Problem
What will it cost? Will it arrive on time: What could go wrong?
Answers
Preparation is key.
NAMES
You need to know the name of the person being met, the name and phone number of the taxi company, and the name and phone number of the hotel.
The taxi company needs to know name of person being met (especially if your name or company is different or unknown to your visitor). For privacy reasons the customer might not want their name shown. To prevent rival taxi firms claiming a customer, some taxi firms display the name of the hotel instead.
HOTEL NAMES
For this reason you want to remember the name of your hotel, especially if it sounds similar to others. You don't want to end up at the wrong Holiday Inn in Phoenix, as we did. Phoenix had two holiday inns, and I think at the time of writing in 2107 Phoenix has five holiday inns and if you or I read this years later the city may have more. I have also ended up at reception at the castle hotel in a city in Wales, when I was staying at the more modest Castle View hotel.
FLIGHT NUMBER AND ETA
You need to give the airline, flight number, city the flight is coming from, and estimated time of arrival. Most taxi companies will be watching to see which flights are cancelled or delayed. You could have a problem at either end, with the plane, the mechanics, an accident, a bomb scare, the airline, the weather, the politics, the country, the airline staff, pilot sickness, a drunk pilot, the air traffic controllers, delays offloading luggage.
TRAIN AND BUS ALTERNATIVES
Know the alternatives. If the shuttle buses or trains stop at midnight, or there's an accident stopping all traffic on the motorway, you might need an Uber cab or grab cab (Singapore) or the all night bus (UK).
BOOKING DETAILS
The taxi company will want to know which terminal. They will probably expect to pick up at arrivals.
However, you might be at Departures. If you take a different lift or shuttle bus. If you have gone with family of colleagues to their airport and are coming back, or went to do plane spotting, or sit in cafes. People used to visit Singapore's Changi airport, before the advent of the numerous large shopping malls. Changi is a state of the art airport with shopping malls, an orchid garden, and a free butterfly garden.
Taxi or M a x i
I typed m a x i and spell checker turned it into taxi. Watch out for this if ordering a cab using fax or email or text. You might need a m a x i size if you have skis, several passengers plus their luggage, are urging back a large object, or are relocating overseas.
MEETING POINT
Establish a meeting point. The taxi might meet you with a sign as you walk out of the arrivals hall. Or at a meeting point inside. Or outside in a car park. He might meet you inside the airpot on foot and take you on a long walk to the car park. You may wish to designate meeting by seating, or a recognisable shop or cafe or the luggage. (Eg, we will be sitting inside Costa, a man and woman with two babies and a pushchair and an elderly lady in a wheelchair, skis and four purple suitcases. )
Signs vary. Your driver might be wearing a green turban and carrying a green frame sign with the hotel name printed in large typeface. He could have a hand written name on a piece of A4 white paper. Or he could be holding the hotel's address card. Or wearing a tee-shirt with the taxi company name.
You might also be told to look for a large white taxi.
Story
This year, 2017, in Cambodia, we were surprised when our hotel sent us a driver who raced two of us dragging our wheelie bags across three car parks to the main street where he had parked his tuk-tuk - a motorbike pulling a small contraption with a canopy, like a doll size four poster bed! I had to hold onto my hat to stop it blowing off in the breeze. Air con? It was open sided. Seat belts. Nope. Just cling on. I laughed hysterically all forty minutes of the drive. I am still laughing hysterically thinking about it.
Enjoy your flight, and the journey.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several posts on packing and all aspects of travel and designations including Italy and Cambodia. Please share links to your favourite posts.
What will it cost? Will it arrive on time: What could go wrong?
Answers
Preparation is key.
NAMES
You need to know the name of the person being met, the name and phone number of the taxi company, and the name and phone number of the hotel.
The taxi company needs to know name of person being met (especially if your name or company is different or unknown to your visitor). For privacy reasons the customer might not want their name shown. To prevent rival taxi firms claiming a customer, some taxi firms display the name of the hotel instead.
HOTEL NAMES
For this reason you want to remember the name of your hotel, especially if it sounds similar to others. You don't want to end up at the wrong Holiday Inn in Phoenix, as we did. Phoenix had two holiday inns, and I think at the time of writing in 2107 Phoenix has five holiday inns and if you or I read this years later the city may have more. I have also ended up at reception at the castle hotel in a city in Wales, when I was staying at the more modest Castle View hotel.
FLIGHT NUMBER AND ETA
You need to give the airline, flight number, city the flight is coming from, and estimated time of arrival. Most taxi companies will be watching to see which flights are cancelled or delayed. You could have a problem at either end, with the plane, the mechanics, an accident, a bomb scare, the airline, the weather, the politics, the country, the airline staff, pilot sickness, a drunk pilot, the air traffic controllers, delays offloading luggage.
TRAIN AND BUS ALTERNATIVES
Know the alternatives. If the shuttle buses or trains stop at midnight, or there's an accident stopping all traffic on the motorway, you might need an Uber cab or grab cab (Singapore) or the all night bus (UK).
BOOKING DETAILS
The taxi company will want to know which terminal. They will probably expect to pick up at arrivals.
However, you might be at Departures. If you take a different lift or shuttle bus. If you have gone with family of colleagues to their airport and are coming back, or went to do plane spotting, or sit in cafes. People used to visit Singapore's Changi airport, before the advent of the numerous large shopping malls. Changi is a state of the art airport with shopping malls, an orchid garden, and a free butterfly garden.
Taxi or M a x i
I typed m a x i and spell checker turned it into taxi. Watch out for this if ordering a cab using fax or email or text. You might need a m a x i size if you have skis, several passengers plus their luggage, are urging back a large object, or are relocating overseas.
MEETING POINT
Establish a meeting point. The taxi might meet you with a sign as you walk out of the arrivals hall. Or at a meeting point inside. Or outside in a car park. He might meet you inside the airpot on foot and take you on a long walk to the car park. You may wish to designate meeting by seating, or a recognisable shop or cafe or the luggage. (Eg, we will be sitting inside Costa, a man and woman with two babies and a pushchair and an elderly lady in a wheelchair, skis and four purple suitcases. )
Signs vary. Your driver might be wearing a green turban and carrying a green frame sign with the hotel name printed in large typeface. He could have a hand written name on a piece of A4 white paper. Or he could be holding the hotel's address card. Or wearing a tee-shirt with the taxi company name.
You might also be told to look for a large white taxi.
Story
This year, 2017, in Cambodia, we were surprised when our hotel sent us a driver who raced two of us dragging our wheelie bags across three car parks to the main street where he had parked his tuk-tuk - a motorbike pulling a small contraption with a canopy, like a doll size four poster bed! I had to hold onto my hat to stop it blowing off in the breeze. Air con? It was open sided. Seat belts. Nope. Just cling on. I laughed hysterically all forty minutes of the drive. I am still laughing hysterically thinking about it.
Enjoy your flight, and the journey.
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. I have several posts on packing and all aspects of travel and designations including Italy and Cambodia. Please share links to your favourite posts.
Ordering a taxi is to reach airport is good however if they have their own car and want to fly from the airport so they must book cheap airport parking deals.
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