London Gatwick will introduce drop-off fee in March

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  • AMcWhirter
    Participant

    You may have seen Mark’s new piece today reporting on Gatwick airport’s drop-off fee which will take effect from March 8.

    I realise Gatwick needs all the cash it can get but is this the right time to introduce such a fee which readers say is so unpopular ?

    Gatwick is handling so few flights these days anyway so any revenue raised would be minimal compared to normal times.

    On February 5 @BBCTomEdwards tweeted scenes of a deserted Gatwick North Terminal.

    He wrote, “Gatwick airport almost completely deserted. Down to 20 flights a day – usually 500.”

    2 users thanked author for this post.

    SimonS1
    Participant

    Indeed the departure boards at Gatwick are really thin.

    I suppose the thinking is to introduce new charges when numbers are limited, as it avoids bad PR. Then when things pick up you hope it gets lost in the enthusiasm of the re-start.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    canucklad
    Participant

    Trouble with this fee , is that it runs contrary to the current Covid guidelines .

    You could argue , in normal times such a charge could be justified because it’s designed to change customer behaviour making them “greener” .
    Right now encouraging people onto trains and buses doesn’t seem sensible, does it ? So as PR goes, it could and should be a disaster.
    Then again the sheer amount of duplicity that has engulfed all makes it near nigh impossible to form a sensible opinion

    Ultimately, like its big brother in West London, their actions reek of desperation, like a chicken scratching about its coop trying to find now slim pickings

    7 users thanked author for this post.

    Shamsh
    Participant

    Imposing a drop off fee in these times shows very little sensitiveness and will chase away the last remaining pax at LGW. If we have only half the pax we need to double the fare. A very unfeasible concept, but common with monopolists.


    usflyer
    Participant

    Does anyone know if this includes taxis dropping off?


    MartynSinclair
    Participant

    [quote quote=1092957]Imposing a drop off fee in these times shows very little sensitiveness and will chase away the last remaining pax at LGW. If we have only half the pax we need to double the fare. A very unfeasible concept, but common with monopolists.[/quote]

    Captive passenger audience whose only alternatives are expensive and unreliable public transport. As SimonS1 says “I suppose the thinking is to introduce new charges when numbers are limited, as it avoids bad PR”

    A lot of squealing but ultimately passengers will just pay up….


    Inquisitive
    Participant

    This is obviously a revenue generation exercise. If congestion at drop-off area is an issue that could be managed by other means.

    One thing I cannot understand why some institution increases hassles to their customers like this one instead of achieving the same by other means?

    Paying a drop of fees is a hassle. Instead just increase airport passenger fee by 50 pence or whatever amount that is collected in the ticket cost?

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