Courchevel airport (CVF)

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 23:21:03 +0000, David Mahon
wrote:

In article , Champ
writes
On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 17:21:29 -0000, "Bill Seddon"
wrote:

Helicopter transfer from Chambery was my next question - about 200 quid
each for 4, not too bad.

That's more than the cost of an apartment for a week. I guess people have
different ideas of "not too bad"

S'what I was thinking. Personally, when I shell out for a heli in the
mountains, it's to take me to the top of the mountain.

It's not too much different to the kind of money I'd pay for a seaplane
transfer when diving in summer (Maldives) - and I'd expect it to be more
expensive in Europe than in the Indian Ocean.

It's all relative. I generally try and pay no more than 100 quid for
a flight to the alps (e.g. Easyjet to Geneva). Paying 200 quid for
the transfer doesn't make any sense to me, but if it does for you then
fine.
--
Champ

David Mahon wrote:
In article , Steve Haigh
writes

David Mahon wrote:


Helicopter transfer from Chambery was my next question - about 200
quid each
for 4, not too bad.


£800 quid to get from Chambery to Courchevel...

Not too bad? Your taking the ****, right? In what sense of the words
is this "not too bad"?


A standard taxi is 150 quid, a limo more than double that. What exactly
do you expect for a helicopter?

I'd expect it to be about £800 (no idea what is exactly and I'm not
about to start looking) but that doesn't mean it's "not too bad". A taxi
for £150 is OK between 4 I guess, but if it was for a weekend I'd
probably hire a car.

David Mahon wrote:

As there will probably only be two of us at the moment, I probably won't
bother - and might just go somewhere else anyway. But I won't be flying Easyjet
either (BA or Swiss are not much more expensive, sometimes cheaper, and so
much more organised - and you don't have to trek to Stanstead/Luton).

For flights at peak times I have yet to find the "low costs" to be
cheaper than BA or Swiss. Out of 3 or 4 trips last year and a couple
booked so far this year I have found BA or Swiss to offer the best deals
to Geneve by quite a decent amount (in the order of 1/2 the price of
Easyjet etc). Flying mid-week might be a different matter or outside the
holidays might be a different matter. As David says it is alos much less
hassle - obviously depending on where you live, friends in Essex would
rather pay more to fly from Stanstead than from LHR.

I have yet to find decent flights to Chambery though - do any of the
main carriers fly there direct from the UK?



It would have been nice to be book a seat on a 12 seat twin prop from Paris
direct to the slope though - really could have gone for the weekend (leave
Sat am return Sun pm) then. I'd definately have paid 200 quid for that.

Weekend trips are perfectly feasible, just don't go to Courchevel or the
other Tarentaise resorts. There are a dozen or more resorts within an
hour or so's drive from Geneva. I've done several weekend and
long-weekend trips from Heathrow, it's no more hassle than a bad journey
home from work on the train to be honest. There are Swiss/BA (codeshare,
but I think they are operated by Swiss) flights departing at about 8pm
both ways, so you get to the resort at around midnight to 1 am on the
Fri and return on Sunday after a full day on the slopes.

"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...


I have yet to find decent flights to Chambery though - do any of the
main carriers fly there direct from the UK?

Yes but you have to fly from Southampton

--
Mike W

In message , Steve Haigh
writes
For flights at peak times I have yet to find the "low costs" to be
cheaper than BA or Swiss. Out of 3 or 4 trips last year and a couple
booked so far this year I have found BA or Swiss to offer the best
deals to Geneve by quite a decent amount (in the order of 1/2 the price
of Easyjet etc).

Really? I just paid £50 return (inc taxes) Luton Geneva travelling on
Saturdays. That was booked only a month in advance too. The likes of BA
come into their own when the booking is left quite late but if you plan
a journey a few months in advance there is no beating the low costs. I
do think that BA are better in terms of comfort but for an hour of my
life I can put up with an inch less legroom. The all day deli that they
serve nowadays leaves a lot to be desired.
--
Pete Devlin
[{//////news03//////at\\\\\secondrow/////co\\\\\uk}]
Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world.
Kaiser Wilhelm

Champ wrote:

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 23:21:03 +0000, David Mahon
wrote:


In article , Champ
writes

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 17:21:29 -0000, "Bill Seddon"
wrote:


Helicopter transfer from Chambery was my next question - about 200 quid
each for 4, not too bad.

That's more than the cost of an apartment for a week. I guess people have
different ideas of "not too bad"

S'what I was thinking. Personally, when I shell out for a heli in the
mountains, it's to take me to the top of the mountain.

It's not too much different to the kind of money I'd pay for a seaplane
transfer when diving in summer (Maldives) - and I'd expect it to be more
expensive in Europe than in the Indian Ocean.


It's all relative. I generally try and pay no more than 100 quid for
a flight to the alps (e.g. Easyjet to Geneva). Paying 200 quid for
the transfer doesn't make any sense to me, but if it does for you then
fine.

For one memorable skitrip we paid more for the transfers (around 70 quid
each, Geneva - 3V) than the flights (around 60). Unfortunately I'd
already booked the flights before I twigged. A taxi would still have
been more expensive for 2 people, although with 4 it might have been a
good option.

-Sarah

On 23 Dec 2004 11:33:34 GMT, "David Mahon" wrote:

It would have been nice to be book a seat on a 12 seat twin prop from Paris
direct to the slope though - really could have gone for the weekend (leave
Sat am return Sun pm) then. I'd definately have paid 200 quid for that.

And so would I!
--
Champ

On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 13:24:48 +0000, Steve Haigh
wrote:

Weekend trips are perfectly feasible, just don't go to Courchevel or the
other Tarentaise resorts. There are a dozen or more resorts within an
hour or so's drive from Geneva. I've done several weekend and
long-weekend trips from Heathrow, it's no more hassle than a bad journey
home from work on the train to be honest. There are Swiss/BA (codeshare,
but I think they are operated by Swiss) flights departing at about 8pm
both ways, so you get to the resort at around midnight to 1 am on the
Fri and return on Sunday after a full day on the slopes.

I've usually done long weekends - out around Thursday night/friday
morning, back Monday night/tuesday afternoon. When I was young(er) and
stupid(er) I even drove to Chamonix for a long weekend (wow *that* was
a road trip).


--
Champ

pete devlin wrote:
In message , Steve Haigh
writes

For flights at peak times I have yet to find the "low costs" to be
cheaper than BA or Swiss. Out of 3 or 4 trips last year and a couple
booked so far this year I have found BA or Swiss to offer the best
deals to Geneve by quite a decent amount (in the order of 1/2 the
price of Easyjet etc).


Really? I just paid £50 return (inc taxes) Luton Geneva travelling on
Saturdays. That was booked only a month in advance too. The likes of BA
come into their own when the booking is left quite late but if you plan
a journey a few months in advance there is no beating the low costs. I
do think that BA are better in terms of comfort but for an hour of my
life I can put up with an inch less legroom. The all day deli that they
serve nowadays leaves a lot to be desired.

Yep, but travelling on a Saturday is no good for a weekend trip - I was
talking about Thurs/Fri evening flights going out. I take your point
about booking in advance though, 'm sure there are cheaper fares on the
low-costs if you are orgnaised enuogh to book when the timetables come out.

VisionSet wrote:

"Steve Haigh" wrote in message
...


I have yet to find decent flights to Chambery though - do any of the
main carriers fly there direct from the UK?


Yes but you have to fly from Southampton

Couldn't find any on Expedia, do you know who flies from there?