Lack of airport transfer information online
By Darren Cronian on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

One email I received last night I could relate to. More of us are making our own arrangements for transfers to the hotel from the airport, simply because it’s actually cheaper than paying the tour operator and you don’t have to sit on the coach while it goes around all of the hotels.

Lack of airport transfer and transportation information online

Consumers need this information

There is a severe lack of information to help holidaymakers get from the airport to the resort or holiday accommodation. I remember reading the results of a survey undertaken by Frommer’s Unlimited that highlighted 70% said airport and transportation is important to help them plan their trip.

So come on, how many holiday companies are providing this important information?

Impressed with EasyJet

I was impressed with the EasyJet in-flight magazine because it provided some basic information on how to get to the destination from the airport, and while it was helpful, it’s probably a little too late when your sat on the plane. Especially if you are like me, and like to be organised.

Airport transfers while booking

Some holiday companies have partnerships with the likes of Resort Hoppa or Holiday Taxis, but have you seen the price of the journeys, it’s not cheap. Usually, it is much cheaper to use public transport or a service provided by the airport to popular cities and towns.

I would love to know why not many sites are providing this information, please add your thoughts.


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16 responses to “Lack of airport transfer information online”

Caitlin | 15 September, 2009 at 9:34 am

Another reason why it’s worth buying guide books!

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Joe | 15 September, 2009 at 6:48 pm

I think this is especially relevant when the airport is actually no where near the city that you’re apparently flying to. Take a ‘flight to Barcelona’ that lands in Gerona Airport for example (65 miles out of Barcelona). Or international flights into London Oxford Airport, 60 miles away from London. Great for the first impressions of first-time visitors unaware that they’re not actually in London at all!

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Graham Robertson | 16 September, 2009 at 2:46 am

I think one of the main issues with airport transfers is the level of technology some of them have (Or dont have). As they change routes they dont bother to update wholesalers or change sites and this can be frustrating. As with most things, I think this is a communication issue- from supplier to wholesaler and airport to passenger.

If only we could all use the same systems!

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April | 16 September, 2009 at 1:16 pm

I think it may as well be the one last reason for travellers go back to travel agencies, after a frustrating information searching experience.

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Darren Cronian | 18 September, 2009 at 10:06 pm

@ Caitlin

The problem with guidebooks is that they get out of date very quicky. The AA guide I bought for Venice, while very helpful, had out of date transport information. I think this type of information would fit nicely within the airport or airline website, but none of them seem to have it.

@ Joe

Oxford airport, not heard of that one. It depends which airline you fly with. The low cost airlines will fly to the airports the furthest away from the main destinations, simply because its cheaper for them.

@ Graham

Technology can be blamed on a lot of the process have with travel, but I think its time companies got with the times and use 1980s technology. More of us are booking our own holidays, so this information needs to be freely available.

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Carl Wiseorn | 21 September, 2009 at 10:17 am

Darren, it is not just the information online but the fact that you are forced to pay for airport transfers by the travel agent. We have told them to remove the airport transfer cost on our holiday because it is cheaper (and much quicker) to make our own way to the hotel.

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Lucy | 21 September, 2009 at 8:13 pm

We have been trying to find how to get from Oslo airport to our hotel in the city centre. I could not find anything on the Ryanair website. I am now worried because our flight arrives late at night and I have heard that the airport is in the middle of nowhere.

Can you help??

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Gary Buckley | 21 September, 2009 at 11:13 pm

Hi Darren

Thank you for writing about this issue. I think the problem is that information becomes out of date very quickly. What might cost £2 for a bus ride from the airport to the hotel in January 2009 will be £3 by the end of the year.

Like most travel information it is inaccurate quickly and that can cause more problems.

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Darren Cronian | 21 September, 2009 at 11:20 pm

@ Lucy

I flew to Oslo with Ryanair a few years ago and I arrived at the airport about 9pm. When you come out of the airport there is a bus service that goes to the centre of Oslo. It isn’t a quick journey and the bus can get full quick.

This link should help you.
http://www.visitoslo.com/en/transport.49112.en.html

I think there’s a train service too, which probably is a lot quicker, but I am not sure what times the trains run. If you contact Visit Oslo they should be able to help you find the best way to get to your hotel.

I hope this helps.

@ Gary

Surely tourism boards have this information, and it could be syndicated on airport and airline websites? I realise that this information changes regularly but its information that consumers need to arrange their holiday.

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Lucy | 21 September, 2009 at 11:40 pm

Thank you Darren!! So helpful

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Gary Buckley | 21 September, 2009 at 11:42 pm

Hi Darren

You are right that the information could be in an XML format that is then embedded into airport and airlines websites but where is the return on time and investment for tourism boards to do this. Time is best spent on giving consumers information about the destination.

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Darren Cronian | 21 September, 2009 at 11:48 pm

@ Gary

Ah that old chestnut again. Return on time and investment. What a cop out! Why is everything about revenue. Surely its about giving consumers a good experiences, so that they return and book a holiday with the company again.

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Joel Brandon | 22 September, 2009 at 9:17 am

Return on investment? Well the point is surely that if you are going to expect customers to part with hundreds of pounds to fly to a destination, the least you should be doing from a customer service perspective is informing them how close to that city the airport is and how you get there and the various costs.

That way they can make an informed decision about the purchase. There was a recent Foresster report saying that the dissatisfaction level with online travel was higher than other sectors and this is one of the many reasons. When you buy any other product you can find all the information you need to make an informed decision and it’s seen as a basic part of the ‘product description’.

If you really want to look at ROI, adding airport and transport information will attract natural search traffic from people who are inevitably looking for the information (if they haven’t had transfers included). So the ROI comes from low cost customer aquisition from search and loyalty.

Further information:

Frommer’s Unlimited ‘Content and User Experience in Online Travel 2009‘ mentioned in the article
Using Digital Channels To Calm The Angry Traveler
Also see the webcredible usability report

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John | 22 September, 2009 at 9:35 am

I think the basic problem now is that Transfers are now costed as a seperate item when you book a holiday. In days gone by you were given a price for your holiday, that included everything In flight meal, transfers, fuel supplement etc. You either accepted the price or went elsewhere but wherever you went the price was all inclusive.

Now adays where evrything is itemised people refuse to pay some of the charges for meals and transfers (I see some companies are now charging for baggage. At most large international airports there are good transport options but at the smaller ones paying for the tour operators transfer option would be cheaper and more convenient. Convenience being the crucial point.

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Alex Bainbridge | 23 September, 2009 at 8:31 am

John
“Everything is itemised” when you buy from a travel agent (due to their UK financial protection requirements). Tour operators don’t have to itemise everything if selling under an ATOL (as a package)

Tour operators use the lack of itemisation to cross-subsidise individual elements. Thats a whole new discussion in itself!

Cheers. Alex

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Alan | 4 October, 2009 at 10:06 am

Savvy travellers should do a little web surfing to find airport transfers to suit their requirements. Having said that, I can remember landing in Lagos in pre-Internet days when gangs of ‘fixers’ would meet you as you stepped onto the tarmac (shows you how long ago it was). One would get you though the health control (remember those little WHO yellow booklets?), another through immigration, another through customs, and then one to ‘arrange transport into the city’. Each fixer would get ‘dash’ money. Then the driver of the cab taking you into town would stop in some unsavoury spot and tell you he was going ‘off duty’ — unless you renegotiated the fare: usually double that already agreed.

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