Travel

[Merged] T.O. Airport Parking and Flying

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Jun 16, 2009
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Thank you. My query got derailed completely after your reply.
dk1021 wrote: We parked at the parknfly self park lot last week and it worked out well.
We have small kids with us so we dropped them off at the airport first before going to the parking lot.

Shuttles came pretty frequently (I believe I saw 2 or 3 came by while i was looking for a parking spot) however there could be a long wait when you return to pickup your car.
Not sure if you are flying from YYZ but if you are, i suggest you wait for the return shuttle at the A Exit instead of E exit because the bus will be full by the time they get to the E exit.
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newlyborn wrote: Thank you. My query got derailed completely after your reply.
In part because you can often do better than 40% off.
Is it the convenient location from Airport?
Valet parking is closest and most convenient. All PnF shuttles will stop at Valet if you ask the driver, even the ones that say they're Economy.
I will have only one suitcase with me and rest are all hand luggage carried by individual passenger.
Drivers help passengers get suitcases on/off the vehicle. There are storage racks in the van for this luggage.
Please share your latest experiences
1. When you land and get your baggage, call their 1-800 and give them your transaction number. With Valet they'll start retrieving your car so that it should be at their office by the time you get there and pay your bill.
2. Make sure you have a paper copy of your discount coupon, especially if paying at the counter.
3. If you use PnF frequently learn to use the automated registration/payment machines. They're usually much faster.
4. Also for frequent parkers, register for their loyalty program to get free parking days.
5. And also register your Aeroplan number to get some AP miles with each transaction.

You're welcome ;)
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Feb 15, 2006
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walleye187 wrote: Thanks!! curious, how did u find this coupon? anytime i search for a coupon code, i end up on those coupon sites like XXretailmenot and those codes never work and are full of annoying redirects!
We bought Sunwing vacation package. When I went online to see our booking, I found that parking coupon.
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crystallight wrote: For Park n Fly, what's the difference between Self Park and Economy? Is it just that the Economy parking lot is further away?
Not only that, it's the first/last stop for the shuttles so not a good option if you're in a hurry to catch your flight or you're in a hurry to get home when you land (like if you arrive at 11:45PM).

When you park there, you might have to wait 10-20 minutes for a shuttle. And when it picks you up it'll weave through the economy lot to find others, then drive over to the self-park lot, weave through that for a bit, go into the valet lot and pick up whoever is waiting, THEN finally goes into the airport.

When you arrive, again you'll wait 10-20 min for a shuttle which will of course drop off Valet people first, then Self-Park people, then you.

Oh yes, when it snows that economy lot is the last to get plowed, if at all. So if you don't have 4WD and/or winter tires, might want to make other parking plans.

PNF Econony may be the cheapest but on my last trip it didn't cost significantly more to use the Value Park Garage at Pearson (took advantage of the prepay special), and I was able to park under cover and very close to the bridge to the LINK train station. To not have to deal with those annoying shuttles was well worth it IMHO. It was just 15 minutes between locking my car and dropping off my checked luggage. That wasn't going to happen if I used PNF. And in winter, not having to come back to a snow and ice covered car in a snowed-in parking spot...

Wanted to add -- if you ever fly out of Buffalo, definitely use the airport's Economy lot which is on the other side of one of the runways. Unlike PNF, Buffalo airport has dedicated shuttles that ONLY go between economy and terminal, those shuttles don't go through the more expensive lots too. They're less frequent but you don't get the PNF "runaround".
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EastGTARedFlagger wrote: Not only that, it's the first/last stop for the shuttles so not a good option if you're in a hurry to catch your flight or you're in a hurry to get home when you land (like if you arrive at 11:45PM).

When you park there, you might have to wait 10-20 minutes for a shuttle. And when it picks you up it'll weave through the economy lot to find others, then drive over to the self-park lot, weave through that for a bit, go into the valet lot and pick up whoever is waiting, THEN finally goes into the airport.

When you arrive, again you'll wait 10-20 min for a shuttle which will of course drop off Valet people first, then Self-Park people, then you.

Oh yes, when it snows that economy lot is the last to get plowed, if at all. So if you don't have 4WD and/or winter tires, might want to make other parking plans.

PNF Econony may be the cheapest but on my last trip it didn't cost significantly more to use the Value Park Garage at Pearson (took advantage of the prepay special), and I was able to park under cover and very close to the bridge to the LINK train station. To not have to deal with those annoying shuttles was well worth it IMHO. It was just 15 minutes between locking my car and dropping off my checked luggage. That wasn't going to happen if I used PNF. And in winter, not having to come back to a snow and ice covered car in a snowed-in parking spot...

Wanted to add -- if you ever fly out of Buffalo, definitely use the airport's Economy lot which is on the other side of one of the runways. Unlike PNF, Buffalo airport has dedicated shuttles that ONLY go between economy and terminal, those shuttles don't go through the more expensive lots too. They're less frequent but you don't get the PNF "runaround".
+1 for the Value Park Garage at Pearson. Personally, I'm willing to pay a $100 for a weeks worth of parking as opposed to $50 at PNF, especially in the winter. The convenience is totally worth it.

I fail to understand how people are OK spending thousands of $$$ on vacations, yet cheap out on something as basic and important as parking. I get huge discounts on PNF through work, yet I always choose Value Park Garage over it.
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carmageddon wrote: I fail to understand how people are OK spending thousands of $$$ on vacations, yet cheap out on something as basic and important as parking.
Not just parking -- also other "nickel and dime" things like luggage, in-flight meals, WiFi... I get that people aren't happy the airlines are unbundling things, but you gotta admit flying is a hell of a lot cheaper than it once was - back when those of modest means couldn't afford flying and had to take ships and trains to cover distances, or just couldn't go anywhere far.

Agree on everything you said. Value Park would have to lose the "Value" part and really jack up its price before I'd ever consider PNF again.
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carmageddon wrote: +1 for the Value Park Garage at Pearson. Personally, I'm willing to pay a $100 for a weeks worth of parking as opposed to $50 at PNF, especially in the winter. The convenience is totally worth it.
It depends on context. Sure $100/week for a family of 3 or more to park on a week's vacation may be "totally worth it."

But what about a single passenger who travels for a month? (I do that annually.) $100/week is $400 or more. At PnF Valet with a discount coupon the cost is $150. The difference is a lot to pay for a few minutes of convenience.
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EastGTARedFlagger wrote: Not just parking -- also other "nickel and dime" things like luggage, in-flight meals, WiFi... I get that people aren't happy the airlines are unbundling things, but you gotta admit flying is a hell of a lot cheaper than it once was - back when those of modest means couldn't afford flying and had to take ships and trains to cover distances, or just couldn't go anywhere far.
Again it depends on context.

A single traveller may be willing to pay extra for that stuff even if the total add-ons come to $200 or more. But what about families with several children? It really adds up fast.

One of the loudest objections to all this "nickel and diming" (with $50 and $100 bills!) is that people tend to like to know what their vacations are going to cost before they leave, hence the popularity of all-inclusive resorts. The airline model "flies" in the face of that.

Also consider that not everyone flies on vacation. Many people fly to visit friends or relatives, perhaps to visit those who are ill or infirm. They can't afford to be nickeled and dimed on every trip. Conversely those who fly for work don't care because their employer picks up the tab.
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bylo wrote: It depends on context. Sure $100/week for a family of 3 or more to park on a week's vacation may be "totally worth it."

But what about a single passenger who travels for a month? (I do that annually.) $100/week is $400 or more. At PnF Valet with a discount coupon the cost is $150. The difference is a lot to pay for a few minutes of convenience.
Sure, if I'm traveling for extended duration, I probably wouldn't pay that much either. I'm a single traveler and have parked at value park for 2 weeks at a stretch.
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bylo wrote: A single traveller may be willing to pay extra for that stuff even if the total add-ons come to $200 or more. But what about families with several children? It really adds up fast.
A single traveller pays the same for parking as a family with children. Unless that family needs to park more than 1 vehicle (or your family is so big you drive around in a bus...) I'd say, the more people in the vehicle the more it makes sense to not have to deal with those annoying PNF shuttles. Or if you want to cheap out completely (and this makes more sense if you're going away for a month or longer), have a family member take you to the airport and pick you up after. If it's such a major vacation planned months in advance, you have plenty of time to get somebody for this job. But again, if you can afford to be away for a month, you can afford to park your car in Value Park for a month.

I get that not everybody can travel without checking a bag. Well, that's just something you add to the cost of your ticket when pricing. Some airlines let you check in a bag or two for free (Southwest comes to mind), most do not. Most airlines let you check a bag for free on overseas flights. Some may not. Do your homework, simple as that. It's not like the airlines hide this fee and then spring it on you when you show up at the airport. But again, if you can afford to be away for a month, you can afford to pay to have your luggage checked.

Meals, if you want to cheap out on that, go buy a box of protein/energy bars at Costco to eat on the plane. Bring collapsible water bottles and fill those up at the drinking fountain before boarding. Or have a nice restaurant meal on your way to the airport, and have a nice restaurant meal at your destination. Easy. Both ways avoid the overpriced micro-meal, and overpriced airport food. But again, if you can afford to be away for a month, you can afford to pay for airport or airline food.

WiFi, suck it up and do without for a few hours if you don't want to pay for Gogo Flight. Nobody forces you to. Or if you're flying over land, maybe your phone data will work. It's legal to do in Europe...
Or look for ways to share a single Gogo connection (rather than paying for each kid's toy to connect). But again, if you can afford to be away for a month, you can afford to pay for Gogo...

Bottom line - you have no business crying poor if you can afford a lengthy vacation.
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Planning to use Value Park Lot or Garage for 13 days in September. Waiting to book when there is a good promo code to save a bit of money. Anyone know what discounts are typical for these lots? Should I book when a 10% promo comes up or wait for a 20% or more promo?
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etgohomeok wrote: Planning to use Value Park Lot or Garage for 13 days in September. Waiting to book when there is a good promo code to save a bit of money. Anyone know what discounts are typical for these lots? Should I book when a 10% promo comes up or wait for a 20% or more promo?
Never seen more than 10-20% off on the garage. That too is difficult to come by.
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bylo wrote: Flightcentre and Sunwing have coupons and discount codes that offer 50% or more discounts on regular PnF weekly/monthly rates. Google is your friend.

E.g. https://www.flightcentre.ca/pdf/parknfly.pdf?v=3 and https://assets.contentful.com/h82kzjd39 ... nto_EN.pdf

Never leave home without printing out these pages.
These codes seem more expensive than the rates promotional rates on Park N' Fly's own website?





Also, anyone know why Park N' Fly Valet service is cheaper than the regular lots? Are they trying to drive more Valet business?
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coolspot wrote: These codes seem more expensive than the rates promotional rates on Park N' Fly's own website?
Not in my experience. Perhaps it depends on the specific lot and length of stay.
Also, anyone know why Park N' Fly Valet service is cheaper than the regular lots? Are they trying to drive more Valet business?
Where do you see Valet cheaper than Economy?
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bylo wrote: Where do you see Valet cheaper than Economy?
For a 15 day trip, Valet - $139.95 + tax, Self-Park is $149.95, Economy is $164.85.

But I don't understand why Valet is than Self-Park which in turn is cheaper than Economy!
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coolspot wrote: For a 15 day trip, Valet - $139.95 + tax, Self-Park is $149.95, Economy is $164.85.

But I don't understand why Valet is than Self-Park which in turn is cheaper than Economy!
Probably an anomaly. Look at the Sunwing link I provided upthread. Economy is $47/week plus $10/day so 15 days is $104. Valet is $82/week plus $20 per day. So compared to the rates you posted, Sunwing's Economy is cheaper but Valet is more expensive.

So as I opined before, "Perhaps it depends on the specific lot and length of stay."

This also suggests that one needs to compare rates among PnF's website discounts and all the coupons one can find. The difference could be substantial (e.g. your 15 day trip in Economy, $104 vs. $164.)
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coolspot wrote: For a 15 day trip, Valet - $139.95 + tax, Self-Park is $149.95, Economy is $164.85.

But I don't understand why Valet is than Self-Park which in turn is cheaper than Economy!
I see the same rates for 18 days and none of the codes from different places change much. Valet remains cheapest with the lowest rate about a dollar or so less when using code as compared to the default rate.

Skypark looks better at $108 taxes in for 18 days. Price is same for both self park and valet, which one to prefer?
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Parknfly for me for 1 week is $57 one week all-in. That's direct from, their website. Does anyone know any other better coupons?

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