Cheers. Have checked out skyparksecure.com and they charge £21 and are 5 mins away, seems ok to me unless anyone can say different, will need to get booked in by Friday.

Doncaster airport - 1st time from here, and will not be the last ! Great set up and easy to get around.
We ended up using skyparksecure/elite parking and found them excellent for the short transfer £21 for 7 days, you can't knock that.
I did observe the car parks at the airport and flying at 7pm Friday night found them very busy with plenty of cars driving round for hidden spaces, they could do with some sort of attendant to point you to the empty spaces, when you think what they charge for parking there, surely they could afford the wages for these guys ?
Spike.

Landed back at Doncaster Robin Hood Airport yesterday afternoon from Malaga with a very bumpy (heart stopping) landing due to the wind.
Getting through passport control and the pleasure of seeing our suitcases in the first batch loaded onto the carousal made the exit very quick......no gestapo HM's custom officer interrogation this time.

However, departing on the 19th September was another nightmare, we arrived at the airport just before 5.30 am for a 7.35 am flight and we joined a queue that thankfully now "bends" within the terminal building, instead of directly opposite the check-in desks and out of the doors.
OMG, what a queue, there were 2 check-in desks open, going at snail speed and I presume that they hadn't been opened very long.......after an hour at 6.22am, I got the camcorder out to film this because I'm sure people must find this hard to believe.......
They are slashing jobs at Donny to save pennies and couldn't give a flying figadora about the passengers at stupid o'clock hours.
I really fear for the future of this airport, I'm a local and it's such a shame, they already had a great start with the runway being in situ from the old Finningley RAF days, and what with the expensive landing fees, Doncaster Council giving no business concessions on the rates and lack of road signs and promotion..... It's bleeding money every day from its arteries....IMO: it just needs Thomson to pull out and that will be the death of Robin Hood. (again !)

http://www.doncaster-sheffield-airport-guide.co.uk/news/

The future really is not looking good for Donny..there are fewer and fewer Thomsn flights operating from there and the supplement to actually go on the ones that are are extortionate..or you really get totally flight times. Even Ryanair flys less and less from there (but I don't know how much of that is to do with them cutting back to cut costs as they are doing this all over the country).
The girl in our local Thomson did tell me that they were hoping to get flights back there to Malta next year, which would have been great for us..but there has not been a sniff of owt like that there.

In the next breath, they are on about opening another terminal, transporting more freight etc and even having a hotel there...then all the tlk dies down again. That airport could be so much more than what it is....it is so disappointing.

It would be a shame if the airport had to close we went to Turkey from there in September and would have booked to go to cyprus next year but Thomsons have changed the flight timings again,they were flying to Cancun from there and again Thomsons stopped the flight,its really handy for us just down the road and better than the trail to either EMA or MAN,as the holiday market shrinks i am afraid it could mean the death knell for Donny.

We live about 10 miles from Donny Airport...probably less if you go the back roads and it really would be shame for it to shut..but I cant see it being shut. When it first opened, I used to work there and even helped get the building ready for the opening of the new passport control area and viewing area in the departure lounge (floor 2)..and there was talk then of how many shops and business's were going to be there..big big names. it was even mentioned that Virgin were interested in buying the airport as it was one of the few places with a runway that could take the big Airbus..but it all fizzled out. Peel Holdings who own the airport were awful to work for and cut back costs at every opportunity...they even started to charge the staff to park there daily ( in the Hayford House car park)..and morale hit rock bottom. So many staff left and so many just disappeared with cut backs. the place will never be as big as Manchester Airport or East Midlands but it has the potential to be so much more than what it is. I bet alot of people dont even know that there are 3 extra departure gates downstairs that hardly ever get used.
Why build something so magnificent if it is not going to be used? There needs to be questions asked as to why so few airlines actually use the place....

I'm very disappointed.
The airport had been opened for quite some time before I got around to finding a flight/ holiday package from there, which cost less than going to East Mids, and the experience was a total disaster, with a bus trip down to Coventry.
I was so angry at the time and vowed that I wouldn't ever use the airport again due the lack of "back-up" facilities, but, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and booked again.

I've used it a few times since then, and getting home after clearing the Airport just over 30 minutes later, (depending on the traffic and the taxi driver) is an absolute godsend compared to travelling to Manchester, East Mids, Humberside or Leeds/Bradford, but I'm sorry to say that the organisation in place for early morning flights, is still a complete joke.

Whilst I was in Torremolinos in September, I booked a private apartment for next June with a little bit of flexibility on the dates until I sorted the flights out when we got home.
Thomson are only operating 2 flights a week to Malaga out of Donny (Tues and Friday).
The Friday flight times are and I've been checking the prices for a few weeks for the Tuesday flight for 2 people return, which is over £600. That's taking the Michael and who in their right mind is going to pay those prices.? so, It looks like Manchester here we come, which I didn't want, I really don't like the journey over the Pennines.

Who to blame.? Donny Council for not giving them any business concessions while the airport got established with several airlines in there and together with the expensive landing fees these won't attract competition into the airport.

The nails are being driven into the coffin every day and Thomson is the airport's life blood at the moment, but if Thomson pull out"¦.I honestly think you can say Goodbye to Robin Hood.

Sanji

Thomson are only operating 2 flights a week to Malaga out of Donny (Tues and Friday)

but thats my point..they used to do 2 a day...6.15am ish and 1.30pm ish...

they used to alicante every day, malaga every day, dublin twice a day, jersey and prague twice a day..valencia, paphos, mahon, malta, tenerife, gran can...and now?????

prices are higher..up to £50 supplement on some flights. I was told my someone that it is because of the flight paths they have to take..(i don't know what that means) but i was told all flights head in the manchester direction and then take the routes that flights from manchester take as there are no flight paths from Donny..that truly confused me and if anyone can explain that it would be brill.

Hi Val
Picking up on the quote above, which you made some time back......
Whilst taxi(ing) on the runway to reach the appropriate runway for take off, on my last flight to Malaga, the cock-pit crew were giving info on the system about the route and flight times, and yes, we headed up to Manchester.

I can't think of any reason why the flights are being reduced, except that the operational costs at Donny because of the business rates and landing fees, are more expensive than other airports, so, it's not profitable for airlines to use Donny when they can use, for example, Manchester cheaper.

Sanji

Sanji + Val

Your query about routes...

pilots can't just take off and point themselves at where they are going. The airspace is controlled in very specific lanes which work just like a motorway network but in 3D because of differences in heights. There are a few routes running the length of England (the main one actually shadows the M1 for much of it's length) but only one that actually go across this traffic (that follows the M62!!!). To get to Spain from Northern England you need to be in the corridor that follows the Welsh border, goes over Bristol and crosses the Channel coast near Exmouth and the only way to get over to that from Doncaster is to go via Manchester and join it near Chester. Theoretically you could go via the London area and then get a route across France but that's really busy airspace. Doncaster is actually quite badly placed for these corridors because it's at the northern tip of the East Anglian zone which has severe restrictions due to the amount of military traffic, Wales is also very restricted because of military use which is why you have to follow the border. And when you get across the Channel the French have their corridors and military areas to contend with before you reach Spain.

sanji wrote:

but if Thomson pull out"¦.I honestly think you can say Goodbye to Robin Hood.

It Sounds Just Like What Happened In Coventry, It Was Cheaper Fro Every Airline To Operate From Birmingham And There Were Better Facilities For The Passenger At Birmingham. It Was Only Thomsons That Were Keeping Coventry Open For Comercial Flights. Then They Decided To Pull Out, So You Are Now Left In The Situation Of An Airport With No Passengers

Gower

Hi Steve
Thanks for the very good explanation, I don't normally have any interest on which way the plane is heading, I'm usually just thankful that the bird is in the sky , but the cock-pit crew on my last flight were very talkative and I just happened to have my ears pricked when he mentioned Manchester.
But, now that you have explained and I've thought about it, the Wales/Bristol route has jolted my memory and it has been mentioned before...either on the outbound flight or the inbound flight....and I know they try and avoid the airspace around London..

Thursday's must be a busy day in the skies in my neck of the woods, I must have flights for Doncaster, Manchester, Humberside, East Mids and Leeds/Bradford passing over my house, and the jet stream or whatever they call the white trail in the skies, is like a criss cross patchwork when you look up....I can see by the trail which plane has taken off from Doncaster....sorry, I'm rambling.
Gower.
I think it was more complicated regarding Coventry Airport, Thomson pulled out after Coventry was refused planning permision to build a new terminal, and believe me they needed one because compared to Coventry, Doncaster being a new airport, is like a palace.
There was a conflict of interests with Warwickshire council having their fingers in both airports and I was told that that Coventry Airport and Birmingham Airport are very close, and the runways point towards each other, so, the Coventry take-offs/landings would always have to slot into the Birmingham schedules.
Thomson pulled out within days of the High Court refusing planning permission, there was no future there.

Doncaster has got the new building and facilities, it has a future and the numbers in passengers who would go from Donny, but they are not being used and it will either close or operate like Humberside, as a "shed" in a field with a few flights to places like Poland.
It's a shame, it really is, because Donny solved the problem of being stuck in the middle, surrounded by 4 airports that can take as long to get to them, as you would in the air to get to Spain.
I know when I talk to people, they all say that Donny is just too expensive for flights/package holidays, so, unless someone addresses the problem and entices more airlines in, the future looks bleak.

Sanji

I have to honest I have never looked at the difference in the supplements when flying from Donny and to be truthful I for one would pay the extra just to be 30mins from home without the drag over from Manchester or from EMA.

I for one would pay the extra just to be 30mins from home without the drag over from Manchester or from EMA

Hi Qatarman.
I have paid extra to save the journey over to Manchester or to East Mids, and it has been worth it, the taxi fare costs more anyway to these airports, but looking at this price for next June, we are not talking of the odd £50 or £100 more.....
So, I will suffer the journey and save £300, which will be better in my pocket than Thomson's...there's just no explanation from anyone, why the flights have always been more expensive, but there's a bit more expensive and then there's ridiculously expensive.

Next April (hopefully) Malaga's new airport will be opened, which will be bringing in the wide bodied aircraft from all over the world, and I'm sat here in South Yorkshire and only have the choice of 2 flights a week to Malaga.
I don't believe for one second that the Malaga route is not popular.....There's summat wrong somewhere.

Tue, 08 Jun 10
Flight TOM 3226 07:30 Depart Doncaster Sheffield (DSA)
11:45 Arrive Malaga (AGP)
Tue, 22 Jun 10
Flight TOM 3227 12:45 Depart Malaga (AGP)
14:55 Arrive Doncaster Sheffield (DSA)
Adults at £275.64 £ 551.28
Taxes & charges (details) £ 60.68
2 1 Check-in item at £16.00 £ 32.00

Total Price £ 643.96

Sanji, i can't believe those prices for the flights to Malaga, so i just had a quick look at Thomsons website and got the flights from Manchester at similar times same spec. and the prices was £401.96, i looked at Gatwick as its near me and the flights for the 8th were later times but for £371.96, but on Thu 10th to 24th they were early times and priced at £369.96. Malaga is a popular route and Easyjet would probably be even cheaper from LGW.
Can't find my calculator but thats a big difference!! not sure what each airport charges? isn't this what the Competition Commission is for? it seems obvious that Thomson want passengers from that area to fly from Manchester, must be more cost effective for them? its not that the airports are owned by the same operator so that they are anti-competitive.

Hi Andy
This is even better.....it costs me £50 return taxi to Donny, it costs me £100 taxi return to Manchester
If I push the boat out and stay overnight in a hotel to save going over the moors in the dead of night....I'm still 100's of pounds in pocket.

There are enough people living in South Yorkshire who would use Donny because nobody likes the journey to Manchester, and East Mids can be a nightmare because the only way to it, is down the M1, if you get any accidents or unexpected roadworks.....you're knackered.
They are cutting their own throats and driving local people back to the surrounding airports, so someone pray tell me, why did they build Robin Hood airport.? the local people fought all the looney objectors so hard to get it built, they WANT to use it, but not at estupido prices.

10-Jun-2010 10-Jun-2010 Manchester - Malaga (Costa del Sol)
07:00 / 11:10 (3 hours 10 minutes) (ZB654)

24-Jun-2010 24-Jun-2010 Malaga (Costa del Sol) - Manchester
12:10 / 14:00 (2 hours 50 minutes) (ZB655)

Detailed costing for your flights.
The price shown includes all UK airport taxes and aviation security levy.
Description Price Quantity Total
ADULT RETURN TICKET 92.00 2 184.00
TAXES FEES AND CHARGES 47.30 2 94.60
AIRLINE FAILURE PROTECTION INSURANCE 0.00 2 0.00
CHECKED/HOLD BAGGAGE (AT DISCOUNTED RATE) FOR 1ST ADULT 26.76 1 26.76
CHECKED/HOLD BAGGAGE (AT DISCOUNTED RATE) FOR 2ND ADULT 26.76 1 26.76

Total Cost: £332.12

PS: Must point out that I've booked the apartment for 2 weeks from Thursday 10th June, and if I could have got the Donny flight on Tuesday the 8th at a reasonable price, or the flight times on Friday the 11th had been decent, I could have swopped the dates, so now we are going on the 10th as planned.

Hi Sanji, when i re-checked those Thomson flights i looked at the airport taxes (APD) and fuel supps were £58 to £60 which is around the same as the price for Donny (£60.68) surely the passenger service charge can't be that high at Donny??
how can it cost the airline that much more, especially as the local area is fairly well populated.

Just to cheer you up i found an Easyjet flight (good times, not the cheapest!) LGW to AGP with 2 bags checked (40kg) for £167.80
if you were here i could even get the missus to take you in , she starts early! and bring you back , she finishes as the flight returns , so no taxi fares, well perhaps a tenner for petrol! And Gatwick was forced to be sold to create more competition , its the airlines who decide the prices? and where they really want to fly from!

surely the passenger service charge can't be that high at Donny??
how can it cost the airline that much more, especially as the local area is fairly well populated.

Hi Andy
I really wish I knew the answer, and trying to get an answer ( or the truth) from anybody about the prices and situation at Donny, is like trying to get blood out of a stone.
Living here "up North", when I see the prices/bargains from Gatwick, I could weep, but I suppose when the people in Scotland see the prices, they are a bit peed off as well.

If we take for comparison the 2 Thomson flights, how can it be £401.96 from Manchester and £643.96 from Donny.? it's just one hell of a price hike.
If I'd booked the flight from Donny at £643.96 and then saw the price for the Monarch flight from Manchester at £332.12, it definitely would make me weep....buckets.

Mmmm, I wonder how much it costs for a taxi to Gatwick.

Sanji

Hi Sanji,
When I put about the supplements from Donny I did not realise you were looking at flight only,sorry I was talking about package holidays by Thomsons,massive difference on the prices for flight only?? maybe greedy Thomson Airways??