Luton DART and Luton Airport Parkway Updates

[Bald Rick]

To put the DART charge in context, parking is £35 per day in the long stay car park. I know there are parking packages available, but they're still pretty pricey over a week or more.

it isn’t.

its £30 per day, if you’re stupid enough to just turn up. Very few people do this.

I can book now, to arrive in 2 hours time, for £14/day. Or for the car park next to the terminal (a 3 minute walk) for £20/day.

 

[Haywain]

Announced today that the fare for a one-way journey will be £4.90. There will be half price tickets available to Luton residents if bought in advance and concessionary bus pass holders will travel free of charge.

 

[Mojo]

Announced today that the fare for a one-way journey will be £4.90. There will be half price tickets available to Luton residents if bought in advance and concessionary bus pass holders will travel free of charge.

Jeepers that’s expensive!

 

[Watershed]

Announced today that the fare for a one-way journey will be £4.90. There will be half price tickets available to Luton residents if bought in advance and concessionary bus pass holders will travel free of charge.

I wasn't far off then!

 

[JaJaWa]

How's that compare per mile/km cost to Heathrow Express?

 

[Joe Paxton]

Does indeed seem somewhat pricey, but I guess LLAL (London Luton Airport Ltd, itself wholly owned by Luton council) will want to work towards recouping the money invested in the DART project.

Plus of course it's Luton Airport, so it wasn't ever going to be that cheap!

People will of course complain, bargain hunters will point to the cheaper bus service available near the newer entrance to Parkway station (next to the Hampton by Hilton hotel), a few will advocate shank's pony (and to be fair it's only a mile and a half), but most people will stump up the money as it'll be by far and away the most convenient way of getting between station and airport.

 

[jon0844]

How's that compare per mile/km cost to Heathrow Express?

Not well!

 

[Skimble19]

Announced today that the fare for a one-way journey will be £4.90. There will be half price tickets available to Luton residents if bought in advance and concessionary bus pass holders will travel free of charge.

So considerably more than the current bus service then. The bus may be slow and somewhat knackered, but that’s quite a cost difference.

 

[Haywain]

So considerably more than the current bus service then. The bus may be slow and somewhat knackered, but that’s quite a cost difference.

Well, I suppose we can't have people using Luton Airport without them having something to moan about.

 

[jon0844]

I doubt people will moan that much, if at all. People expect to pay for just about everything when flying these days, so it's just another cost to add to the list - then tell friends and family the flight was 'only £20'.

Like Heathrow Express, plenty of people will gladly pay the premium for the speed and convenience benefits.

 

[Watershed]

I will simply add £10 to the cost of any return flight from Luton in my calculations! Whilst it's frankly an utter ripoff, £10 is unlikely to be the deciding factor between airports; the timings are generally much more important to me.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

I doubt people will moan that much, if at all. People expect to pay for just about everything when flying these days, so it's just another cost to add to the list - then tell friends and family the flight was 'only £20'.

Like Heathrow Express, plenty of people will gladly pay the premium for the speed and convenience benefits.

People who want to pay money for speed, convenience and a premium travel experience fly British Airways from Heathrow, not budget airlines from Luton.

 

[pdeaves]

I suppose, "you pay your money, you take your choice". If you want the speed and convenience of the link, you pay the fare for the link. If you don't, you pay whatever lower fare (including zero, if you want to walk) for the alternative. Put another way, the more you pay, the more convenience you get. That's usual throughout plenty of other businesses (cheapo hotel vs luxury hotel, for example).

 

[dk1]

Announced today that the fare for a one-way journey will be £4.90. There will be half price tickets available to Luton residents if bought in advance and concessionary bus pass holders will travel free of charge.

No Privs either.

 

[bluenoxid]

Probably worth looking at other similar set ups and the total cost of the journey from London.

It is a fiver for 10 minutes dropping off

 

[pdeaves]

No Privs either.

Not surprising, as it isn't a National Rail operation (yes, I know there are exceptions here and there).

 

[dk1]

Not surprising, as it isn't a National Rail operation (yes, I know there are exceptions here and there).

No I know but rail staff will sell it with incentive

 

[jon0844]

People who want to pay money for speed, convenience and a premium travel experience fly British Airways from Heathrow, not budget airlines from Luton.

Some business customers will have a favoured airline, or use an agency that do, but I will fly from all London airports and I don't choose the airport, I choose the most appropriate flight. It may not always be the same carrier and will depend on when and where I'm going.

My personal preferred airport is RAF Northolt as the plane leaves when you're ready!

 

[Techniquest]

£4.90 is chingy, but I think it will be worth it. I barely jet off anywhere, especially from Luton even though I like the airport, so it's part of the experience for me. I won't be there to use it until next year, maybe in January 2023, so if it's late opening it won't bother me. Definitely keen to do it though!

 

[Haywain]

I won't be there to use it until next year, maybe in January 2023,

The current forecast is that an opening date will be announced early in 2023.

 

[Techniquest]

The current forecast is that an opening date will be announced early in 2023.

I must have missed that there, oops! *facepalm* Thanks for that, I would have been annoyed if I'd gone booking flights from Luton for January to find it not open.

I'll definitely still do the new link when it's open, it'll certainly make it easier to convert over from doing National Express to Luton Airport. I've never done that shuttle bus and I have no intention of ever doing so!

Time to return to planning an adventure out of Heathrow for January, I wonder where I'll go!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Announced today that the fare for a one-way journey will be £4.90. There will be half price tickets available to Luton residents if bought in advance and concessionary bus pass holders will travel free of charge.

Might stick with Arriva at that price!

 

[plugwash]

Announced today that the fare for a one-way journey will be £4.90. There will be half price tickets available to Luton residents if bought in advance and concessionary bus pass holders will travel free of charge.

Do you know if there will be any through ticketing for rail users? or will they have to pay seperate fares for the train and the DART?

 

[jon0844]

Do you know if there will be any through ticketing for rail users? or will they have to pay seperate fares for the train and the DART?

This is probably the issue that is delaying the service, as they'll surely want through ticketing and easy payment methods. Imagine the chaos of people stepping off a train and having to queue up to buy another ticket.

It was already a pain for the bus, and this new service is about speed and convenience - so they need to get things right from the off.

 

[Haywain]

Do you know if there will be any through ticketing for rail users? or will they have to pay seperate fares for the train and the DART?

An appropriate ‘station’ name already exists in the RSP data (something like Luton DART Airport) so there must be such an intention.

 

[pdeaves]

An appropriate ‘station’ name already exists in the RSP data (something like Luton DART Airport) so there must be such an intention.

"Luton Airport Parkway Dart", LPD.

 

[baz962]

Might stick with Arriva at that price!

You can afford it , treat yourself

 

[norbitonflyer]

There will be half price tickets available to Luton residents if bought in advance and concessionary bus pass holders will travel free of charge.

Is that all concessionary bus pass holders, or just those in Luton? If the former, I'll wait!

 

[Mikey C]

I will simply add £10 to the cost of any return flight from Luton in my calculations! Whilst it's frankly an utter ripoff, £10 is unlikely to be the deciding factor between airports; the timings are generally much more important to me.

It's not insignificant though, if you have flights from Luton, Stansted or Gatwick to choose from at similar times. With Stansted and Gatwick, the rail fare takes directly you to the airport.

And of course there are other options to get to Luton, like the National Express A1 coach.

 

[dk1]

Is that all concessionary bus pass holders, or just those in Luton? If the former, I'll wait!

I would imagine that is only for Luton residents as the airport provides the council with much revenue. I wouldn’t see any reason to offer it on a national level anymore than the tube or metrolink do for example.