OldBlueLady
Junior Blues Coordinator⭐⭐
No, 4 times a week from what I read!Not 3 flights a day as was, presumably?
No, 4 times a week from what I read!Not 3 flights a day as was, presumably?
That should attract some high quality travellers to the airport.Amsterdam added from May 24th
Or just highThat should attract some high quality travellers to the airport.
Horses for courses I think.Our younger daughter (29) is happy to come over to London from Paris (where she's based) on the Eurostar and then on to SOS.Coming from Barna my wife and I will fly over to London,stay overnight and then get the train down to SOS.I miss not being able to fly over to or at least back from SOS though.For what it's worth, my partner and I started travelling abroad by train on a whim last year and haven't looked back (until the last few weeks/months when everything started falling apart). Eurostar are now running four trains/day to Amsterdam, supposedly soon increasing to five, and looks to be slowly taking over the London-Amsterdam market in the way it already has London-Paris and London-Brussels.
Not hard to see why. It takes just under 4 hours, but you can hop straight on a train in central London and hop off in central Amsterdam. No hour-long train/drive/taxi to the airport either side, no horrendous queues, security checks are much more relaxed and much quicker, and the trains are a darn sight more pleasant than a Ryanair flight. Even when flying goes well it's stressful, you get treated like cattle and you spend most of your time waiting in queues or getting to and from airports rather than with a book or a laptop out.
I love Southend Airport but I'd happily let it crumble to the ground in exchange for the Eurostar becoming a lot more affordable. But for as long as it continues to cost an arm and a leg, it would be nice to have the option of more flights...
Went to Lille just before Christmas by Eurostar and it was a fab experienceFor what it's worth, my partner and I started travelling abroad by train on a whim last year and haven't looked back (until the last few weeks/months when everything started falling apart). Eurostar are now running four trains/day to Amsterdam, supposedly soon increasing to five, and looks to be slowly taking over the London-Amsterdam market in the way it already has London-Paris and London-Brussels.
Not hard to see why. It takes just under 4 hours, but you can hop straight on a train in central London and hop off in central Amsterdam. No hour-long train/drive/taxi to the airport either side, no horrendous queues, security checks are much more relaxed and much quicker, and the trains are a darn sight more pleasant than a Ryanair flight. Even when flying goes well it's stressful, you get treated like cattle and you spend most of your time waiting in queues or getting to and from airports rather than with a book or a laptop out.
I love Southend Airport but I'd happily let it crumble to the ground in exchange for the Eurostar becoming a lot more affordable. But for as long as it continues to cost an arm and a leg, it would be nice to have the option of more flights...
For what it's worth, my partner and I started travelling abroad by train on a whim last year and haven't looked back (until the last few weeks/months when everything started falling apart). Eurostar are now running four trains/day to Amsterdam, supposedly soon increasing to five, and looks to be slowly taking over the London-Amsterdam market in the way it already has London-Paris and London-Brussels.
Not hard to see why. It takes just under 4 hours, but you can hop straight on a train in central London and hop off in central Amsterdam. No hour-long train/drive/taxi to the airport either side, no horrendous queues, security checks are much more relaxed and much quicker, and the trains are a darn sight more pleasant than a Ryanair flight. Even when flying goes well it's stressful, you get treated like cattle and you spend most of your time waiting in queues or getting to and from airports rather than with a book or a laptop out.
I love Southend Airport but I'd happily let it crumble to the ground in exchange for the Eurostar becoming a lot more affordable. But for as long as it continues to cost an arm and a leg, it would be nice to have the option of more flights...
Day to day not really, which is pretty crap. You just have to try and book as far in advance as you can. But every now and then they do a flash sale for a few days where it can be a fair bit cheaper - I know some people who have family on the continent who wait until these come around and pretty much book their travel for the year. I've never managed to make use of one, they always seem to come at unhelpful times, like the last one which was just before Christmas. I'm sure that's by design of course.Are there deals to be had? Every time I look at doing this, its significantly more expensive than jumping on a plane.
For what it's worth, my partner and I started travelling abroad by train on a whim last year and haven't looked back (until the last few weeks/months when everything started falling apart). Eurostar are now running four trains/day to Amsterdam, supposedly soon increasing to five, and looks to be slowly taking over the London-Amsterdam market in the way it already has London-Paris and London-Brussels.
Not hard to see why. It takes just under 4 hours, but you can hop straight on a train in central London and hop off in central Amsterdam. No hour-long train/drive/taxi to the airport either side, no horrendous queues, security checks are much more relaxed and much quicker, and the trains are a darn sight more pleasant than a Ryanair flight. Even when flying goes well it's stressful, you get treated like cattle and you spend most of your time waiting in queues or getting to and from airports rather than with a book or a laptop out.
I love Southend Airport but I'd happily let it crumble to the ground in exchange for the Eurostar becoming a lot more affordable. But for as long as it continues to cost an arm and a leg, it would be nice to have the option of more flights...
Though you still have the time of travel from home to London and back to add to your 4 hours.For what it's worth, my partner and I started travelling abroad by train on a whim last year and haven't looked back (until the last few weeks/months when everything started falling apart). Eurostar are now running four trains/day to Amsterdam, supposedly soon increasing to five, and looks to be slowly taking over the London-Amsterdam market in the way it already has London-Paris and London-Brussels.
Not hard to see why. It takes just under 4 hours, but you can hop straight on a train in central London and hop off in central Amsterdam. No hour-long train/drive/taxi to the airport either side, no horrendous queues, security checks are much more relaxed and much quicker, and the trains are a darn sight more pleasant than a Ryanair flight. Even when flying goes well it's stressful, you get treated like cattle and you spend most of your time waiting in queues or getting to and from airports rather than with a book or a laptop out.
I love Southend Airport but I'd happily let it crumble to the ground in exchange for the Eurostar becoming a lot more affordable. But for as long as it continues to cost an arm and a leg, it would be nice to have the option of more flights...
Are there deals to be had? Every time I look at doing this, its significantly more expensive than jumping on a plane.
And arguably you don't just hop on a train - I think you're advised to arrive 1 and half hours before train departs (30 mins for 1st class)Though you still have the time of travel from home to London and back to add to your 4 hours.
Indeed, and when it goes wrong it can be a nightmare. We went to Lille a few years back and the trains were completely screwed. It took us about 2 hours to get through passport control and were then stranded on the platform for another 2 hours with virtually no access to food or water.And arguably you don't just hop on a train - I think you're advised to arrive 1 and half hours before train departs (30 mins for 1st class)
My last company was Dutch and we used to fly to Amsterdam all the time. Was pleased to hear that all business travel there now has to be via Eurostar.For what it's worth, my partner and I started travelling abroad by train on a whim last year and haven't looked back (until the last few weeks/months when everything started falling apart). Eurostar are now running four trains/day to Amsterdam, supposedly soon increasing to five, and looks to be slowly taking over the London-Amsterdam market in the way it already has London-Paris and London-Brussels.
Not hard to see why. It takes just under 4 hours, but you can hop straight on a train in central London and hop off in central Amsterdam. No hour-long train/drive/taxi to the airport either side, no horrendous queues, security checks are much more relaxed and much quicker, and the trains are a darn sight more pleasant than a Ryanair flight. Even when flying goes well it's stressful, you get treated like cattle and you spend most of your time waiting in queues or getting to and from airports rather than with a book or a laptop out.
I love Southend Airport but I'd happily let it crumble to the ground in exchange for the Eurostar becoming a lot more affordable. But for as long as it continues to cost an arm and a leg, it would be nice to have the option of more flights...