Celia, given the concerns about the stops that the van makes on the way to the airport... is there a way to know the order in which you pick people up? I'll be returning on an 11:30 flight (manyana). I should be at the airport no later than 10:30. You would pick me up at the Palace (@!!! remember, staying for FREE) at...?

rgf, It is hard to know exactly the order of the stops until last minute. We have new reservations and modifications everyday so our booking department does not know exactly which will be the best itinerary to be followed by the van until the end.
Ah!,When you make the request please specify if you mean Palace Hostel or Palace Hotel..he, he

Regards,
Celia

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Airport shuttle, limousine service and car rental.
http://www.aerocity.com

Hi everyone!

Been home a couple of weeks now from our trip to Spain. Wanted to tell you a bit about our experience with Aerocity.

Anne had it right on the money.

When we first arrived at the airport, we discovered our luggage had been lost. Not knowing how long it would take to recover it (ended up being 2 hours!), I decide to phone Aerocity to let them know what was happening. They said not to worry and to just call them when we needed them.

When that time came, we found that it was hard to find the place to meet them at the airport. That is one suggestion I might maket to them to help their customers better.

Our driver was very friendly, but did not speak English. We simply handed him our reservation confirmation that had the address of the Hostal Lopez on it, and away we went! We did not have any other riders in the van. Perfectly easy. And such a blessing for our first service in Madrid.

Now, for the return ride back to the airport a few days later, things got a bit trickier.

I had made reservations for 8:00am for Aerocity to pick us up in front of the hostal, and I told them we had a 10:00am flight.

At about 7:30am, on the day of the flight, I called them to confirm that reservation. They affirmed the reservation. Unfortunately, they were late and I began to panic at 8:30 when Aerocity had not yet arrived at the hostal! I phoned them again. They said the van was on its way. It finally arrived at 9:00am!

Then, we did indeed have to pick up two other sets of riders and we also hit the morning traffic. We did make it to the airport on time, but a bit panick stricken. I think the service might need to adjust the service a bit to avoid this type of situation.

Other than that, I really appreciated the service. I think that the only way you could be absolutley, positively assured of your pick up time from your hotel, would be to have the private service...unless, of course, Aerocity really listens to this type of concern and figures out a way to avoid this problem.

Also, the cab situation in Spain is horrendous. At one point when we were in Barcelona, the cab drivers all went on strike. And then, when we needed a cab from the cruise ship, we practically started an international incident with a cabby and a police officer.

The cabs all line up at the port. Apparently they have this seniority system, or something. Well, we approached a cab who waved us to the cab at the front of the line. We asked him how much to take us to the Columbus Monument from the port - just a few miles. Well, he wanted some outragous amount - an amount that was like 4 times more than what we had paid the night before for the same ride! We told him no and turned to approach another cab.

Well! He yelled down the line of cabs what price he was charging us (he was virtually setting the price for all the cabs!). We got really frustrated. Just then, a new cab drove into the line who had not heard what had happened. We approached his car and asked him how much. He quoted us a good price, but said he couldn't take us because he was at the end of the line!

Now this policeman wondered what we were up to. So he approached the cabby and us to see what was going on. We told the policeman. He said, "No! No! They are supposed to charge what it says on the meter! This in not right!!" So he dragged us up to the front of the line and told the cab driver to charge us only what was on the meter.

Then things got ugly. The cabby started yelling at the cop. And the cop started yelling back. We knew the cop was telling him that this was an embarrassment for Spaniards to do this sort of thing to their tourists. And that it was to stop happening! Then this old cab driver came over and said he would take us. I'm telling you, I did not want to get into that cab, but my husband threw me in and told me to forget about it and that we'd just pay whatever. Anyway, this other cab driver comes over to the window and puts his fist in the the car and tells us, "You walk! You walk!" The driver of our cab is still in this huge yelling thing with the cop, and 50 cabbys are standing around with us frozen in the back seat of this cab! All I wanted to do was get out of that car and get back on the cruise ship!

Well, the end of the story is that we took the ride to the Columbus Monument all the while with the cabby mumbling something about being a professional. My husband handed him like $15 or 20 bucks for a 2 mile ride. And we learned a huge lesson about cabs in Spain - or at least in Barcelona.

Forget the cabs. They are a rip off.

Deb

Deb, I am very sorry to hear you had some problems with Aerocity service. I want to excuse the delay of your pick up, I am a little surprise as this situation is very unusual.

I appreciate your comments and suggestions to improve our services.
I sad to hear you also had problem with taxes in Barcelona.

I hope you did not have a bad impression of Spain and come back soon.

Regards,
Celia

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Airport shuttle, limousine service and car rental.
http://www.aerocity.com

[posted by billy ski]

Dear Celia/ Aerocity, We used your service and were picked up right on time by a lovely courteous driver and taken to the airport with only one pick-up on the way.The traffic was horrible but was not Aero-Citys fault. The service was fine but my tarifa was 1900 Psts. for 2 from Perta del Sol instead of the 1400 as advertised. Why is this? My name is William Stanley and was at the AreSol Hostal and picked up at 8:45 AM. the date was 20/11/00. Thanks

Hi billy ski, I'm not sure where you saw 1400 pts for transport to the airport on their website, but I'm looking over their rates and it says 1700pts for one person or 1900pts for two persons. I'm pretty sure this was the rate when I used them last month too. Hopefully Celia/AeroCity can clear up the confusion. Still, with a difference of 500pts (about US$2.70), the 1900pts (about US$10) is bargain.

Saludos, MadridMan

Yikes!! I humbly beg the forgiveness of MM & most importantly of Celia of AeroCity. I could of sworn it said 1400 Psts. Oh well it sure was worth it.We had so much to lug between clothes for the Costa Del Sol to Madrid including time in Granada, Sevilla and Barcelona not to mention my girlfriends purchases along the way.Aero City was Aces. Billy Ski

Large Kudos for Celia at AeroCity! We've reserved 2 of AeroCity's Express Service and 1 Mobile B2 while in Spain next week, and she was awesome with her emails and getting the right info to me before we leave for Italy tomorrow morning! Thank you for your committment to excellence...

Regards,
D

Hi Celia U from Aerocity!

Oh yes! We will come back to Spain! We loved it so much. And we loved the people!!!

We will use Aerocity again without hesitation! When we had to phone you from the airport about our lost luggage, and ask that you pick us up at a later time, it was such a relief that there was no problem with the change. We were already so worried and frustrated with the situation that it was a tremendous relief to have aerocity be so helpful.

I feel your customer service is so excellent that I suspect by the time we come back to Spain, you will have made it easier for your customers to find your vans at the airport! Perhaps the airport will let you put up a big sign in several different languages to hang down where people can see it as they walk out the doors from the baggage claim. Or perhaps you can include a map on your website that people can print out and take with them.

Certainly, we know where your vans park now, and it will not be a problem in the future. But signs would be helpful.

You should be very pleased and proud to work with a company who is making such an excellent effort to promote Spain by being a friendly, reliable service to your country's tourists.

It's too bad the cab drivers don't understand this important concept. They are hurting their profession terribly by trying to rip off the tourists. It's a shame.

Hope to see you again!
Deb

Hello Deb,

I`m glad you liked our service. You are right, I know we have to improve some details of our service as the Airport location. We are studying some strategies about it.

Thank you for your nice comments.
Hope you come back soon!

Saludos,
Celia

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Airport shuttle, limousine service and car rental.
http://www.aerocity.com