 Poster: A snowHead
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just booked up to go to finland in feb and flying from birmingham,planning on parking with ncp for the week,never flown from there before,is it bigger than stansted? and would you recommend ncp for parking at birmingham? thanx from a very excited 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I flew from Birmingham last year and am doing so again in January. It's smaller and quieter than Stansted and car parking is much cheaper. Off site is only about £22 and On Site £32 per week.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Birmingham is a great airport, minutes from the M42 and not too much hassle getting in and out - I always use the longstay on airport parking which is either a quick 3 minute bus transfer or if you feel up to it a brisk 5 - 10 min walk (depneds on where you manage to park !!) The booking system requires you to pay in advance which saves loads- use a password on exit by calling up on the intercom
The airport has recently been refurbished in side with good selection of shops bars food stall ect
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Colin B, kwakazx6r, thanx,i was a bit nervous when they said we can only fly from birmingham as none of us have flown from there before,we where planning on flying from gatwick but from the the time it took from us checking on the internet and getting to the travel agent(20 mins) the flight was fully booked,but thats good news anyway,cheers.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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notverygoodatskiing, do you live in Cambridge? Isn't Birmingham more convenient for you than Gatwick?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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pam w, there about the same,takes me about an hour and 30 mins to get to gatwick and according to aa route planner it should take 2 hours 12 mins to birmingham,but i like a challenge and think i can beat that early in the morning 
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Birmingham's a reasonably nice airport. Quite small, so don't expect a lot once you're through check in and passport control. It can back up a bit at passport control (more so than I've experienced at other airports), but they tend to keep it moving reasonably well. It can be tricky spotting the entrance too, so keep your eyes peeled. My dad found that out once, although he's from Birmingham, had been living in Glos for thirty years and hadn't been to the airport before, so drove past the entrance, thinking it was still going to be where it was way back when... 
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No problems when Flyer and I used Birmingham airport last year.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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The departure lounge queue scrum at Birmingham has gone, it's all been redesigned with more x-ray machines and more space.
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I can confirm that most of the queuing at security has gone now  (I work in the security search area as a guard). Can I ask which terminal you are flying from - T1 has busy points at 06:00-08:30, 12:00-13:30, and 16:00 - 19:00, T2 busy times are 06:00-09:00 and 16:30 - 18:00 (except weekends where its dead...). Hope that helps - if you have any questions about whats there just ask!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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We always fly from Birmingham as it s our closest and most convenient. Never had a problem from there, prefer it as it is a smaller airport than many. The offsite parking varies. There is one offsite (I think mayb it was through Airparks?) that is a "15 minutes" bus transfer away but we found it took much longer because of traffic and also they weren't overly keen to put on enough buses on the late nighter so we were standing around quite a bit. The Long Stay park on site is reasonable though.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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StephenFrench, Welcome to snowHeads. I think you will be a very useful source of inside info for us as well as being another Staffordshire snowHead. We had to switch our Christmas flight to Berne from BHX to Manchester as the BHX flight had not sold well. Thanks to the toll road, we can be at BHX in 35 minutes so that is a shame really. On reflection, last Christmas we queued more than two hours to get through security. The queue went twice round the restaurant area! Glad that is not happening this year.
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StephenFrench, welcome to snowHeads
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You know it makes sense.
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Chris Bish, Yeah we used to have real problems at peak times. Its much much better now as we have had a recruitment drive recently, and now have an extra x-ray channel in t2, and 2 extra x-ray channels in t1. Just to let you know - if anyone flies with swissair - you CAN NOT take you ski boots in as hand luggage this year - the Department for Transport have decided they are prohibited. So no ski boots as handluggage at all through birmingham now. The new easyjet and flybe flights will be departing from T2 now - so you should have very few problems with queues for them. BMI Baby and the other carriers are still from T1.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Thanks for the welcomes
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Poster: A snowHead
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StephenFrench, another Tamworth resident too! Welcome to SH's. Do you go to the Snowdome very much? And can you get us through security sharpish next Sunday on our way out to Tignes 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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imnot sure what terminal im flying from,im flying with monarch,does that help?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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notverygoodatskiing, I wouldn't worry too much either way. The two terminals are in the same building and you can get between them very easily, even carrying skis. The T2 is the old BA (remember them?) terminal and is mostly being used by Easyjet these days. This would suggest you are going to be out of T1. I think the carpark bus stops in the same place for both terminals...
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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last time i flew out of gatwick i had to be there 3 hours before i flew,is that the case with birmingham?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I've never had a problem with Birmingham. Punches above its weight for an airport of its size, quite a few inter-continental flights I'm told now. In fact, I'm flying back into Birmingham via Dubai next week. No BA now though? Still, not necessarily a bad thing!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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notverygoodatskiing, The terminals connect and are perhaps 500m long each, so easy to find your way around. I think T1 though
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notverygoodatskiing, i am also from cambridge and have flown from birmingham before - it only takes just over an hours drive - very easy straight up the A14 and M6.
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notverygoodatskiing, You will be flying out of T1 then. Don't worry too much - send me a message a bit closer to the time and I will see if I can get a priority pass for you to use through security (I need to be on shift tho - so If im off I wont be able to sort it sorry)
docsquid, I try to get up to the Snowdome at least once a month if not more, I am going this Sunday night with 2 friends. I am going to join the new gym/swim side of things there too on my next 4 off. How did you job interview/application go? Would be good to get to know someone in the gym side of things as its been a long time since ive used one! lol
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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StephenFrench, I've been offered job as casual cover, but not regular shifts, but then that is what I wanted. Still haven't heard about the group exercise classes, but they aren't starting those up for a bit, at least properly. So you might see me down there from time to time
We were at the Snowdome this morning - very quiet. Getting our ski legs before heading to Tignes on Sunday.
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StephenFrench, that would be very helpful,any ideas on the check in times,hope it isnt 3 hours.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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notverygoodatskiing, Check in is normally three hours, but there is an online check in service now so that you just do a bag drop at the airport - If you can give me the date and flight via a private message I will see if i can find out some more info for you.
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FAQ
