top of page

Meet & Greet vs Park & Ride: Which Should You Book?

Both park your car and get you to your flight. The difference is who drives it, whether you take a shuttle, and one Heathrow charge that is not included in either price.

5 min read · 25 July 2026

What is the actual difference?

Both get your car parked and you onto your flight. The difference is who drives it, and whether you take a shuttle.

With Park & Ride, you drive to a compound near the airport, park in a marked bay and keep your keys. A shuttle bus takes you to the terminal. Your car stays exactly where you left it until you come back.

With Meet & Greet, you drive to the terminal itself. A vetted, insured driver meets you, checks the car over with you, and takes the keys. You walk straight into departures. Your car is driven to a secure compound and brought back to the terminal when you land.

Everything else follows from that one difference.

Which is cheaper?

Park & Ride is normally the cheaper of the two, at both Heathrow and Luton. You are doing the parking yourself and accepting a transfer at each end, and the price reflects that.

But the gap is not always what it looks like on the search results page, and at Heathrow there is a specific reason why.

The Heathrow charge that catches people out

Meet & Greet handovers at Heathrow happen inside the airport's own short-stay car park. Heathrow charges its own fee for entering and exiting that car park - currently around GBP 8.00 for up to 30 minutes, each way.

That charge is set by Heathrow Airport, not by the parking operator and not by us. You pay it at the machine, and it is not included in your booking. Bring a card.

Park & Ride does not incur it, because you never enter the terminal car park.

So when you compare the two at Heathrow, add roughly GBP 16.00 to the Meet & Greet price before deciding. It does not always change the answer, but it should be in the sum.

How much time does each one actually take?

For Meet & Greet, call about 20 minutes before you reach the car park so the driver is in position. The handover itself takes a few minutes: bags out, a quick look over the car together, keys across. Then you are walking into the terminal.

For Park & Ride, call the compound around 30 minutes before you arrive. Allow about ten minutes for the shuttle, plus the walk at either end.

At Heathrow there is one more thing to build in. The Park & Ride shuttle runs to Terminal 4. If you are flying from Terminal 2, 3 or 5, you take Heathrow's free train onward from T4. That is a real leg with luggage, not a hop.

If you fly from Terminal 4, the shuttle takes you straight there with no change - which closes most of the convenience gap, at the lower price.

At Luton there is a single passenger terminal, so the shuttle runs one route and there is no train leg at all.

Who drives my car?

This is the question that decides it for a lot of people, and it deserves a straight answer.

With Park & Ride, nobody. You park it, you keep the keys, it does not move.

With Meet & Greet, a vetted and insured driver moves it between the terminal and the compound. The car's condition is checked and photographed with you at handover, before it goes anywhere. Some mileage is added - it is a short drive to the compound and back.

If the idea of someone else driving your car bothers you, that is a legitimate reason to book Park & Ride, and no amount of convenience argument should talk you out of it.

Which should I book?

Park & Ride is usually right if: you are travelling light, you are not in a rush, you would rather nobody else drove your car, or you are flying from Heathrow Terminal 4 where the shuttle is direct.

Meet & Greet is usually right if: you have small children, heavy bags, a very early departure, mobility considerations, or a tight schedule where twenty minutes matters more than the price difference.

At Luton the gap between the two is smaller than at most airports, so it is worth comparing the live prices for your specific dates rather than assuming.

What if my flight is delayed?

Incoming flights are monitored, so a delay or cancellation is normally picked up before you land and your return is adjusted. It still helps to call when you have landed, and again once you have your bags.

That applies to both services. With Meet & Greet the car is brought to the terminal; with Park & Ride you take the return shuttle from the terminal stop.

Can I cancel either one?

Cancellation cover is available at checkout for GBP 2.00. Notice periods are set by each operator and shown in the terms on the car park you choose, so read those before you pay rather than after.

The short version

Park & Ride costs less and keeps your keys in your pocket, at the cost of a transfer at each end. Meet & Greet costs more and removes the transfer, but at Heathrow you should add the airport's own car park charge before you compare.

Neither is better. They are answers to different questions.

Related guides

All airport parking and travel guides

Explore urbook

Compare and book airport parking, airport transfers and holiday packages in one place at urbook.co.uk.

Airport parking

Airport transfers

Travel guides

Holiday packages to Nepal, Sri Lanka and South India · All airport services · All travel guides · Book at urbook.co.uk

bottom of page