UK Airport car hire – Rent with confidence!

There have been many discussions based on the demand for both on and off airport car hire. Whilst suppliers based in the terminal offer greater convenience there are arguments also in favour of off airport car hire and the service they can offer.

This is where we know we can help. Within our trusted supply network we have built relationships with reliable suppliers both on and off airport giving you the choice. We can provide you with all the information you need to make an educated decision that’s right for you.

So how do you make your decision and how do you know who is right for you?

Obviously there are many contributing factors; accessibility, convenience, reliability and cost to name a few. We need to decide what is most important to you but don’t worry you’re alone. We will offer our expert advice and opinion to help make that decision easy for you.

ON Airport car hire

Advantages

  • Convenience
  • Easily locatable collection points
  • Quicker pick up and return
  • No Hassle
  • Quicker departure from the airport after your flight

Disadvantage

  • Queues can form quickly when multiple flights arrive
  • Paying a slightly higher rate for the privilege of being “on site”

 

OFF Airport

Advantages

  • Discounted rates
  • Courtesy transfer from the airport to the car hire centre

Disadvantages

  • Extra travelling time after your flight
  • A potential short wait for the transfer

 

As you can see there are arguments in favour for both and it’s really a choice of personal preference, what we can say though is we have the flexibility; knowledge and expertise to assist you make the right choice.

 

We are just a call away – +44 (0)113 880 0748

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Changes of Road Regulations in France

New regulations are to take effect from July 1st 2012 that will mean all drivers on French roads are legally required to have a breathalyzer kit in the vehicle they are driving. This including visitors to the country!!

The current road safety law stipulate a driver must carry a fluorescent safety vest and warning triangle along with UK motorists already having to display a GB sticker. The breathalyzer will now also become part of the mandatory requirements.

The kits are expected to cost in the region of £2.00 and will be available from petrol and service stations in addition to ferry and transport terminals. Officials have suggested carrying at least two kits as drivers stopped multiple times within the same day would still be required to have the kit available. Fines are enforced by the authorities for failure to comply with the new regulations.

The legal limit for driving after drinking is 50mg per 100ml of blood. This is significantly less than the UK where the limit is 80mg.

Tips for driving in France
Speed Limits
Motorways 80mph (130KMH) or 68mph (110KMH) when wet
Open Roads Dual Carriageway with a central reservation 68mph (110KMH)
Or otherwise 55mph (90KMH)
Towns 31mph (50KMH)

Speed cameras are used heavily used throughout the country to deter speeding. In addition there are a number of government safe driving initiatives.
Alcohol Limit 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood

Mobile Phones The use of handheld phones is illegal and carries a fixed penalty fine (plus points on a French licence). The use of a hands free kit is legally allowed.
Seating It is compulsory for all passengers to wear seatbelts where fitted and all children must sit in a booster/child seat of the driver could face a fine. A child under the age of 6 months may sit in a child seat in the front of the vehicle.

Road tolls Charges are applicable to use that particular road. A ticket is collected from a kiosk machine at the start of the road and the fee paid at the end.
Parking Yellow lines mean absolutely no parking at any time
Parking is only allowed on one side of the street and signs will clearly indicate which side this is. Maximum stays can also be enforced.

Be careful for pay and display areas as they are common throughout the whole of France. Parking is usually free on weekends, bank holidays and after 19.00 on a weekday evening and prior to 09.00 the following morning.

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Fuel tanker strike threatens fuel shortage over Easter!

Ever since the fuel tanker drivers mentioned that they are going on strike, motorists have been panic buying fuel. This comes after Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude advised that “saving some extra fuel in a jerry can would be a sensible precaution.”

Unite Members belonging to five companies, namely Tesco, Sainsbury’s, BP, Shell and Esso have all voted for strike action over working conditions and pensions.  Although no date has yet been set for a strike many people are still worrying that there will be no fuel available for when they need it, this is the reason why everyone is running around in a mad frenzy.

During my driving time I have experienced this kind of situation a few times now. Back in winter we had the same situation with food, because there was a light flurry of snow everyone rushed out to get bread, milk and basic essentials in case their food could not reach the shops. This time it is all over fuel and industrial action again.

I personally believe that the actions following any mention of a strike are pointless as every time people go on a mad rush to obtain something like fuel, it causes massive uproar and eventually nothing comes of the strike.  If the tanker drivers were to go on strike it would not be the end of the world, we have come through fuel strikes before and no doubt we will do in the future.

Indigo Car Hire manager Cherie Walker believes that “instead of panic buying, people should be more careful with how they use their petrol.”

Another concern that myself and Cherie have is the fact that people are being advised to store petrol in jerry cans in their homes and garages. This is a huge concern as any naked flame that goes anywhere near those jerry cans then this can cause a massive explosion, which is a serious risk to people’s welfare and property. I would like to advise people not to store large amount of petrol or diesel in their homes for the aforementioned reason.

 

There is no reason to stockpile fuel in large quantities as there will always be a large supply for a long time to come yet. What I would like to advise people is to prepare yourselves for the future and most importantly, do not panic!

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Spanish Car Hire Giant Cease Trading

Recent reports suggest Aurigacrown will cease trading which is very sad news, I really thought the times of car hire companies going under was behind us. Aurigacrown are a well-known car hire company with a fleet of over 15,000 cars.

Is this something to do with the ridiculously low prices? Over the last 6 months i have seen cars go out to customers for a full month for as little as £200.00. This is a great price however the way the car hire suppliers make up for the low rates is through selling extras. Such as fuel, it is very common and also very annoying to customers renting cars in Spain, as most car hire supplier’s terms are to collect the car full of fuel and return back empty, charging the customers for the full tank of fuel at premium rates.

I really think due to the shortage of cars this summer, as 15,000 cars is a lot to reduce by. We will see the rates shoot up. Going back 3 years ago, when car hire supply was short exactly the same happened, cars were selling at over £300.00 per week and this was for the box standard Peugeot 107 or similar model.

We arrange quite a lot of Car Hire at Alicante Airport where the supplier has an office, really hope for all our Indigo customers the prices are not affected too much but it’s a matter of watch this space really….

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Manchester Airport 4th Place For UK Child Friendly Airport

Cheap Manchester Airport Car Hire

A recent study has ranked Manchester Airport as the countries 4th airport when it comes too been child friendly. Me been a mother of a 2 year old knows full well travelling with children is not the easiest and let’s face it extremely stressful. Most flights you need to be at the airport and checked in at least 2 hours before the flight leaves. Keeping a little one’s occupied is very challenging.
The study conducted asked 1,000 families to score the UK’s 10 major airports out of 10 points. Factors which were taken into consideration were children’s food choices, airport security and also play areas. Below is a list of the 10 airports and how well they scored.

To my surprise Heathrow Airport came in 10th place, I really think putting play areas into all airports is a must as you can sit close by and let the children play. Before long an hour has passed and you can grab something to eat and board the flight.

1 – Edinburgh Airport 7.26

2 – Glasgow Airport 7.18

3 – Liverpool Airport 7.13

4 – Manchester Airport 6.95

5 – Gatwick Airport 6.91

6 – Luton Airport 6.76

7 – Birmingham Airport 6.76

8 – Stansted Airport 6.69

9 – Bristol Airport 6.56

10 – Heathrow Airport 6.53

Sourced from – http://mancunianmatters.co.uk/content/06022273-manchester-airport-ranked-uks-fourth-most-child-friendly-airport

At Indigo Car Hire we work with many car hire suppliers which means collecting your car hire when you have children can be less stressful. We always recommend when travelling with children to choose our suppliers that have a desk in the terminal building.

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Best selling cars for 2011….

Reading this post does not surprise me at all – http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/europes-best-selling-cars-of-2011 –  Reports confirm the number of sales of new cars purchased in 2011 is down which is understandable given the current financial climate. However the figures are not as low as predicted which means some people are still spending….

UK Sales were down by 4.4%, reports released recently confirm which makes & models were most popular throughout Europe. I have worked in the Car Hire industry all my working life and the good old VW Golf is always very sought after. Booking a compact car could be a Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra, some suppliers stock Hyundai’s which means the Hyundai i30 falsl into this group. Some customers are willing to pay a little bit more to ensure they get the VW Golf and not a similar model. I have drove a VW Golf and know why we get these requests as the car is a great drive and you can feel the quality. We have all seen the advert ‘it sounds like a Golf’ this statement is very true. Reason for me mentioning the above, is that VW cars fall into the most popular models purchased last year.

Here we go, these are the best selling cars of 2011:

1 – VW Golf

2 – VW Polo

3 – Ford Fiesta

4 – Vauxhall/Opel Corsa

5 – Vauxhall/Opel Astra

6 – Renault Clio

7 – Ford Focus

8 – Renault Megane

9 – VW Passat

10 – Peugeot 207

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Mobile Tickets Now Available For Stansted Express

Stansted Airport is well known as a popular airport for catching budget flights to the UK and some of the biggest low cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet have flights regularly landing there.

One of the points that makes Stansted so popular is it’s close proximity to London which makes it a great option for those travelling to the city but not wanting to pay a premium for flying into Heathrow or Gatwick.

A great option for getting from Stansted Airport into London has always been the Stansted Express which runs regularly from the airport into the centre of London and takes less than an hour.
A new service has recently been launched that makes this service even more convenient as you can now order a mobile ticket online which can send a barcode to your phone which is scanned on board to verify your purchase.

You will still have the option of purchasing a ticket directly from the sales desk at the airport or printing off a ticket at home but it is great to have this additional option to make the process quicker and easier.

If you are flying into airport and travelling further afield then don’t forget that we provide car hire at Stansted Airport and a number of our suppliers are able to provide one way hires.

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Family Friendly Christmas Travel With Heathrow Airport

Christmas is one of the busiest times of the year for the Travel industry with millions of people travelling all over the world to spend time with Family and Friends with many of them using flights to get to their destination. Heathrow Airport alone sees over 3.5 million passengers go through their doors between mid December and the start of January. That’s over 180,000 people a day!
(more…)

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Current Driving Regulations in Britain…..

Below is a list of the current driving regulations in force in Britain as we all know each country has different regulations and if you are unaware of the rules you may find you are breaking the law without even knowing.

Below is a summary of the basic rules of the road in UK.

  • Drive on the left-hand side of the road.
  • Always pass (overtake) on the outside (right) lane.
  • Do not block the middle lane if the inside lane is clear.
  • When approaching a roundabout, give priority to traffic approaching from the right, unless otherwise indicated.
  • You must always stop at a red traffic light.
  • At a junction there’s no general priority rule – priority is marked at most junctions.
  • All traffic signals and road signs must be obeyed.
  • All vehicles must give way to emergency services vehicles.
  • The use of a car horn is not permitted in built-up areas from 23:30 to 07:00 hours.
  • Do not drive in bus lanes during restricted hours. See signs by the side of the road for times.
  • It’s illegal to use a mobile phone when driving. If you need to make a call, find a safe place to stop first.
  • Seat belts must be worn by the driver and front seat passenger. Where rear seat belts have been fitted, they must also be worn.
  • The minimum driving age is 17.
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Need Debit Card Car Hire? We Can Help!

Time and time again we get calls from customers struggling to arrange car hire due to the fact they only hold a Debit card. Majority of UK Car Hire companies (more…)

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