Highwayman Parking near Cardiff Airport is just one of our award-winners for August.

But it’s not only us who say these car parks are worthy of your attention whenever you’re searching for great airport parking. Our awards are heavily influenced by the reviews we’ve received from our previous customers; people who have actually used the car parks they’re reviewing. Who better to give you an honest opinion of the service provided?

So join us, please, in commending the winners for the month of August:

Fire crews were dispatched in the early hours of Sunday and found several cars alight.  The police, however, have said they are not treating the fire as suspicious, and it was believed to have been caused by an electrical fault in one of the cars.

So how will this affect you if you’ll be needing Long Stay parking at Stansted Airport within the next few days?  It remains to be seen what impact this will have on availability of spaces, but we will let our customers know as and when we receive any details.

And remember, we also have Stansted Airport Mid Stay Parking, Orange Park and Ride and a whopping 12 Meet and Greet services to choose from, including Meteor Parking.

The Crafty Traveller at the Mail Online wrote a terrific article last week giving tips on how to keep your holiday costs down.  Lo and behold, gosimply.com was singled out for having “loads of revealing customer reviews”.  When recommending airport parking price comparison services, the author also praised gosimply as “one of the best“, and said we were a great source for valet parking services to boot.

Then, just as our smiles about that glowing review began to fade a bit, along came a piece on the Mirror.co.uk website titled “20 ways to cut the cost of your holiday“.   Number 4 included a recommendation for travellers to visit gosimply.com to search for the best on and off-site airport parking deals at UK airports.

It always means a lot to us when we receive these kinds of kudos, because they confirm for us that we’re doing things right, and that we’re helping thousands of customers save money on not only their airport parking, but airport hotels, lounges, travel insurance and car hire too.

We’ve always believed it, and the national press continue to agree – smart people gosimply.

Congratulations, therefore, are in order for the following car parks for their award-winning commitment to excellence:

This guide gives you 10 things for you and your family to help beat the stress!

1. Take out travel insurance before you fly. Many insurance plans cover you in the case of cancelled flights, but always read the small print and know your rights before you take it out.
2. Check your flight status BEFORE you leave for the airport. If it’s cancelled, you have already saved yourself the stress! There are plenty of online flight monitors that work in real time and teletext still works!
3. Check your flight status when you arrive and crucially, BEFORE you go through security. If it is cancelled before you go through, go and check with the airline desk when you are likely to be able to board the next flight.
4. Leave plenty of time to check in and get through security. Most airports are now suggesting a 3 hour advanced arrival for flights.
5. Use your hand luggage to pack things that will keep you busy – Bring a charged iPod or iPhone, handheld computer console. Bring a paperback book you’ve been meaning to read and ensure you have a colouring book and small pencils for the little children.
6. Make sure you have added several websites to your phone bookmarks before you set off. For example, if you are flying out of Gatwick, make sure you have a local taxi firm on your bookmarks and a list of Gatwick hotels, just in case you have to wait for an extended time. You can also add the BBC news site, your airlines contact details and their homepage to ensure you have all of the information should a problem arise.
7. Drink plenty of liquids. Don’t take any through the security with you, but ensure you have enough coins to buy water and fruit juice drinks when you are waiting. Avoid coffee and tea, it will heighten your stress levels and dehydrate you.
8. Don’t forget the internet. Most airports have wireless internet available, sometimes free, especially if you already have a mobile phone contract. Check out what you can get from your phone provider before setting off and make sure you have a credit card handy to get online at the airport lounges. This expense can sometimes be refunded if you are facing a cancellation and you can prove you needed the internet to contact loved ones, research hotels or find alternative flight.
9. Play the airport game with your children. Give them a piece of paper and a pen to write down all of the different airlines they can see through the airport lounges and award a small prize for whoever finds the most. Play Airport Snooker with them, can they find a plane with red on it and then a plane with yellow and then green and so on. It’ll keep them amused for hours.
10. Get back to the main terminal for shops and restaurants. Don’t forget this one; it is easily overlooked when you are cooped up in a lounge waiting for a flight. You do have the right to go back in to the terminal, just check with the security people the way you came in, there is usually a way to get back out. Be warned however, you will need to come back through security again so make sure you leave enough time once your flight is announced again.

Summer Travel Chaos at UK Airports

If the proposal for strike action is agreed, then we could see major disruption to flights around the BAA owned airports such as Heathrow and Glasgow to name but two. If you add in the threat of more industrial action by British Airways cabin crew, our summer getaways could be thrown in to chaos.

So what’s the solution? For some, there is no solution, for those who still have a choice, it would appear you need to fly from Gatwick and avoid British Airways. Some of the Gatwick airport hotels are much nicer than the Heathrow ones, including the Gatwick Hilton and some of the airport services seem to be much better these days too, so its not like you don’t have a valid alternative to Heathrow, even if it is a little further away from home. Even then, the Gatwick Express that runs from Victoria has you there in less than 15 minutes from central London.

It probably won’t be as simple as changing airport, as others hurry to snap up flights on alternative operators going out of alternative airports not owned by BAA. The congestion and pressure on airline seats inevitably mean more chaos as a result, even if you are proactive about it now.

Simply put, we need the government to step in and sort this constant mess out. Year after year we see the same problems arise and yet our government sits by idle, too busy collecting the cash off the increased duty on airplane fuel to do anything about it.

We could just vote with our feet and stay at home, but then we’d just moan about the British weather, right?

Join us in congratulating the following car parks for their award-winning commitment to excellence:

Airparks Handforth Dean is closing its doors on 18 June

Any customers who have previously booked their parking at Airparks Handforth Dean will be offered a free upgrade to Securapark or JetParks, both of which are located closer to the airport.  New details and directions to the car parks will be sent to all existing bookings via email.  (Holiday Extras will continue to operate their Airparks Meet & Greet parking service for Manchester Airport.)

As always, your best source for a non-biased airport parking price-comparison service is gosimply.com, where you can choose from 21 different Manchester Airport parking services including Purple Parking Manchester, APH Manchester and the Manchester Airport Multi-Storey Car Park.

Better than toast alone?

What was it?  A slice of toast with a small packet of jam in your least favourite flavour?  Or was it a day-old apple danish you had to struggle to chew and swallow?  A child-size packet of cold cereal maybe?  I suppose your day could only go ‘up’ from there…

How does this sound, though?  Imagine tucking in to a FREE hot breakfast that includes scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, warm pastries and fresh, hot coffee (including cappuccino and espresso)!

No, you’re not dreaming.  All this can be yours when you book a hotel stay at one of the locations currently on offer from gosimply.com, like the Holiday Inn Express Birmingham or the Stansted Airport Express by Holiday Inn.

And remember, no matter which Holiday Inn Express you choose, breakfast is included in the price of your room, leaving you with a full stomach and slightly fuller pockets to boot.

Here, then, are our winners for excellence in airport parking services for the month of May: