Glasgow International - My Number 1 Choice of Airport. (Glasgow International Airport (GLA))

Member Name: BabyGirl08x

Product:	Glasgow International Airport (GLA)
Date:	10/05/08 (1021 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Literally, Everything!

Disadvantages: Size, but that doesn't bother me!

As someone living in Glasgow, you could probably image I use Glasgow Airport to travel abroad. Some flights are cheaper to fly from Glasgow than London. Also, some flights are cheaper to fly from London than than Glasgow. Some people don't care what the airports like, a flights a flight, take the cheapest option and go. However, some people are funny about what the airport, that they could possibly spend an 8 hour delay in, is like.

Glasgow has two airports: Glasgow Prestwick airport, And Glasgow International Airport. Glasgow International airport, is the largest airport in Scotland. It is also the eight busiest airport in the United Kingdom. The airport is west of Glasgow's city centre and near the towns of Renfrewshire and Paisley. The airport is owned by the BAA, who also owns Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Heathrow, Standsteed and Southampton.

- Shops & Retaurants -

This is something everyone wants to know about an airport, what are the shops like? Well here are some of the shops they have in Glasgow International.

Before Security

Accessories
Barrhead Travel
Best of the Best Supercars
Books.Co (WHSmith)
Boots
Caffe Nero
Celtic
Delice de France
Dororthy Perkins
Frankie & Benny's
Greggs
Harry Ramsden's
J&R Tennent
La Senza
O'Briens
Relaxation Station
Rolling Luggage
Spectrum Interactive
Sunglass Hut
Tartan Plus
The Pasty Shop
Tie Rack
Van Heusen
Village Grill
WHSmith


After Security
Bargo
Boots
Caffe Nero
Delice de France
Dixons Tax Free
Drum and Monkey
O'Briens
Spectrum Interactive
Tartan Plus
WHSmith
World Duty Free
World Shopping

Glasgow airport offers a wide variety of alcohols, cosmetics, perfumes and more at Glasgow's World Duty Free. This is where you will find yourself immediately after leaving security.
Inside the EU or Outside the EU you can save a vast amount of money on products such as sunglasses, watches, confectionery and gifts which are exclusive to World Duty Free. You can also save up to 40% on the best branded perfumed, and up to 20% on the finest wines and champagnes, and on a wide range of spirits. Travelling outside the EU you can save up to 50% off the high street price of spirits. These spirits are marked with a green label. You can only take advantage of this offer if you are NOT flying into one of the following countries.

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

- Terminals & Check in-

Glasgow airport has two check in areas. In the main terminal there is check in desks 1-39. These are the desks for the airlines which don't have their own check-in desks in T2. T2 consist of desks 40-64 and only check in for the airlines Easyjet, Thomas Cook, and Mytravel. As Mytravel have changed to Thomas Cook, another airlines check-in desks may replace Mytravel's. T1 is the main terminal building, the building which you will automatically come to, upon arrival of Glasgow Airport. This terminal is well layed out with all check in desks running in a straight line. There are four entrances to the terminal.
Entrance 1 : through international arrivals. There are automatic doors linking the international arrivals terminal and T1.

Entrance 2: not far from the arrivals building, this is horizontally facing about check-ins 3-7 . Next to this entrance is ticket sales desks

Entrance 3: At the other end of the ticket desks is entrance 3. This is approximately horizontally facing check in-desks 18-22

Entrance 4: This is through T2. There is swing doors which connect T2 to the domestic arrivals area in T1.

Check in desks run in a straight line from 1-39. Next to check in desk 39, is the lift and stairs to the second floor. The terminal one check in area contains the facilities of Bureau De Change, male and female public toilets, an accessible disabled toilet, four ticket sales areas, two lifts, and information desk, and a telephone. Now, lets take a little trip upstairs

As you take the lift upstairs, you will arrive in the concourse (public area). This is the main shopping and eating area in the main terminal. You are imminently greeted by a café/restaurant, and if you walk downwards, a bar is available. There are approx 22 shops and 5 bars/eateries.

If you head north-east of this area you will meet customs/security for gates 27-52 international departures. Whilst you are waiting to pass security, you can watch planes take-off/land from the large glass screen behind you. Security is definitely set in great place.

North of the concourse is another customs point with domestic departures gates 14-26. This contains 3 airline lounges and several bars and restaurants. Also there is a small world shopping area too! There other customs point is west to the concourse, with only gates 1-12. This is a pretty small departure lounge but has the usual facilities of shops, cafés and a KLM executive lounge.

The final area to T1 is the second floor. This contains a lift, airline lounge, toilets, Restaurant/café and a prayer room to assist to the religious needs of passengers.

T2 is the building which links the the main terminal though an outdoor walkway or swing doors which join to the end of T1. This is where you will find Easy jet's, Thomas Cook's, and My Travel's check in desks 40-64. Apart from the entrance that connects to T1, the other entrance is adjoined to an outdoor walkway, this entrance is roughly facing check-in 42. There are 4 ticket sales areas, a Bureau de change and toiletry facilities. T2 only has one floor.

- Getting To And From -

There are many ways you can get to and from the airport, some ways may be more convenient than others, and some may be cheaper, take a look at some of the ways you can get to and from here.

- Train

Unfortunately, Glasgow airport is still working on plans to build a train station for the airport. In the meantime, if you wish to get the train to Glasgow airport, your nearest station would be Paisley Gilmour Street. This is only one mile from the terminal building, and there are bus links to the Terminal building from here.
If you wish to use this train/bus service, all you have to do is purchase a ticket from your nearest station to Glasgow Airport. It is likely you will have to connect at Glasgow Central. The train you then get from Glasgow Central is the service to AYR. Once on this train, your next stop is Paisley Gilmour Street. Alight this train, and there will be buses waiting to take you to Glasgow Airport. If you purchased a ticket to Glasgow Airport, you will not have to pay for this bus service. If you only purchased a ticket to Paisley Gilmour Street, you have to pay an additional charge for this bus service. There are also taxi services from the station. You can purchase a ticket coming back from the domestic arrivals area, in the main terminal building. This is the part of the building nearest T2.

- Bus

A cheaper solution to travelling to the airport, would be by bus.

Arriva's 500 service.
From Glasgow's City Centre, you may be able to catch the Arriva's 500 service. This service departs/arrives at designated points in the Centre Centre. These buses stop close to the three main transport stations in Glasgow's city Centre; Queen Street Station, Buchanan Bus Station and Glasgow Central Station. These buses come every 7-15 minutes and takes an approximate 25 minutes to arrive. These buses stop off/pick-up outside the terminal building. The bus service costs£3.95 Single and £5.95 return,

Fairlines 905 service.
These bus services aren't as useful as they do not pick-up/drop off at main Glasgow City Centre hubs. They operate every 20 minutes, with the exception of Saturdays/Sundays where they operate every 30 minutes. Single fare starts at £3.00 and return at £5.00.

First's 747
This bus service's price varies depends on where picked up from. This is available from Glasgow's City Centre and also through Glasgow's west end. This is a fairly new service and a very reliable one. This has a 30 minute frequency from the west end.

- Other forms

Taxis are available from outside arrivals. Unfortunately, due to the suicide bomber attack in June 2007, taxis/cars can no longer drop off directly outside the terminal building. There is now a free drop off area with a 1 minute walk to the terminal building. Taxis cost approx £18-£20 to the city centre. Prices vary depending on area and Taxi company.

-Parking

Glasgow airport has a parking terminal on the outskirts of the airport. A courtesy transfer couch will take you to the terminal building. Long stay parking costs from £7.50 per day. Prices for short stay parking varies

Up to15 minutes - £1.50
15 - 30 minutes - £2.50
30 minutes - 1 hour - £3.70
1 - 3 hours - £5.70
3 - 4 hours £6.70
4 - 6 hours £8.70
6 - 12 hours £11.50
12 - 24 hours £15.00
each 24 hours after £15.00

- Lounges

Sky lounge
There are two parts to skylounge, holidaywing and buisnesswing.
Holiaywing is a comfortable lounge with digital Tv, game consoles, and toys for young children. And luxury surroundings for the older ones.
Buisnesswing is created for those buisness people who wish to keep their buisness moving whilst travelling. The atmosphere is very calming with lovely views over Ben Lomond.

Prices

Adults - £17.50
Children - £7
Under 2 years old - Free

Children under 12 years old are not permitted in buisnesswing.

Buisnesswing Facilities

Tea, coffee, soft drinks, complimentary drinks.
Cheese & Biscuits, crisps.
Newspapers and magizines
Internet access
All complimentary.
Opening times
Holiday season - 05:00 - 20:00
Non-holiday season - 05:00 - 18:00

This lounge is only available to international passengers.

- Servisair lounge

This is another lounge similar to skylounge buisnesswing and is situated on the second floor of the terminal building. This is not only for first and business class passengers, but is open to other passengers at a small fee.

- BA, Bmi and KLM first and business class passengers lounges

BA terrace lounge - Gate 18
Bmi diamond lounge - domestic pier.
KLM lounge - International Pier
BA first and business class passengers lounge: at Gate 16

- Personal Experience(s)

I use Glasgow Airport all the time. So, its hard to give a personal experience. We usually travel by Taxi, as we live 10 minutes away from the motorway, which takes 15 minutes to get to the airport. no-one in our household drives, so we rely on Taxi's to take us there. We use our nearest taxi station which we always use, it costs us approx £16 to get to the airport. Before the Glasgow Airport bombing attack, the taxi used to drop us off right outside the terminal building, so Taxi services were very easy in the past. Now, we have to take a minutes walk through the airport, pretty difficult when your bags are heavy. I recommend taxi services as they are less hassle especially when you have young children or a lot of baggage.

I have used both T1 and T2 in the past for check in. To be quite honest, I prefer T2. It is like a small room with quiet check-in desks. Still, majority of the time we have been stuck with the crowded and busy T1. The check in desks are easy to find, as they are neatly organised and the flight numbers are well visible. One time, we were checking in two or three days after the incident in Glasgow Airport., and our check in desk was horizontal to the boarded-up area of where the flaming Jeep had run into. I could still taste the smoke, not pleasurable. Check in people have always been very friendly. Majority of these people work for Servisair. We only had one situation with check-in when a lady made us pay the last of our English money because we were three kilo's over the excess. It was very frustrating.

After check-in, we always go straight to the bar. No, we are not alcoholics, we know better than to drink before flying. Its always nice to catch a quick coke or an Irn-bru, which is likely to be our last for another two weeks. The prices aren't as cheap as most bars outside the airport, but they are not extortionate. Once, we even treated ourself to a Panini, it tasted great. I had a ham and cheese, definitely recommended. We never go to any of the shops in this area of the terminal. We wait till duty free. The good thing about this bar is, there is a short cut through the back of the pub, where the toilets are, so we can freshen up. Then, it leads you straight to International customs. I had never used a domestic flight, so I have no idea what the other customs are like. Whilst waiting to get into security, we just have to look behind us to watch aircrafts taking off. It's a great way to pass time.

After security, which we have never had any problems with, you are taken straight into duty free. This is where we seriously go wild with the shopping. We had the option back at T1 to catch our flight essentials at WHSmiths, but there is one in Duty Free so there's no need to worry. Also, they are funny about what you take through customs, now. So, getting your magazines, sweets, juice, water, are easier when you purchase after security. You really should get these sort of things through at Duty Free, they are much cheaper than on the Aeroplane. There is bars in Duty Free so we can catch another drink whilst waiting, if delayed, maybe a glass of wine will be allowable to some people in our party, but it is something Id never dream of. Drinking in the air is seriously dangerous, it causes you to get dehydrated and if you have consumed alcoholic, you are in danger if you are needing to evacuate. Still, airports are for happy times, so let's not think about that!

If we are waiting to catch something to eat, this is where we would do it. Its easier to do so here as if you are trying to have meal outside customs, you are concentrating less on your flight, and if your flight is saying "go to gate" you may have to abandon your meal in order to get through customs in time. I like to pick up a sandwich rather than eat a whole meal. There is bar with comfortable chairs and little tables where you can take your drinks/sandwiches. From here you have a great view of aircrafts. Also, a great view if your looking for YOUR aircraft.

The gates are well set out. There are small seating areas outside of the aircrafts, the seats are very spongy and comfortable. There are sometimes small bars/vending machines at some of the gates, in case you wish to have a drink whilst waiting for your flight. Each gate as a window to see the aircrafts. It has never took very long for our flights to arrive, with the except of Onur Air, of course! This is nothing to do with the airport, it's just a really 'crappy' airline, as us in Glasgow would put it. Perhaps, other people use it, but we use that word to the max! There are small internet ports where you can waste your time and money waiting for your delayed flight!

Overall, I enjoy flying from Glasgow, and I think its a great airport. That is not a biast opinion, as I have flew from bigger airports, such as Manchester, which I think is too big, too confusing and it is very easy to get lost. Especially when trying to get from the bus ports or train station to the terminal building. The airports size does not affect it's convenience. It has everything you need in the airport, it just doesn't have 10 or 12 of each thing, like Gatwick and Heathrow does! I would always fly from Glasgow, but sometimes you can save up to £300 on a flight by flying from Manchester or Heathrow. We used to fly with Mytravel all the time. However, Mytravel was based Manchester so we would save a lot of money by flying there. It depends on which airline you are flying with, that predicts how much money you would save by flying from a different airport. So, if you ever find yourself in that position, and having to fly from Glasgow, there no need to worry! Glasgow airport is a great airport and I wouldn't have to think twice to fly from here!

Other Information - Airlines and Destinations.

Like the sound of the airport?
Wish to fly to/from.
Here are some useful destinations and airlines that will take you.
Some of these flights may only be seasonal.

Air Europa
To/From: Arrecife, Tenerife-South.

Aer Lingus
To/From:Dublin

Air Malta
To/From: Malta

Air Transat
To/From: Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver

Air Southwest
To/From: Newquay, Plymouth

BH Air
To/From: Bourgas, Plovdiv, Varna

Bmi/Bmibaby/Regional
To/From: Kos, Heathrow, Palma de Mallorca, Salzburg, Venice Copenhagen, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, East Midlands, Knock.

British Airways
To/From: Gatwick, Heathrow

Continental Airlines
To/From: Newark

EasyJet
To/From: Alicante, Belfast, Berlin, Bristol, Faro, Geneva, Ibiza, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Málaga, Palma, Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

Emirates
To/From: Dubai

Eurocypria Airlines
To/From: Heraklion, Larnaca, Paphos

First Choice Airways
To/From: Arrecife, Bodrum, Bourgas, Cancun, Dalaman, Faro, Mahon, Monastir, Orlando, Palma, Paphos, Puerto Plata, Reus, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife, Zakynthos

Flybe
To/From: Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Exeter, Frankfurt, Guernsey, Jersey, La Rochelle, Manchester, Newquay, Norwich, Paris, Southampton

Flyglobespan
To/From: Alicante, Arrecife, Barcelona, Belfast, Calgary, Faro, Fuerteventura, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Las Palmas, Mahon, Málaga, Orlando, Palma, Paphos, Pula, Tenerife, Toronto, Vancouver
Freebird Airlines
To/From: Dalaman

Futura International Airways
To/From: Fuerteventura, Mahon

Icelandair
To/From: Reykjavik

Iberworld
To/From: Ibiza, Las Palmas

KLM
To/From: Amsterdam

LTE
To/From: Tenerife

Monarch Airlines
To/From: Alicante, Orlando

Nouvelair
To/From: Monastir

Onur Air
To/From: Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman

Pakistan International Airlines
To/From: Faisalabad, Lahore

Pegasus Airlines
To/From: Dalaman

Scandinavian Airlines System
To/From: Stockholm

Spanair
To/From: Palma

Sunexpress
To/From: Antalya

Thomas Cook Airlines
To/From:Alicante, Antalya, Arrecife, Bodrum, Bourgas, Calgary, Cancun, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Kos, Larnaca, Las Palmas, Las Vegas, Mahon, Malaga, Malta, Monastir, Orlando-Sanford, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Puerto Plata, Reus, Rhodes, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife, Toronto, Zakynthos

Thomsonfly
To/From: Alicante, Bourgas, Bridgetown, Corfu, Dalaman, Faro, Heraklion, Ibiza, Larnaca, Las Palmas, Mahon, Malaga, Naples, Palma , Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Tenerife, Verona

Travel City Direct
To/From: Orlando

US Airways
To/From: Philadelphia

Virgin Atlantic
To/From: Orlando

XL Airways
To/From: Alicante, Arrecife, Corfu, Dalaman, Heraklion, Kos, Larnaca, Las Palmas, Orlando, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Sharm, Tenerife, Zakynthos

Zoom Airlines
To/From: Calgary, Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver

On occasions some airlines may alter their routes.

Summary: A small but useful airport.