Flights run late. Sometimes by twenty minutes, occasionally by six hours. The question that matters when you have booked a car is whether that becomes your problem the moment you land, and the answer depends entirely on whether anyone is actually watching your flight.
How flight tracking works
When you book an arrival you give us your flight number. That number is matched against live flight data and monitored from the moment the aircraft leaves its origin.
The pick up is scheduled against the actual landing time rather than the time printed on your ticket. If you are 90 minutes late, the driver arrives 90 minutes later. You do not need to phone, message, or think about it while you are still in the air.
It works the other way too. Flights land early more often than people expect, particularly with a strong tailwind on transatlantic routes. An early landing simply means the driver arrives earlier.
This is the one thing that has to be correct. A wrong flight number means we are tracking somebody else's aircraft. It is on your booking confirmation, and it is two letters followed by a number.
Waiting time after you land
Free waiting time starts when the wheels touch down, not when you booked.
- International arrivals: 45 minutes free, covering immigration and baggage reclaim
- Domestic arrivals: shorter, because you clear the airport faster
On a normal day that is comfortable. When reclaim collapses and bags take ninety minutes, message the driver. They are already there and it is a conversation, not a penalty.
When the delay is severe
Long delays are where the difference between operators shows.
Delays of a few hours are absorbed. The tracking updates and the driver is rescheduled. Nothing is required from you.
Overnight delays, where a flight slips past midnight into the next day, need a message from you if you are able. The tracking usually catches it, but a diverted or heavily rescheduled flight sometimes needs a human to confirm what is happening.
Diversions are the genuinely difficult one. If your Birmingham flight is diverted to Manchester or East Midlands, contact us as soon as you have signal. We can usually rearrange a pick up from the new airport, though it becomes a different journey at a different price.
Cancellations
If your flight is cancelled entirely, message us as soon as you know. Rebooking onto a flight the next day is straightforward to accommodate. Give us the new flight number and the booking moves.
Delays on the outbound
Less of an issue, because a delayed departure does not change when you need to be at the airport. Check in and bag drop still close on the original schedule in most cases.
The exception is a delay announced hours in advance, where the airline moves the departure to the evening. In that case message us and we will move the pick up rather than taking you to sit in a terminal for seven hours.
What we need from you
- The correct flight number at the point of booking
- A phone number that works, ideally one that receives messages abroad
- A message if anything unusual happens, diversions especially
That is genuinely it. The routine delays are handled without you.
Why this matters more than the fare
A car booked for a fixed time with no tracking is fine right up until the moment your flight is late. Then it is either gone, or sitting on a meter, and the saving disappears immediately.
Tracking is included on every arrival booking as standard. It is not an upgrade and it is not an extra.
Travelling soon?
Fixed price, flight tracking included, no surge and no hidden extras. Get a quote in under a minute.
Get your fixed price