Fares to luton airport

[redreni]

Do through fares, when going to, or from, Luton Airport, tend to be more expensive than paying separately for the DART transfer, then buying/paying for rail tickets onward from Luton Airport Parkway?

Looking at Anytime singles from my local station (in SE London) to Luton Airport Parkway vs Luton Airport, I'm seeing a difference of £4.90, but this falls to £3.25 with (for example) a Network Railcard.

Next time I fly from there I will certainly consider buying a through ticket rather than have my TfL Contactless account bugging me about a bug in their system. Although, looking at it, the off-peak tickets appear to have been increased so that they're more expensive than both the Contactless fares and the Anytime fares, so they're actually about 20p more even after the Railcard discount. So the optimum solution looks to be ending short at Luton Airport on a ticket to somewhere else, and also buying a separate ticket LTN to LUA, if you want to avoid having annoying incomplete journeys on your TfL account.

Such a shame you always have to do something non-obvious to avoid being overcharged when you go to the airport in this country. (Except LCY.)

 

[ChilliSauce]

The shuttle bus service was run by the railway (specifically by the Thameslink franchisee, so most recently GTR), wherears DART is owned and run by an arms-length subsidiary of Luton council (who own the airport).

Exactly .. So I think you would expect only ENTCS passes issued by Luton Council to be valid on it, if any at all. As after all, it is not a bus.

A further view by some may be taken by some, that if an ENTCS holder can afford to buy an air flight then they can afford the £4.90 each way on the DART ..

 

[hi2u_uk]

Looking at Anytime singles from my local station (in SE London) to Luton Airport Parkway vs Luton Airport, I'm seeing a difference of £4.90, but this falls to £3.25 with (for example) a Network Railcard.

Next time I fly from there I will certainly consider buying a through ticket rather than have my TfL Contactless account bugging me about a bug in their system. Although, looking at it, the off-peak tickets appear to have been increased so that they're more expensive than both the Contactless fares and the Anytime fares, so they're actually about 20p more even after the Railcard discount. So the optimum solution looks to be ending short at Luton Airport on a ticket to somewhere else, and also buying a separate ticket LTN to LUA, if you want to avoid having annoying incomplete journeys on your TfL account.

Such a shame you always have to do something non-obvious to avoid being overcharged when you go to the airport in this country. (Except LCY.)

This is something i will need to look into but the last time i flew from luton it was a bus from the station to the airport this did not coset anywhere near £4.90

Exactly .. So I think you would expect only ENTCS passes issued by Luton Council to be valid on it, if any at all. As after all, it is not a bus.

A further view by some may be taken by some, that if an ENTCS holder can afford to buy an air flight then they can afford the £4.90 each way on the DART ..

Im not 100% sure what is being discussed here however i dont think you understand the market Luton airport serves. I flew from the airport to mainland Europe . The flight was a little bit over 2 hours and the single fare was around about £32 each way. The train ticket from Luton airport to TFL Zone 3 was about £17. I would suggest that its more rail travel that is the sign of luxury and not flying from luton airport

 

[ChilliSauce]

This is something i will need to look into but the last time i flew from luton it was a bus from the station to the airport this did not coset anywhere near £4.90

There was most definitely a Step Increase in the cost of getting from Luton Airport Parkway to Luton Airport when the DART was placed into service and the connecting bus withdrawn.

 

[Haywain]

There was most definitely a Step Increase in the cost of getting from Luton Airport Parkway to Luton Airport when the DART was placed into service and the connecting bus withdrawn.

Other options are still available (bus or walk) for those who object to paying for the DART.

 

[hi2u_uk]

Other options are still available (bus or walk) for those who object to paying for the DART.

Is there a bus as the dart fare is ridiculous

 

[kkong]

Is there a bus as the dart fare is ridiculous

Yes, several buses.

The closest stop to the station is opposite the entrance to the Hampton hotel.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Busway "A", "H" and "Z" are the main ones. You want to exit the station at the back, not towards the car park (though I don't know how the DART has affected that as I've not been there for ages). I used to use the service buses before the DART because the "official" bus was grim, it was like being herded like sheep. Very frequent during the day but only hourly overnight (which to be fair is better than most places).

The stop, confusingly, is called "Vauxhall, opp Hampton by Hilton" (as in the van factory).

 

[hi2u_uk]

Thanks i will bear this in mind next tine i fly from Luton

 

[Haywain]

Leave Parkway from platform 1 at ground level*, and go straight through the building and along the path to the road. The bus stop you want is on the opposite side, and every bus that stops there is going to the airport.


*If you arrive on a different platform go over the footbridge to the DART building, through the barriers and down to ground floor level.

 

[hi2u_uk]

Leave Parkway from platform 1 at ground level*, and go straight through the building and along the path to the road. The bus stop you want is on the opposite side, and every bus that stops there is going to the airport.


*If you arrive on a different platform go over the footbridge to the DART building, through the barriers and down to ground floor level.

To be honest im not going to Luton in a hurry again because of this fares issue but will try to remember this for the next time