a short, secret language used to identify different airports around the world. There are two main kinds of codes, the IATA codes and the ICAO codes. The IATA is a three letter cipher that deals more with how travelers identify the airports. The ICAO is a four letter cipher and deals more with international airports and airline professionals.
The IATA abbreviation stands for the International Air Transport Association. The airport codes distributed by the IATA are used by airports everywhere, especially to mark luggage and find airline seats. The codes are issued by the IATA headquarters in Montreal, and are published biannually in the IATA coding directory. After being issued, all airports are given a unique three letter cryptogram. Codes that are defunct for any reason may be used again at a later date for some other airport, after a suitable time period has passed. These codes are highly useful for airport security, air cargo tracking, and for international airport transfers. If an airport does not have their own code because they are too small, then they are given a Location Identifier instead. The IATA also issues codes for railways.
IACO stands for the International Civil Aviation Organization. The IACO issues four letter codes to each airport. The main focus for these ciphers is with international transport and travel. The IACO airport code for each airport gets issued through the ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators. They are used for air traffic control, flight planning and air cargo tracking, rather than for the general public. The IATA code for Heathrow airport is LHR, but the ICAO code is EGLL. IACO codes are broken down by regions, and that is how they get their names. In most cases, the first letter stands for the continent or region, the second letter stands for the country, and the third and fourth letters stand for the name of the specific airport. For airports with no IACO codes, if needed, the fake code of ZZZZ can be temporarily used.
Both the IATA and ICAO airline codes are used to identify airports. However, each airport code is significant to a specific airdrome. The IATA codes are used for things such as baggage transfers between airports and for reserving airline seats, and the ICAO codes are used for things such as airport flight plans and transport information. With either code, it is nice to know that the airports have you covered.
Make Your Heathrow Parking Experience Painless
Arriving at the airport, already late for your check in, the last thing you really want to be doing is trying to find your parking space in the maze of airport car parks provided at Heathrow. By far the best option is to book your Heathrow parking space in advance and take advantage of the meet and greet services available at Heathrow airport.
Many people are surprisingly unaware of the meet and greet parking services available at Heathrow airport. This excellent service will save you the headache or lugging your baggage from the car park all the way to the airport terminal. You don’t have to wait for a transfer bus from some far flung Heathrow car park. Intead you will be met at the designated arrival point by a professional chauffeur or valet who will take responsibility for parking your car while you go ahead and check in to board your flight.
Meet and greet parking is particularly useful to those people who are always on a tight deadline as it can save so much time at the airport. You can shave some valuable minutes off the time it takes to board your flight by taking advantage of the latest online check in facilities.
Meet and greet is also immensely useful to those travelling with small children or disabled travellers. All you need do is pre-book online then let the car parking people know when you will be arriving so that they can have their valet ready to take your keys and park your car. Absolutely no fuss and no bother and you won’t have to put up with screaming children on the airport transfer bus.
Heathrow airport provides meet and greet or valet parking at all five of the busy Heathrow terminals. If you are concerned that this service will cost a lot more than regular parking you will be pleased to find that it doesn’t. All you need to remember is that booking online in advance will give you some great savings.
When you return all you need do is call ahead and your valet will fetch your car for you and meet you at the designated meeting point. Your car will have been retrieved from the car park and all you need do is sign the acceptance form and you’re on your way home. No fuss, no bother, very simple.
Pre-book Heathrow Parking and Save Money
Nigel the Mouse does Heathrow Airport Transfer
Travelling abroad, for business or pleasure, can often be a stressful experience. If you are taking your young family on holiday you will likely have loads of baggage. And when you return you’re likely to be laden with duty free booze and gifts. What you need is an easy, convenient and practical way to get to and from the airport.
These days we are all encouraged to use public transport wherever possible. But if you and your family are flying to Florida or Europe from the UK’s busiest airport at Heathrow, is it really feasible to use a bus or train to ferry you, your family and your baggage to the airport? That would be a recipe for stress and arguments. The other options are to take a taxi all the way or to drive your own car.
Now a taxi ride might be a good idea, particularly if you don’t live too far from the airport terminal. But as soon as you need to go more than a few miles the taxi fare can increase dramatically. So if you are travelling on a budget the only remaining option is to drive.
Driving to Heathrow airport will mean that you will need to find somewhere to park that is convenient for your departure terminal. Heathrow provides an abundance of airport parking lots, both on-airport, which tend to be nearer to the terminal buildings, and off-airport, which can be some miles away.
The crucial things to bear in mind when considering your airport parking requirements are:
- Transfer times: How long does it take to get from the car park to the airport terminal.
- Disabled access: Do you need to be particularly close to the airport or any special facilities.
- Security: Many car parks have some very sophisticated security systems in place.
- Availability: Although Heathrow provides a lot of parking space, during peak periods demand can be very high.
- Price: Many people are painfully surprised by the heathrow parking charges applied for parking at Heathrow if you don’t pre-book.
It is really important that you anticipate your parking needs and book a space in advance. Otherwise you can find yourself in a parking lot paying over 60% more than the person parked next to you has paid for the same parking space.