VIP Heathrow Blog

Heathrow was originally built for military purposes during the Second World War and was handed over by the Air Ministry to the Minister of Civil Aviation on January 1st, 1946.
May 31st 2016 is the official date of Heathrow’s birthday – marking 70 years since the then newly named London Airport officially opened for civilian aviation.

Over the course of 2016, Heathrow will be celebrating a number of key moments with colleagues, passengers and the local community to mark this significant anniversary.
The first commercial flight to depart that day was a British South American Airlines Lancastrian ‘Star Light’ which flew to Buenos Aires.
Since its opening, the UK’s only hub airport has grown significantly to handle over 73 million passengers annually and is now one of the best major airports in the world.
In 1946 passenger terminals were made from ex military marquees that formed a ‘tented village’ along the Bath Road.
Each was equipped with floral-patterned armchairs, settees and small tables containing vases of fresh flowers.
To reach aircraft parked on the apron, passengers walked over wooden duckboards to protect their footwear from the muddy airfield.
By the close of Heathrow’s first operational year in 1946, 63,000 passengers had travelled through London’s new airport.
By 1951 this had risen to 796,000 and British architect Frederick Gibberd was appointed to design permanent buildings for the airport.
Long standing employee and local resident Keith Haywood, 87, has worked at the airport for over 70 years and pushed one of the first flights back aged 17.
He said: “I feel very privileged to have seen Heathrow develop and grow from its first day in 1946.”
Since 2003, Heathrow has invested £12 billion in transforming Heathrow.
As a result, over 60 per cent of Heathrow passengers now experience modern, world class facilities in Terminal 5 and Terminal 2.
In June 2015, Terminal 1 closed to make way for newer and improved facilities.
Eventually an extension of the new Terminal 2 will take its place.
If the Government supports a third runway at Heathrow in the summer then Terminal 2 will be extended and a new terminal will be built adjacent to Terminal 5, providing enough capacity to connect Britain to the world for the 21st century.
Heathrow Airport Parking Made Easy:
If you need to park your car at Heathrow airport whilst you are away, make your trip abroad even more enjoyable and hassle-free by choosing meet & greet Heathrow airport parking. If you need Heathrow airport parking, VIP Heathrow meet & greet parking is definitely a firm customer favourite with 85% of VIP’s weekly bookings coming from customers who have used them before or who have been recommended to VIP by family / friends. So if you are flying from one of the World’s busiest airports: Heathrow – we strongly advise booking VIP meet & greet parking. Make sure you opt for the VIP FLEXI service option if travelling for business or during peak periods to ensure you get priority customer status and waiting time is kept minimal. Check out their write ups on The Review Centre online via: http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews198734.html
From their name it may sound like VIP Heathrow parking is only for the rich and famous but actually VIP Heathrow offers amazing value for money! VIP Meet & Greet parking for 14 days starts from just £67.95. This way you can beat the queues and go straight to check-in while your car is taken away from the terminal drop off zone to be parked in a secure car-park which has the Park Mark award or VIP vetted. Your car will then be brought back to you- directly outside the terminal, upon return to Heathrow. VIP parking Heathrow has provided great value, quality meet & greet parking at Heathrow airport for over 10 years. There is even CLUB VIP the loyalty scheme where customers can choose a free gift after every VIP PLUS or FLEXI booking. Heathrow airport parking has never been more enjoyable! If you need cheap Heathrow parking, make sure you visit www.vipheathrow.co.uk
Book VIP Meet & Greet Parking At Heathrow Airport Terminal 2, Terminal 3, Terminal 4 and Terminal 5.
Sources: http://www.vipheathrow.co.uk/
http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/news/article/heathrow-airport-celebrates-70th-anniversary-in-2016/

Many said it was inevitable, given Heathrow has been bursting at the seams for some time but Dubai has now overtaken Heathrow to become the world’s busiest airport for international passengers in 2014, the head of the Gulf hub said on Monday. Dubai International airport dealt with about 71m international passengers in 2014, according to chief executive Paul Griffiths, surpassing the 68.1m that passed through Heathrow.
“Heathrow is losing a lot of traffic to Dubai because we’re able to cater for the connections that Heathrow no longer has the capacity to service,” said Mr Griffiths, referring to how the UK’s largest airport is operating at near full capacity on its two runways.
Dubai’s surpassing of Heathrow comes as the Airports Commission, a body set up by the British government, seeks to reach conclusions on whether to recommend a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick, the UK’s second largest airport.
Both Heathrow and Gatwick on Monday reported record passenger numbers for 2014, and brandished the figures as support for their cases for new capacity.
Heathrow dealt with 73.4m passengers ( a combination of domestic and international travellers) — last year, up 1.4 per cent compared with 2013, as additional large aircraft flew into the airport.
Heathrow highlighted strong traffic growth on routes to emerging markets, including China and Mexico.
However, Mr Griffiths, a former head of Gatwick, said that Dubai would continue to grow strongly, adding it was “highly unlikely the UK will regain number one spot for international passengers”.
When airport capacity is constrained, companies “start to base headquarters overseas because of cost of travel. It strikes at the core of a country’s ability to be competitive”, he said.
Dubai International airport’s growth is rooted in the expansion of Emirates Airline, the state-controlled carrier that was established in Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, in 1985.
Heathrow Airport Holdings said the loss of the airport’s status as busiest international hub lent weight to its calls for a third runway.
“Britain has benefited from being home to the world’s largest port or airport for the last 350 years . . . But lack of capacity at Heathrow means we will shortly lose our crown to Dubai,” said John Holland-Kaye, Heathrow’s chief executive.
Gatwick dealt with 38.1m passengers last year, up 7.6 per cent compared with 2013, with strong growth on its core European routes.
Airport Parking Made Easy:
If you are planning a trip from Heathrow, make sure you combine your flight with meet & greet parking from VIP to ensure your trip is even more enjoyable. With meet and greet parking you are met outside the Heathrow terminal by a VIP driver who then takes your car away to be securely parked in the off-site car-park which has Park Mark accreditation. On date of return, providing you follow the simple instructions in the booking paperwork, your car will be brought to you outside the terminal ready to drive home.
VIP offer 3 options of meet & greet parking so customers can choose the level of service dependant on their budget. FLEXI is the on-call option and is especially recommended for travel during busy periods such as Xmas where Heathrow is expected to be even more frenetic than usual. Customers who book VIP FLEXI have priority customer status which means minimal waiting time regardless of whether their flight lands earlier or later than scheduled. VIP even offers a loyalty scheme where customers are rewarded for every 3 bookings with a free gift of their choice. Visit www.vipheathrow.co.uk to find out more about VIP parking, prices and the loyalty scheme etc.

Sources:
http://www.vipheathrow.co.uk/index.php/our-services/heathrow-meet-and-greet-parking
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/02759cc4-9a6a-11e4-9602-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3Ou7z2LKU
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30775021
http://your.heathrow.com/takingbritainfurther

VIP is the only parking provider at Heathrow offering its customers a unique loyalty scheme. For every 3 bookings VIP customers place, they get to choose a free gift*! VIP have just added a fabulous Xmas hamper full of yummy festive treats for their eligible customers to enjoy and share with their family / colleagues. The hamper contains a medley of goodies such as;

Crunch Craving Natural Nut Mix 85g
• New English Teas English Breakfast Tea 20g
• Linden Lady Handmade Milk Chocolate Bar With Festive Fruit & Nut 90g
• 4x Grandma Wild’s Luxury Mince Pies
• Festive Fayre Christmas Pudding With Cider 350g
• Copperpot Milk Chocolate Coated Honeycomb 100g
• Furniss Traditionally Baked All Butter Shortbread Fingers 150g
There are many other gifts to choose from in the CLUB VIP range such as a £10 Love2shop or M&S voucher so customers can hit the high street and choose a treat. Also customers can opt for a 15% discount off their parking or pamper their car with a full works valet when they next use the VIP service at Heathrow.
VIP has always valued their customers and believes parking doesn’t have to be an unpleasant, stressful, grudge purchase but can actually enhance the customer’s trip from Heathrow. Every week 85% of VIP’s bookings come from returning customers or those who have been recommended to VIP. Customers trust VIP to provide a reliable, efficient, friendly meet & greet service which means they can get in and out of the airport with as little fuss as possible.
Parking at Heathrow doesn’t have to be stressful, even during the hectic festive season. Meet & Greet parking means you are met outside the relevant Heathrow terminal by a VIP representative who will drive your car away to be parked in the VIP Park Mark approved car-park for the duration of your trip so you can go straight to check-in without enduring annoying buses packed with stressed out travellers. Upon return, your car is brought back to you outside the terminal- heaven in cold wet weather, which ‘Old Blighty’ is sure to deliver at this time of year!
Prices for 7 days parking start from just £47.85 with the VIP Budget meet & greet parking option.
Visit www.vipheathrow.co.uk for further details on our Heathrow meet & greet parking service. http://www.vipheathrow.co.uk/index.php/our-services/heathrow-meet-and-greet-parking
Visit http://www.vipheathrow.co.uk/index.php/about-vip/club-vip-loyalty-scheme for full details about the CLUB VIP Loyalty scheme with the full selection of gifts.
(*CLUB VIP Loyalty claims excludes Budget bookings, terms and conditions apply)

Tailoring your lunch is easy but non standard travel requirements can be less so. Flying from Gatwick Airport but returning to Heathrow Airport? Or maybe visa versa? Sounds like a bit of a headache? How and where would you park your car? Taxis can cost a fortune and trains & luggage do not mix. However, this duo Airport situation is not unusal for VIP who have adapted to offer customers in this scenario a special parking option.

Sometimes customers find themselves in this situation when booking with an airline who do not fly both ways or that route is the most economical option for their budget.

VIP, the Heathrow parking experts, offer a Meet & Greet parking solution and a Chauffeur Parking solution as standard at Heathrow. ‘Meet & greet parking’ is where the customer is met outside the airport terminal and their car is taken away to be parked for the duration. With Meet & Greet the customer’s vehicle is then returned to them outside the airport upon return.

However, with the VIP ‘Chauffeur Parking’ option the customer meets their VIP driver outside the Heathrow Crowne Plaza hotel and is driven in their own vehicle to their Heathrow terminal where they proceed to check-in whilst their vehicle is taken away to be parked securely at the VIP Park Mark accredited car park. This saves the customer having to find their own way to the terminal which can be very confusing given Heathrow is the World’s busiest International Airport.

To assist customers in the duo airport situation who are facing a parking dilemma or having to ask a relative to help out, VIP have adapted their Meet & Greet service into a ‘hybrid’ which draws from Chauffeur Parking and Meet & Greet. Here is an example of the VIP duo airport hybrid service; Customers who are flying from Heathrow on date of departure meet their VIP driver at the relevant Heathrow terminal and go straight to check-in. The vehicle is taken to the VIP secure carpark for the duration. The customer then returns to Gatwick airport upon date of return and telephones VIP who then meets the customer outside the Gatwick terminal where they then provide their VIP driver with a lift back to Heathrow (unless they have arranged otherwise to eliminate that element and continue straight home). All options are fully explained on the VIP website where the customer can tailor-make accordingly via www.vipheathrow.co.uk

For customers departing from Gatwick, they meet their VIP driver at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Heathrow and drive to Gatwick with their VIP driver in their vehicle (unless otherwise arranged where customer is met directly outside their Gatwick terminal). Once the customer has gone to check-in, their vehicle is taken to the VIP secure car park to be stored until return. The customer then later returns to Heathrow where their vehicle is returned to them outside their Heathrow terminal.

The price for this hybrid Gatwick & Heathrow parking service is £88 (excluding potential extra charges) for 7 days. New customers can use the code NEWVIP for an even better deal (Terms & Conditions apply). So although VIP are based at Heathrow and specialise in Heathrow parking, they can be flexible enough to offer Gatwick parking in these scenarios whilst still offering a cost effective, head-ache free solution.

Heathrow only airport parking with VIP starts from just £47 for 7 days with the Budget service. VIP has been established for 10 years and is the expert at customizing parking for the individual, allowing customers to tailor-make parking to their needs.

For further information and prices please visit http://www.vipheathrow.co.uk/index.php/our-services/heathrow-gatwick-meet-greet-parking

For Gatwick only parking please visit; http://www.vipheathrow.co.uk/index.php/our-services/gatwick-parking