When booking a recent flight to Dublin, I decided to investigate the option of flying from a local airport. Living in a location that gives me easy access to Southampton Airport, this seemed like a good chance to see what sort of deals were available.
There was also a convenience factor at work here. Travelling up to the major London airports can be a real pain, particularly given that some of the best budget flights are available from Stansted, which is located on the wrong side of the capital for me.
Looking at online prices, I was pleased to find that the route from Southampton to Dublin seemed to be a particularly cheap one. Flights are operated by Flybe, a budget airline who operate from a number of regional airports. As well as flying from Southampton, I noticed that they also flew from the likes of Norwich and Exeter.
This is probably representative of the way in which the industry has changed in recent years, with smaller airports often being used more frequently. I was pleased to note that Southampton Airport is used by about 2 million people each year, so I assumed that it wouldn't just be a small shack next to a grassy runway!
Having made my way to the airport by train, I alighted at at Southampton Airport Parkway. This is a railway station that has been located a very short walk from the main terminal.
This seems to be a great idea. If more airports had such good rail connections then I think more of us would be encouraged to leave our cars at home when beginning our holiday journeys.
I also noticed that there was a multi-storey car park directly opposite the terminal building. This is evidently to be used by people who wish to leave their car for a few days. There's a long stay car park too.
The airport itself really consists of one large building. The beauty of the fact that the entire airport is relatively small is that everything seems to be done much more quickly than is possible at larger alternatives.
I seemed to be on the plane in no time and was able to enjoy the short flight to Dublin.
Southampton Airport is small and yet incredibly convenient. With cheap prices on flights to Dublin, it makes real sense to fly from this regional airport.
Information about Southampton Airport flight deals is available online, as discussed by Keith Barrett. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.
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