Grounded Planes - Soon to be a common sight?

BBC News is reporting that British Airways has implemented extensive contingency plans, including training 1,000 staff to work as cabin crew to cover striking workers.  They are also looking to hire charter aircraft to keep as many flights as possible in operation.

A British Airways spokesperson has said that flights from London City Airport and 70% of flights from Gatwick, including all long-haul flights, should be operational.  He went on to say that Heathrow would be able to offer some long and short-haul services.

If you’re planning on travelling on the strike dates, be sure to check with BA for the latest information before you leave to find out if your plans will be affected.

But where’s the “Dogs Who Look Like Their Owners” category?

Dog lovers from around the world flock to the UK each year, either as spectators or entrants in the Crufts competition, to enjoy the pomp and spectacle. But some of us here at gosimply HQ think it would be even more enjoyable if the powers-that-be created a category for dogs who look like their owners.

Sure, keep recognising the best of the best in the dog world, but why not give some love to those folks who (sometimes inexplicably) resemble their pooches? There are definitely some potential award-winners in this video clip:

So if you’ll be visiting the Crufts event this week, see if you can put a bug in someone’s ear and get the ball rolling on this worthy new category. Let us know how you get on.

And remember, if you’re local to the Birmingham area and planning a trip, check us out for the best deals on Birmingham Airport Parking.  You’ll find we have our own award-winners in APH Birmingham and Meteor Meet and Greet Parking, along with five other car park options and loads of customer reviews.

Frequent travellers would do well to consider following the tweets of their local UK airport.  Even those who may just have a casual interest in the comings and goings at airports around the UK may find out some interesting facts.

Twitter's great for travel updates!

Most airports let followers know about current conditions via their Twitter accounts; helpful if you’re preparing for a flight, especially during inclement weather.  The best of the airport tweeters also provide various facts about the history of their airport, or even which celebrities have recently been spotted traipsing through their terminals.  If you’re on the move and you have a WAP-enabled mobile phone, you can take advantage of the real-time updates from the airports, too.

Manchester Airport (manairport) is amongst the most prolific and personable tweeters, letting followers know about local events, contests and a myriad of other facts that may be of interest to the populace.

If you’re interested in the latest news from Liverpool Airport, you can follow LPL_Airport.  They will let you know about new services flying from John Lennon Airport, recent airport events…and they even advised holidaymakers to bring a brolly when it was raining!

Birmingham Airport also maintains a friendly, information Twitter account (bhx_official).  They have links to historical pictures, late-breaking airport-related news and information about local weather conditions.

So there you go…if you thought Twitter was not very useful, or only for those with too much time on their hands, you might need to re-evaluate your opinion and check out the wealth of topical information to be had.

And don’t forget, the gosimply Twitter profile is a great place to find out about the latest deals on Manchester Airport parking, Birmingham Airport parking, parking at Liverpool Airport, and all sorts of other facts of interest to UK travellers.

The gosimply Award - A sign of excellence!

It’s time once again to announce those airport car parks that have gone “above and beyond” to provide excellent service to their customers.

As a true airport parking comparison service, gosimply.com also go above and beyond to help you decide on the best car park for your trip.  So when you search for your parking, keep an eye out for the trophy logo.

Booking a car park that we’ve recognised with our Award helps ensure a friendly, value-for-money experience for you.  It’s no wonder so many smart people gosimply.

We’re all looking for ways to make our lives a bit easier these days.  Most of us are taking advantage of any little luxuries we can find, including on-board gizmos in our vehicles.  (Remember the steering wheel desk?)

The car manufacturer Lexus introduced a “self-parking” feature a few years ago on their LS 460 L model, which some self-styled comedians over at Automobile Magazine Online had some fun with in this video we stumbled across.

Now, a car that parks itself sounds like a great idea, but not everyone has the capital to spend on a geeked-out vehicle for the super-rich.  Did you know, however, that if you’re in need of airport parking but your funds are in a pinch you can still have a car that virtually parks itself?

Booking a Meet and Greet parking service is the ultimate in convenience, whether you’re travelling with the family, toting loads of luggage or just want to treat yourself and feel like a VIP.  You’ll be met at your departure terminal where a professional driver will collect your vehicle and take it to a secure compound, allowing you to proceed directly to check-in.  Then, when you return from your trip, your car will be waiting for you outside the terminal so you can make a quick getaway.

On gosimply.com, you’ll find meet and greet services providing Manchester Airport parking, Birmingham Airport parking, and parking for just about every major airport in the UK.  So next time you’re jetting off on holiday or a business trip, check out the meet and greet parking on offer and find out what it’s like to have a car that “parks itself”.

The gosimply Award - A sign of excellence!

Welcome to 2010 and our first list of gosimply.com Award-winners of the year.

Since September 2008 we’ve been recognising the top-performing car parks, based heavily on actual customers’ ratings.  In the interest of helping you find reliable and trustworthy airport parking, we will continue to highlight those services that perform above-and-beyond the call of duty.

So just look out for the gosimply Award logo next to a car park’s name, and you can have confidence that not only do we recommend them, but their previous customers do too.

We recently received some constructive feedback from RS09 Meet and Greet parking at Gatwick Airport about some negative reviews that were posted by gosimply.com customers regarding their service.

Just as customers can have their say on gosimply.com, so too can our suppliers – it’s only fair, and it’s the way we work.

Christopher Smith, Director of RS09 Meet and Greet Parking offered us the following address to Mrs Fox, who had given their service a mediocre rating due to a 30 minute wait and a mark on her car.

Mr Smith commented, “When a customer rings from the baggage hall they are told how long their vehicle will be, if for any reason it is going to take longer than expected due to traffic or an accident etc we will ring the customer and explain the situation and tell them to wait inside and that we will call them as soon as we are outside with there vehicle. If Mrs Fox had noticed damage on her vehicle that she deems to be our fault, why did she not get in contact with us? if she had we would have dealt with her complaint quickly and efficiently.”

Another customer, Miss Shah, gave the Gatwick Airport parking service a lower rating due to the fact that the service took 20 minutes to pick her up.

Mr Smith states, “it does state that it can take 20 minutes to return the vehicle. This however is very rarely the case and only happens when it is out of our control i.e traffic jams, accidents etc. 9 times out of 10 the car is outside within 5 to 10 minutes.”

As with any review system, gosimply.com recommend that as a visitor, you consider the overall picture, taking all reviews into balance. If you find that a product or service seems very biased, for example, scoring 100% from 100’s of customers, question the intention of the website, and cross check with reviews elsewhere.

We would like to thank Mr Smith for his comments.

The gosimply Award - A sign of excellence!

Happy New Year, and welcome to our final list of gosimply Award-winners for 2009.

Each of the car parks listed below have demonstrated high levels of customer satisfaction and product excellence throughout December, so you can have that extra bit of assurance you’ll be happy with their service when you pre-book your parking with them.  And, as always, each winner is easily recognisable throughout the site; just keep an eye out for the “trophy” logo near the car parks’ names.

The gosimply Award for Customer Satisfaction and Product Excellence – just another way we’re helping smart people gosimply.

Look out for the gosimply award - a sign of excellence

We certainly know how to provide an unbiased, true comparison of airport parking services, but the people best-positioned to evaluate the levels of service given are our valued customers.  So that’s why we base our awards heavily on the thousands of real reviews we receive.

When you see the “gosimply trophy” next to a car park’s name, you can be sure that not only have we evaluated things like security features but also taken into account what previous customers say about things like efficiency of transfers and overall value-for-money.

So if you’re looking for the best airport parking around, be sure to check out this month’s gosimply Award-winners.  When you select one of these outstanding car parks, you’ll find out why we always say smart people gosimply.

Any customers who are due to arrive within these dates will be upgraded to the Prestwick Airport Long Stay Car Park 3, where their existing booking will be honoured.  Long Stay Car Park 3 is within walking distance of the terminal building and offers excellent security for your vehicle, including CCTV, high security fencing and regular security patrols.

If you are affected by this temporary closure and have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email us via our contact form and we will be happy to assist you.