We’ve compared two of the top airport parking providers – Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) and Purple Parking – looking at various factors, to help make your decision a little easier.
(MORE: Cheap airport parking)
Locations/airports covered
- Gatwick
- Heathrow
- Luton
- Stansted
- Southend
- Bournemouth
- Bristol
- Exeter
- Durham Tees
- Doncaster Sheffield
- Leeds Bradford
- Liverpool
- Manchester
- Newcastle
- Birmingham
- East Midlands
- Aberdeen
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
- Prestwick
- Cardiff
- Gatwick
- Heathrow
- Manchester
- Birmingham
- Stansted
- Aberdeen
- Belfast
- Bristol
- Cardiff
- Doncaster
- Dublin
- Tees Valley
- East Midlands
- Edinburgh
- Exeter
- Glasgow
- Humberside
- Leeds Bradford
- Liverpool
- London City
- Luton
- Newcastle
- Prestwick
- Southampton
- Southend
Parking types
APH
Depending on the airport you can usually choose from the following:
- Meet and Greet – drop your car off at the terminal and hand over your keys to a member of staff who will take your car to a secure car park. Your car will be waiting for you at the terminal when you arrive back.
- Park and Ride – park in a secure car park and take a short bus transfer to the airport.
- Long stay – usually located within the airport complex. Simply park up and take a transfer bus to your terminal.
- Self Park – park in a secure car park which may be located outside the airport complex. Take a transfer bus to the terminal.
Purple Parking
- Meet and Greet – drop off your car at the terminal and a member of staff will take your car to a secure parking compound. Your car will be waiting at the terminal when you arrive back.
- Park and Ride – park in a secure car park and jump on a minibus to be taken to the terminal. There is also a ‘premium’ option which offers valet parking on your return.
- Q-Park City Centre – spaces offered by Purple Parking’s city centre parking partner at Heathrow and Gatwick only.
- Business parking services – dedicated car parking services for those travelling on business. Available at Heathrow only.
(MORE: Airparks versus NCP)
Price
Below we’ve compared the price of parking at Heathrow for a week in early September. Prices were correct at the time of writing.
APH
- NCP Flightpath car park for Terminals 2 and 3: £53.99
- Edward Lloyd Meet and Greet: £68
Purple Parking
- Park and Ride parking for Terminals 2 and 3: £52.95
- Meet and Greet: £84.50
- Sign up to Purple Parking emails and you’ll get up to a 15% discount on your next booking.
Extras
APH
You can also book airport hotels, airport lounges, travel insurance, airport transfers, bus, car and coach hire, and international parking. There’s even an option to have your luggage delivered to the airport for you, where it will be checked in and put on the plane.
Purple Parking
You can also book airport hotels, airport lounges, travel insurance, airport transfers and car hire.
Ease of booking
APH
Using the booking bar at the top of the APH website is easy – simply enter the airport you’re flying from, plus the dates and times you wish to park, and click through to compare your options. Once you’ve chosen which parking type you want, click through to enter your contact details and travel information and then make your payment.
Purple Parking
To get your quote, simply enter the airport you’re flying from (plus the terminal if you know it), and the dates and times you wish to park. You’ll also have the option to enter your outbound flight. Then click through to see your quotes.
Once you’ve chosen your parking type, you’ll be asked for payment details, followed by other information such as your car registration.
Cancellation policies
APH
If you have a flexible booking and cancel up to 24 hours before the parking period begins, you’ll get a full refund.
If you have a semi-flexible booking, you can cancel up to the number of hours specified in your terms and conditions. If you have a super-flexible booking, you can cancel any time before the parking period begins.
Purple Parking
If you cancel your booking up to 48 hours before the date of parking, you will be refunded in full. The only exception is Budget Airport Parking, Manchester, where a £7.50 admin fee will be deducted from the refund.
Customer service/reviews
APH
APH scores 4.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
Purple Parking
Purple Parking scores 3.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
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