Ski-Air Travel

We will be in Barcelona 2 extra days before the eclipse group tour starts. Liz has been working diligently on those and other Spain plans. In Barcelona she is focusing on Antoni Gaudi architecture, so maybe the locals will consider her "cultural tourist?"
 
Has any else ever returned a car rental to an airport you have never seen before? That was us in Madrid this morning. Google car rental return, follow the map and signs, and we were there easily at 6:55. Then we get in the terminal and find out it’s the domestic Terminal 4. Terminal 1 is a 15 minute bus ride, of course crammed with people and luggage to be checked (shades of Sydney). We got to Delta check-in at 7:45.

Also we have bus shuttle from gate to plane, another indicator of a Mickey Mouse airport.

With regard to the car rentals the Astro-Trails tour started in Barcelona and ended in Madrid. Therefore the first drop off and second pickup were in the cities not at an airport.
 
Last edited:
Tony Crocker said:
Has any else ever returned a car rental to an airport you have never seen before? That was us in Madrid this morning. Google car rental return, follow the map and signs, and we were there easily at 6:55. Then we get in the terminal and find out it’s the domestic Terminal 4. Terminal 1 is a 15 minute bus ride, of course crammed with people and luggage to be checked (shades of Sydney). We got to Delta check-in at 7:45.

Also we have bus shuttle from gate to plane, another indicator of a Mickey Mouse airport.

With regard to the car rentals the Astro-Trails tour started in Barcelona and ended in Madrid. Therefore the first drop off and second pickup were in the cities not at an airport.
Click to expand...
Sounds stressful. Was there yelling? I would have been.😂
 
Tony Crocker said:
Also we have bus shuttle from gate to plane, another indicator of a Mickey Mouse airport.
Click to expand...
You mean you walked up into the plane on air stairs? Many airline geeks consider being out on the tarmac to be a unique/positive experience these days. The last time I recall doing that was in Brussels on my 1986 People Express 747 flight back to Newark.
 
jamesdeluxe said:
You mean you walked up into the plane on air stairs? Many airline geeks consider being out on the tarmac to be a unique/positive experience these days. The last time I recall doing that was in Brussels on my 1986 People Express 747 flight back to Newark.
Click to expand...
I’ve been on a few flights within the last 10 years that I had to use air stairs. Here’s a pic from three years ago in South Africa. I forget the name of the airport.
IMG_2995.jpeg
 
The discount carriers believe that they can get faster turnarounds on the ground by not using jet bridges while also not paying the airport fees for the more expensive jet bridges. Thus for example Frontier Airlines in Denver is shifting their entire group of gates to be self loading with no jet bridges. Someone somewhere must have real data on it, though I find it unlikely to be much time or money saved. Must be fun in a snowstorm in January...

But for the 'regular' carriers I can't imagine any benefit for their business (can you imagine having your first class passengers walking out there on icy stairs in a rain or snowstorm?) How fast would they drop you as preferred carrier.

20240628_061510.jpg


20240628_061505.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top