Do au pairs really have to come by coach?

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

And if so, why?

We have found (through an agency) a very nice-sounding Hungarian au pair, hooray hooray, and are just looking into her travel arrangements.

According to the agency rules you are meant to meet them at the airport or else arrange their onward travel by coach to your nearest coach station.

Thing is, if she flies to Manc Airport it's 1 hour 40 mins direct by train, as opposed to 4-5 hours on the coach with a change and 45 minute wait. So why on earth is the agency so strict about it?

thanks....

It's easier by coach perhaps?

I'd think a train would be absolutely fine for an older savvy ap who had travelled before.

That's bizarre. Ring the agency and ask? Makes no sense to do the coach in that instance. However, I would be collecting her from the airport. I always do for first arrival and final departure. Any trips home in between they have to take the train, tube and coach to get them to the airport!

I am sure you could arrange the train - ask the agency and explain.

By the way, I think you should be meeting her at the airport on the first time she arrives.

We will definitely meet her at the airport if we possibly can. She is older (27) but may not have had much experience travelling abroad. This will limit the days when she can travel, though, as we can't get off work, so if she can't get a flight on one of those days we may need her to come at least part of the way by public transport.

I always used to offer to meet my au-pairs at Birmingham Airport. However, this airport mainly deals in scheduled airlines which are expensive and, as au-pairs are responsible for their own airfare, every one of them used to prefer to get a cheap bucket flight to Stansted.

That was fine - but I can't make a 6 hour round trip to Stanstead when I've got 3 children in school.

My argument was, I was happy to collect au-pairs from my nearest airport, a 50 minute drive away, but if they prefer to buy a much cheaper flight to Stansted, they had to be responsible for getting themselves to my town. I thought this is reasonable. How far away is your nearest airport.

That sounds reasonable Nametaken.

I've emailed the agency to explain about the trains and ask if it's ok to arrange it by train - he's probably thinking 'you daft so-and-so, of course it's ok' but then, it does actually say in the terms and conditions it has to be coach!

Our nearest airports (Humberside, Doncaster) would only be reachable from Hungary by a very roundabout and very expensive route, so I don't have a problem with meeting them at an airport a couple of hours drive away - it's just that we are v limited as to when we can actually get there. If she wants to fly to Luton she'll have to get a coach, though.