Next time you fly out of Corfu , check your bags in, walk out of the airport, turn right and walk 50 yards up the hill.

There is a half decent taverna with OK food and cold beer where you can sit in comfort, and when you see your flight land, ask for the bill and amble back down the hill and through security where hopefully by now your flight is boarding.

Just typed all that and realised I'm on the wrong island - but I will leave it in case anyone is flying out of Kefalonia ;0)

 

Yes, that's a BA fail, by using Swissport, when other handling contractors at the Greek island airports can and do work with on-line check in and even, breathe it not, mobile boarding passes. Aegean of course have had on-line check-in for years from the same airports, so it isn't the airport's infrastructure which is the problem here, and then there's Ryanair and EasyJet, plus many more - even Jet2. But Swissport do BA's handling at ATH too, and strangely you can check in on line for BA flights from there, so it is difficult to see why they can't manage it elsewhere. My theory is that Swissport close down their island operations each winter and start again in May with almost totally new staff, and it is too much trouble to teach the new starters lots of different airline's systems, especially for two flights a week or so. Goldair and Skyserv, Swissport's competitors in Greece, have year round contracts with Aegean and others, so retain core staff at island airports all year.

 

I flew to Rhodes on one of the last GB operated flights in 2007. The lounge BA used was a landslide portacabin, filled with patio furniture. On a kitchen work top were a very limited selection of snacks and booze.

It really was quite comical. Not sure if BA even offer the portacabin since BA resumed flights to RHO.

 

I thought about this thread as we arrived at CFU last week. After a pretty good flight we disembarked onto a dedicated CE bus (doesn't always happen at LHR never mind CFU!) which took us the 50 yards to the terminal, we walked straight through the border (flashing the outside of our passports!) and by the time we got to the belt our bags were already being delivered. I was flabbergasted that they were there so quickly, I know it shouldn't need to take an age but Im still not sure how they managed to get them to us quite so quickly!

Im sure (from experience on Aegean) that the outbound won't be quite so smooth, but from an arrivals experience I don't think CFU can be worst outstation, in my book. We were in our friend's car about 7 mins from landing!

 

to be fair, a lot of the "European sun" airports are exactly like this - and the experience makes it absolutely pointless paying for Club Europe: two more I have suffered recently (but there are countless others):


- Lanzarote: express check-in is so/so quick, but the agents have a funny habit of evading questions about whether there is a lounge - weird; of course, there is no lounge and the airport is pretty basic


- Catania: simply awful: express check-in works fine, but BA have not stumped up for fast-security (even though it is available at the airport); so whilst I saved 10 minutes on the bag drop I was not spared the 55 minute queue for security: it was a joke; no lounge, of course (again, there is one but BA do not pay for it) - total joke; with the "enhancements" to Club Europe seating, the best experience on this route for me is simply to book economy and Gold-book the exit rows for extra legroom

 

Indeed many of the new stations aren't very well equipped, no lounges, slow security, funny baggage handling procedures (requiring 2 check-ins), no App, no BA.com OLCI, long queues, indifferent access to Club Europe check-in. On the other hand, having survived that trauma, having access to CE - and higher levels of on board service - can bring relief for some of us.

Corfu is actually one of the better ones, Lanzarote isn't that bad, their security is reasonably efficient, and at least there is a Priority Pass lounge. Catania, yes, it is a bit slow there (though my recent visits were nearer 20 minutes in security rather than 55 minutes, but it was the scene of a easyJet court case where passengers claimed IDB because security took so long they missed their flights).

I would put Santorini towards the top: limited and poor quality facilities, security doesn't open until an hour before departure and has serious SSH style loopholes, long queues. Given the fares there can be eye-watering (higher than LHR-ORD) I think a better effort should be made. Mykonos isn't far behind.

 

Thanks for the heads up C-W-S

I'm going to Santorini at the end of next month in CE. What is the best strategy for the return? I have a hire car to return. We will need to check baggage.

 

Agree with CWS - I wouldn't single out CFU as especially poor as an outstation. Obviously it's completely "meh" when compared to hubs but it's also pretty efficient and as it's the access point for one of my favourite places on the planet - Paxos - I always enjoy breezing through security and being in a taxi to the port in about ten minutes flat.

Will be there Wednesday morning and then heading back in a couple of weeks - ET as no reward flights left when I booked (Doh). Expect the return to be a dull but not overly unpleasant couple of hours in the corner of the cafe upstairs - at least BA Saturday flight is timed to avoid the lunchtime scrum of TOM, TCX, MON and EZY all seemingly wanting to leave within ten minutes of each other.

 

Turn up 1 hour before departure. Most people turn up well before, there's a big queue to deal with them, but if you turn up late that at least minimises the time for you. I imagine car hire return is going to be swift there, it looks quite informal from the outside. You can't get much airside, in terms of food or drink, there is a small duty free shop, so best turn up fed and watered. They do sell water fairly cheaply though.

You can't check in online or via App, and checked luggage is tagged at the check in desk, then you have to walk it a short distance to the security point for scanning and onward loading - basically there is no belt at the check-in desk, just one luggage belt from a central point some 40 metres away.

 

Great, thanks for the advice

 

real first world problems for those who choose to visit package tour meccas in tiny airports! You can't honestly have expected T5 facilities?

 

Really?!

I did not expect T5 facilities, hence I asked someone with experience how to maximize my holiday experience with my family!

 

And TBF I talked about an experience which was much BETTER than T5 can be!

 

^

 

Thanks from me too CWS, as I'll also be travelling back from there at the end of August - in Y, for the princely sum of about £320 single, and that was with the benefit of a pre-brexit Euro rate!

All I have to do now is persuade my dear wife that an hour is long enough with 2 children in tow. I'll be happy enough to compromise on 1.5...

No refreshment vouchers for golds (in lieu of a lounge) either I believe?