3 ms·

Schiphol has really long taxi times. Like 20 minutes from touchdown to doors opening. If it's a hub then you can multiply taxi time by two which means the best

Schiphol has really long taxi times. Like 20 minutes from touchdown to doors opening. If it's a hub then you can multiply taxi time by two which means the best part of an hour is spent just taxiing when many flights across Europe only take about an hour or two anyway.

cr1895 9y ago
The long taxi is really only from the Polderbaan, the far away runway to the NW of the terminal.
mcv 9y ago
That's unavoidable with a big hub. Some runways are going to be further away from the terminal. In Frankfurt, I've actually had a bus take us from the terminal to the plane. And for short trips, most time is wasted by having to check in two hours in advance. High speed trains are better for short trips in my opinion. But as far as I understand, the point of a hub is to concentrate traffic for the long trips. Those 20 minutes suddenly don't matter all that much anymore.
- waqf 9y ago
  Well, most larger airports don't like you walking on the apron more than absolutely necessary, and if they don't have a jet bridge available they put you on a bus even if the plane is only a few yards away. But IIRC Frankfurt is the one where the bus actually goes out of the airport and down a public road?
  - pintxo 9y ago
    Don't think so. Though, you have a high change of crossing over the Autobahn with your plane if you arrive with a 2 engine model (the HEAVYs cannot use the northern runway, as the runway is too short for them) And some planes are parked rather remotely, where the bus trip might take around 10-15 minutes and is not that much different from the official guided bus tour of the airport.
- distances 9y ago
  > In Frankfurt, I've actually had a bus take us from the terminal to the plane. This is very common even in smaller airports when an airline doesn't want to pay for the more expensive placement at the tube, as far as I understand. Also some airports have a road for airport vehicles just between the building and plane parking position, and don't allow people to walk to the plane for security reasons. Feels like most of my flights start with a bus to the plane.
  - mcv 9y ago
    Really? For me it was a first. At Schiphol, all planes park at the tube. I've been to other countries where they don't have a tube at all, and there we left the plane by a stair and walked across the tarmac to the (usually very small) arrivals building.

cr1895 9y ago

The long taxi is really only from the Polderbaan, the far away runway to the NW of the terminal.

mcv 9y ago

That's unavoidable with a big hub. Some runways are going to be further away from the terminal. In Frankfurt, I've actually had a bus take us from the terminal to the plane. And for short trips, most time is wasted by having to check in two hours in advance. High speed trains are better for short trips in my opinion. But as far as I understand, the point of a hub is to concentrate traffic for the long trips. Those 20 minutes suddenly don't matter all that much anymore.

waqf 9y ago
Well, most larger airports don't like you walking on the apron more than absolutely necessary, and if they don't have a jet bridge available they put you on a bus even if the plane is only a few yards away. But IIRC Frankfurt is the one where the bus actually goes out of the airport and down a public road?
- pintxo 9y ago
  Don't think so. Though, you have a high change of crossing over the Autobahn with your plane if you arrive with a 2 engine model (the HEAVYs cannot use the northern runway, as the runway is too short for them) And some planes are parked rather remotely, where the bus trip might take around 10-15 minutes and is not that much different from the official guided bus tour of the airport.
distances 9y ago
> In Frankfurt, I've actually had a bus take us from the terminal to the plane. This is very common even in smaller airports when an airline doesn't want to pay for the more expensive placement at the tube, as far as I understand. Also some airports have a road for airport vehicles just between the building and plane parking position, and don't allow people to walk to the plane for security reasons. Feels like most of my flights start with a bus to the plane.
- mcv 9y ago
  Really? For me it was a first. At Schiphol, all planes park at the tube. I've been to other countries where they don't have a tube at all, and there we left the plane by a stair and walked across the tarmac to the (usually very small) arrivals building.