Smith's for Airports

We used Simply Airports in August 2015 with pickup from Doubletree Westminster & transport to LHR. Cost was 40 or 41 GPB.

Arranged transport on their website.

Driver came into the hotel lobby as stated & helped with our luggage.

Very efficient. Lots of traffic backups & driver seemed to know every detour to get us to the airport promptly.

Thanks! That sounds encouraging. I will check their website.

Thank you, JB! As usual, you suggestions and caveats are very helpful.

I have booked Smiths for Airports for my large family group, and they have been very responsive and their quotes reasonable compared to others. My question... My husband will be flying from the US to Gatwick to arrive the day our cruise departs. Since he will be traveling alone from Gatwick to Southampton, would you recommend a private transport service like Smiths? While he has traveled abroad, he has never navigated public transportation, i.e. buses, trains, etc. We've always used private cars, taxis, etc. Any suggestions?

It's up to him really. There is a direct train between Gatwick airport and Southampton at nine minutes past the hour that takes around two hours.

By road on a Saturday it should take about half an hour less, so it might depend on timing.

The good news is that Southern Rail, the train operator, has settled the dispute that has been causing a lot of disruption.

I have booked Smiths for Airports for my large family group, and they have been very responsive and their quotes reasonable compared to others. My question... My husband will be flying from the US to Gatwick to arrive the day our cruise departs. Since he will be traveling alone from Gatwick to Southampton, would you recommend a private transport service like Smiths? While he has traveled abroad, he has never navigated public transportation, i.e. buses, trains, etc. We've always used private cars, taxis, etc. Any suggestions?

Depends on his flight arrival time, and day-of-the-week.

1. http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ has numerous trains, most involve changes but there's a service that's direct from the airport's South Terminal to Southampton central station broadly every hour, journey time just under 2 hours. A pre-purchased ticket can cost as little as £5. At that price the ticket is only good for the train you select - if you miss the train that ticket is worthless.

The walk-up price is significantly higher, anywhere from £20 to £40. So it can make sense to pre-purchase a ticket at about £5 for the train that you expect to catch, and another ticket for an hour later at the same low price in case you are delayed. OK, you are bound to throw one of them away, but it's cheaper than having to buy at the station. Such is the nonsense of UK rail fares.:rolleyes:

If your flight is to the North Terminal add to that 90 minute allowance for airport formalities an extra 15 minutes for the free shuttle between terminals.

The direct service only operates monday thro Saturday. On a sunday there's no direct service, the cheapest (£5 to £15) and by far the easiest is the approx. hourly service which involves a simple change at Ford, a tiny village station. Almost as quick as a direct service, around 2hr journey time. But track engineering works are carried out on sundays - you just might be unlucky and find that there's work on your route and your sunday. When that happens the rail operator runs a bus service between stations each side of the closed part of the track - a very efficient service but it can add to your journey time. You can find out about planned works at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/service_disruptions/currentAndFuture.aspx (your train operator is Southern) but if timing is tight, best to avoid the train on sundays..

Monday thru Saturday the train is as simple a public transport journey as you can imagine, and likely to be your best choice.

And any day of the week it's certainly a good Plan B if other arrangements go belly-up.

2. On sailing day, most cruise lines offer a coach transfer service between Gatwick and the ship. Needs to be pre-booked. Usually very poor value, but worth considering for a singleton. You will need to check the latest flight arrival time for which the cruise line will accept transfer bookings, at a guess it'll be around 11am to noon. A pretty efficient service, a coach plies between terminals 'til it's full, then it sets off for the port and the next coach is brought forward - so unlikely to involve a lot of hanging around at the airport. Once on the coach you can breathe a sigh of relief, getting you to the ship on time is the cruise line's responsibility.

Might well be your best bet.

3. http://www.nationalexpress.com/home.aspx offer a coach (bus) service direct from the airport to Southampton coach station seven days a week. Costs about £23, journey time Allow about 90 minutes from touch-down to bus stop. You are strongly advised to pre-book - the coaches don't have elastic sides. But only a few coaches per day (check their timetable), so if you miss your planned coach you could be in trouble.

This option comes a poor third.

4. Private transfer. At around £100 to £130 it's poor value for just one passenger. Journey time somewhere around 1.5 to 2 hours. Consider http://www.smithsforairports.com again, or http://www.aquacars.co.uk or http://www.westquaycars.com All three are regularly used by CC members.

For the Nat Express bus or the train, add a taxi hop to the cruise terminal - no more than 10 minutes / £10.

JB :)

Thank you for all of the options! I think the cruise transfer might be easiest for him since I won't be around to be the "navigator"! ;)

I have also booked Smiths for our transport from Southampton to London hotel. Appreciated their prompt responses even after business hours in UK! Good to read all your positive feedback about on time pickups and pleasant drivers.

I have also booked Smiths for our transport from Southampton to London hotel. Appreciated their prompt responses even after business hours in UK! Good to read all your positive feedback about on time pickups and pleasant drivers.

How long ago did you correspond with Smith's?

Over the last week ... I've sent in the form on their website AND emailed them twice too ... but NO response at all.

Hmmm ... all the other companies I found from these boards and contacted for quotes were ALL quite responsive ... except Smith's.

Is there something going on with them that I don't know about? Or, maybe there's a secret password ;)

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How long ago did you correspond with Smith's?

 

Over the last week ... I've sent in the form on their website AND emailed them twice too ... but NO response at all.

 

Hmmm ... all the other companies I found from these boards and contacted for quotes were ALL quite responsive ... except Smith's.

 

Is there something going on with them that I don't know about? Or, maybe there's a secret password ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Smiths are very responsive from my experience. They replied off-hours and that was very impressive!

Depends on his flight arrival time, and day-of-the-week.

 

4. Private transfer. At around £100 to £130 it's poor value for just one passenger. Journey time somewhere around 1.5 to 2 hours. Consider www.smithsforairports.com again, or www.aquacars.co.uk or www.westquaycars.com All three are regularly used by CC members.

 

JB

Hi John, I'm trying to book a private transfer from Southampton to Heathrow that is reliable and doesn't require advance payment. Unfortunately Smiths is fully booked. Aquacars need payment in advance. I could not get an online quote from Westquay cars because I couldn't find London Heathrow as a destination. (Maybe I didn't know where to look :confused::o ) Do you know any other good ones I can try? Thanks!

Has anyone used Just Airports? DH and I need a car from County Hall to Heathrow, and their quote of £39 for a medium car sounds reasonable. Just wondering if they are reliable?

How long ago did you correspond with Smith's?

 

Over the last week ... I've sent in the form on their website AND emailed them twice too ... but NO response at all.

 

Hmmm ... all the other companies I found from these boards and contacted for quotes were ALL quite responsive ... except Smith's.

 

Is there something going on with them that I don't know about? Or, maybe there's a secret password ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

That's not at all like Smiths. I wonder whether perhaps either your form and e-mails went into their junk file, or their replies into your junk mail file.

Check your junk file.

And mebbe e-mail them from another e-mail account?

Hi John, I'm trying to book a private transfer from Southampton to Heathrow that is reliable and doesn't require advance payment. Unfortunately Smiths is fully booked. Aquacars need payment in advance. I could not get an online quote from Westquay cars because I couldn't find London Heathrow as a destination. (Maybe I didn't know where to look :confused::o ) Do you know any other good ones I can try? Thanks!

No, Heathrow isn't one of the destinations on West Quay Cars' on-line quotes - those are more-local destinations - so e-mail them for a quote. Expect to pay more than for Smiths or for Aquacars.

All three are well-established & trustworthy, though if you pay by credit card your money is safe anyway.

JB :)

Smiths was fully booked for my date as well. West Quay quoted me £100 for transportation from Southampton to Heathrow. Is this fair or should I keep looking?

How long ago did you correspond with Smith's?

 

Over the last week ... I've sent in the form on their website AND emailed them twice too ... but NO response at all.

 

Hmmm ... all the other companies I found from these boards and contacted for quotes were ALL quite responsive ... except Smith's.

 

Is there something going on with them that I don't know about? Or, maybe there's a secret password ;)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I know from experience that they have trouble replying to comcast.net e-mail addresses. Once I switch over to my hotmail account things are fine.

Smiths was fully booked for my date as well. West Quay quoted me £100 for transportation from Southampton to Heathrow. Is this fair or should I keep looking?

You can shave about £15 off that price by hunting around.

But £100 isn't unfair, and West Quay have an excellent reputation.

JB :)

We have a reservation with Smiths for an upcoming trip (LHR to Southhampton). Surprised they didn't take a deposit or prepay, but their price quite was better than others I checked.

Question -- Does the driver take credit card for payment? And can tip be added onto the credit card? I usually get local cash from ATM but since I assume they'll be waiting for us right outside customs, I may not have time to get local currency right there.

I'm surprised their website doesn't have any info about payment on it. The whole website is kinda weak, honestly.

I rented from Smiths back in 2012. As you've said, there was no discussion of a deposit or payment method in the email exchanges. I could only find Travelex ATMs at Heathrow so the driver stopped briefly at a service plaza on the motorway to Southampton. Remembering back I guess I paid him in cash.

The person who booked the reservation completely misunderstood the time it would require for us to clear customs and retrieve our bags. I told her my flight arrived at 0740 and she scheduled the pickup for that time. I pointed out that processing in would take time and she replied that the driver would be in the terminal at 0800. It took us an hour to process in and my phone took forever to sync into the foreign network so I wasn't able to call and let them know we were delayed. The driver was will there when we cleared but was about to!give up on us.

We have a reservation with Smiths for an upcoming trip (LHR to Southhampton). Surprised they didn't take a deposit or prepay, but their price quite was better than others I checked.

 

Question -- Does the driver take credit card for payment? And can tip be added onto the credit card? I usually get local cash from ATM but since I assume they'll be waiting for us right outside customs, I may not have time to get local currency right there.

 

I'm surprised their website doesn't have any info about payment on it. The whole website is kinda weak, honestly.

We used Smiths in 2015 and I phoned in our credit card # then signed for it with the driver. We are using them again this year.

We have a reservation with Smiths for an upcoming trip (LHR to Southhampton). Surprised they didn't take a deposit or prepay, but their price quite was better than others I checked.

 

Question -- Does the driver take credit card for payment? And can tip be added onto the credit card? I usually get local cash from ATM but since I assume they'll be waiting for us right outside customs, I may not have time to get local currency right there.

 

I'm surprised their website doesn't have any info about payment on it. The whole website is kinda weak, honestly.

I had the same question re our bookings with them and the answer I received from Smith's----"Hi, you can pay cash on the day or by card , credit cards have a £3 per trip charge.

Kind regards Sharon

Smiths for Airports

Tel: 023 9283 1111"

Another post mentioned a problem with the collection time since Smith's shows the actual arrival time of our flight and that concerned me. The website does say the driver monitors the flights but nothing is said about the hour or so it will take to pick up our luggage and clear customs. That being said, I sent another email requesting that the collection time be adjusted and added an extra hour and half.

I had the same question re our bookings with them and the answer I received from Smith's----"Hi, you can pay cash on the day or by card , credit cards have a £3 per trip charge.

Kind regards Sharon

 

Smiths for Airports

Tel: 023 9283 1111"

 

Another post mentioned a problem with the collection time since Smith's shows the actual arrival time of our flight and that concerned me. The website does say the driver monitors the flights but nothing is said about the hour or so it will take to pick up our luggage and clear customs. That being said, I sent another email requesting that the collection time be adjusted and added an extra hour and half.

Thanks. Since they're adding a roughly 3% surcharge for using credit card, I think I'll just go to Wells Fargo here and get some currency instead. They add about a 4% surcharge (not technically a surcharge but it's built-in to the exchange rate). That way I have a little tip money too in case they don't have a tip line on the charge slip. I know tipping is always a trickier issue for each country, but it sounds like for a private hire car in the UK it's appropriate to do a "round up" tip. Our quote is for £92 (£85 + £7 for "expenses" for an MPV from LHR to Southampton Ocean Cruise Terminal) so I'll probably just plan to give them £100.

And good point in the pick-up time. I notice my email shows the Collection Time matches our flight arrival time too (10am). I think I'll email them back and request 11am. We're flying in on cruise day, so that should get us to the port right about when boarding starts at 12:30... assuming all goes well.

Also, there's no mention of a pick-up point at all. I'm just assuming it's right outside customs on T3. Probably an obvious spot where they all line up with their signs, but it would be nice if the email at least mentioned it. Although maybe they plan to send a reminder email out the week before or something. Either way, not too impressed with their sparse info.

I booked with Smiths for our cruise in June - LHR to Southampton. I was concerned about the timing also and asked for clarification, this is the response I received.

we will monitor the fight and allow time forbaggage collection etc. The driver will meet you inside the arrivals hall witha board with your name on. You can pay cash to the driver or by card, creditcards will carry a £3 per trip charge.

I booked with Smiths for our cruise in June - LHR to Southampton. I was concerned about the timing also and asked for clarification, this is the response I received.

 

 

we will monitor the fight and allow time forbaggage collection etc. The driver will meet you inside the arrivals hall witha board with your name on. You can pay cash to the driver or by card, creditcards will carry a £3 per trip charge.

I received the exact same notice for our scheduled LHR pick up next week

Srpilo

I received the exact same notice for our scheduled LHR pick up next week

 

Srpilo

I tried to change our pick up time to add in an extra hour but received this email back..

"Hi, we have to put down the time you land but the driver will wait until the flight is baggage in hall before coming in the arrivals hall."

All of these taxi companies can monitor flight arrivals in real time. This is one reason why they always want the flight number.

After hearing good reports about Smiths, I contacted them for a quote. We will be coming in at 2245 on a Thursday and need transportation from LHR to Hampton Waterloo. The quote I received, I felt was pricey, so I contacted them again and said maybe I didn't fill out the form correctly. No, the below is the price for 3 adults. Am I wrong thinking this is more than what it should be? Is it because it is a late night pick-up?

Hi, the cost would be £80 plus £7 parking fee and £11.50 congestion charge