What "meet and greet" actually means at a London airport
· 2 min read
The phrase is used loosely, and the difference between operators is large. Here is what to check before you book, and the questions that reveal what you are really buying.
"Meet and greet" appears on nearly every airport transfer website. It is not a regulated term, and what it buys you varies enormously. Here is how to read it.
The version you want
Your driver parks, walks into the terminal, and waits in the arrivals hall holding a board with your name on it. They help with your bags and walk you to the car. You do not need to find anything, work out where the car park is, or phone anyone.
The version you often get
The driver waits in a car park — sometimes a short walk away, sometimes a shuttle ride — and sends a text with a bay number when your flight lands. That is a perfectly reasonable service, and it is usually cheaper. It just is not what most people picture when they read "meet and greet", and you find out the difference at midnight with a tired four-year-old.
Three questions that reveal which one you are buying
- Will the driver be inside the terminal, in the arrivals hall? Ask it exactly that way. "Yes, they'll meet you" is not an answer to it.
- Is airport parking included, or added afterwards? A meeting inside means the driver pays to park. If parking appears as an extra on the final invoice, that tells you how the price was quoted.
- How long is the free waiting time, and when does the clock start? The honest answer starts the clock at actual landing time, not your booked pickup time. Otherwise a delayed flight eats your waiting time before you have even taxied to the gate.
Why flight tracking is the part that matters
Meet and greet only works if the operator knows when you actually land. If nobody is watching the flight number, a two-hour delay means your driver either waits unpaid or leaves — and both outcomes eventually reach you as a problem, either as a waiting charge or as no car.
Give the operator your flight number even when it is optional. It is the single piece of information that makes an airport pickup reliable.
What we do
Our drivers come inside and wait in arrivals with a name board. One hour of waiting is included on airport pickups, timed from when your aircraft actually touches down. Parking is our cost, not a line added to your invoice afterwards.
See your price for this journey in about thirty seconds.
Fixed fare agreed before you travel, flight tracked, and your driver waiting inside arrivals with a name board.
Get a price