Savoy Executive guide
Planning an early-morning airport departure
Plan an early airport pickup around your airline's check-in requirements. Check the date, terminal, collection address and luggage before travel.
Start with the time your airline requires you to reach the airport. Then work back to a pickup time, allowing separately for road travel and getting everyone ready to leave. A flight departure time alone is not enough to plan the collection.
Check the airline’s current check-in and bag-drop requirements for your flight. Online check-in does not settle every timing question, especially if you have bags to hand over. Heathrow’s check-in guidance explains the available check-in routes and directs passengers to the relevant airport process. Use your own airline’s instructions for the booking you hold. Heathrow check-in guidance
Check which calendar day the pickup falls on
A departure soon after midnight can require leaving home the previous evening. Read the pickup date and time together, then compare them with the flight itinerary. Ask another traveller to check if there is any doubt. Do not rely on remembering that the flight is “Tuesday night”.
Check the terminal on the current itinerary too. A previous trip or the arrival leg of a return journey may have used a different terminal.
Make the collection address usable
Use the exact address and postcode. At a hotel, confirm which property you are staying in and where you will wait. At a home or apartment building, consider any gate, entrance or access detail that could make the address difficult to find.
Before the morning of travel, make sure everyone knows the pickup time and has the journey confirmation. Keep a reachable phone with the lead passenger. If you booked for someone else, share the details with them rather than assuming they will have access to your email.
Prepare the luggage the night before
Check the total number of passengers and bags against the booked vehicle class. Include cabin bags, pushchairs and bulky items. If the party or luggage has changed, contact Customer Care before the pickup and check whether the booking needs to be amended.
Set aside passports, travel documents and items you need during the journey so you do not have to unpack at collection. Before confirming the car, use the airport transfer booking checklist to review the journey details.