Commute from London to Dundee ?

[Wilmslow]

You could consider:

Drive to Dundee, work the week
Friday PM, Drive to Edinburgh park the car in the long term and fly to LGW.
Sunday PM, fly back to EDI and then drive to Dundee.

That way you've got a car in Dundee. Conversely though, you have no wheels in the South East...

Loads of cheap flights LGW-EDI but a mate used to do the weekly commute to EDI and he reckons easyJet can be a pain with delays and cancellations. They won't publish their punctuality figures either which makes you wonder if its worth paying the extra 25 quid for BA.

There is a cheap option for a train station car.

Sounds bonkers, but, MX5's are rock solid for reliability, and can be picked up for around a grand, or around £1500 fr a pretty decent one (long MOT, rust free etc). If you buy now, you can easily sell for a good profit in summer to cover your costs.

You can then get a limited mileage car insurance policy for literally £150 or there abouts provided this is the second car.

Very easy to take the speedo cable out of the back if mileage looks like it may be exceeded, not that I would condone that action........ However, dirt cheap and fun, quirky wheels for a train station / airport car.

[craig1]

makes you wonder if its worth paying the extra 25 quid for BA.

EasyJet plane can't fly or breaks down = flight cancelled and you're on your own
BA plane breaks down = they warm up a standby plane and you get away with a 30 mins - 1 hour delay.

If you're going at commuter times of the week (Sunday evening/Monday morning/Friday evening) then you're likely to be saving very little by going on an EasyJet flight over a "premium" scheduled airline. Edit: especially if you can't book your EasyJet flight a year in advance!

[SueEllen]

EasyJet plane can't fly or breaks down = flight cancelled and you're on your own
BA plane breaks down = they warm up a standby plane and you get away with a 30 mins - 1 hour delay.

BA give you meal vouchers if your flight is delayed and arrange for you to go on the next flight.

Easyjet cancel the flight asap and tell you to sort it out yourself with a lot of hassle.

[Lumiere]

I remember on a particular day last winter when Easyjet hasn't cancelled a single flight from Luton to Scotland, but all BA flights from Heathrow were grounded because of snow. Most of the other flights from Luton were also grounded. BA can also be affected by strikes.

[doodab]

BA give you meal vouchers if your flight is delayed and arrange for you to go on the next flight.

Easyjet cancel the flight asap and tell you to sort it out yourself with a lot of hassle.

WSS. The orange chav bus will cancel the flight at a drop of a hat because it means they only have to refund or rebook. The better airlines will generally try and get you to your destination. I've had compensation from BA before as well, although I don't know if it extends to weather related delays that aren't their fault. They do like to go on strike though, which is a PITA.

Personally I would look to negotiate working from home with a 2 day visit every second week.

[Ignis Fatuus]

WSS. The orange chav bus will cancel the flight at a drop of a hat because it means they only have to refund or rebook. The better airlines will generally try and get you to your destination. I've had compensation from BA before as well, although I don't know if it extends to weather related delays that aren't their fault. They do like to go on strike though, which is a PITA.

Personally I would look to negotiate working from home with a 2 day visit every second week.

I've had compensation from Easyjet. I wouldn't say they exactly offered it, in fact if my memory serves, they explicitly said that all they could do (after cancelling a flight) was rebook me on the next day or refund the fare. It took quite a bit if correspondence but I eventually got the airport hotel paid plus 250EUR compensation. It was sweet.

Know your rights!

[Wanderer]

WSS. The orange chav bus will cancel the flight at a drop of a hat because it means they only have to refund or rebook. The better airlines will generally try and get you to your destination. I've had compensation from BA before as well, although I don't know if it extends to weather related delays that aren't their fault. They do like to go on strike though, which is a PITA.

If you are doing a lot of flying, then it's worth looking at the statistics for airline cancellations and doing the numbers for the different airlines. If you fly enough to be a gold card holder with BA and you're on a busy route then they might get you on a standby, otherwise you're stranded.

It always amazes me when you hear about people getting stuck and moaning about how much it cost them. Do they not have travel insurance?? Personally, I'll take the cheapest option and using the money I save, buy some gold plated travel insurance to cover me if it all goes tits up.

[Lumiere]

It always amazes me when you hear about people getting stuck and moaning about how much it cost them. Do they not have travel insurance?? Personally, I'll take the cheapest option and using the money I save, buy some gold plated travel insurance to cover me if it all goes tits up.

Having a travel insurance cover does not equal to being paid in case of delays/cancellations. Their list of excuses for not paying out goes beyond imagination (speaking from experience)

[doodab]

If you are doing a lot of flying, then it's worth looking at the statistics for airline cancellations and doing the numbers for the different airlines. If you fly enough to be a gold card holder with BA and you're on a busy route then they might get you on a standby, otherwise you're stranded.

It always amazes me when you hear about people getting stuck and moaning about how much it cost them. Do they not have travel insurance?? Personally, I'll take the cheapest option and using the money I save, buy some gold plated travel insurance to cover me if it all goes tits up.

If you do a lot of flying, it's worth making the whole palaver as painless as possible. For me personally, BA is cheapest, usually the least hassle and offers the best choice of airport eateries en route. Lufthansa planes have more legroom and are generally less busy but cost a bit more. Easyjet cost about the same as BA to go via gatwick (bit more hassle than heathrow for me to get to) and it would need a lot more than a £30 saving to persuade me to go via stanstead and get home at gone 1am after two hours of knee squishing.

[monobrow]

If you do a lot of flying, it's worth making the whole palaver as painless as possible. For me personally, BA is cheapest, usually the least hassle and offers the best choice of airport eateries en route. Lufthansa planes have more legroom and are generally less busy but cost a bit more. Easyjet cost about the same as BA to go via gatwick (bit more hassle than heathrow for me to get to) and it would need a lot more than a £30 saving to persuade me to go via stanstead and get home at gone 1am after two hours of knee squishing.

+1 for Lufthansa