Flights and Transfers

Our standard transfer service operates every Sunday and offers convenience and peace of mind for our Young Learners. We meet students at the airport and transfer them to Torbay before introducing them to their Host Families, and transfer them back to the airport too.

• Flights and Transfers
• Standard Transfers
• Unaccompanied Minors
• Letter of Consent to Travel
• How Will Students Be Met On Arrival At The Airport?
• Airport Assistance Card
• What Will Happen When Students Have Been Met?
• How Long Will The Journey Take?
• What Happens When Students Reach Torbay?
• Are There Any Limits On Luggage?
• Assistance with baggage
• Label it or lose it

We offer our Standard Transfer 'Meet & Greet' for students who arrive and depart on Sundays to our main school in Torbay within the following times

Flights Arriving at   

Heathrow between 0900 and 1600 (Ternimals 1, 2 & 3) or 1500 (Terminals 4 & 5)
Gatwick between 1000 and 1400
Stansted between 1000 and 1400
Luton between 1000 and 1400
Bristol between 0900 and 1800
Exeter between 0900 and 1800

Flights Departing from

Heathrow between 1300 and 1800
Gatwick between 1430 and 1800
Stansted between 1430 and 1800
Luton between 1430 and 1800
Bristol between 0900 and 1800
Exeter between 0900 and 1800

If parents or guardians require children to be booked as Unaccompanied Minors with their airline, LAL Torbay must be informed no later than three weeks before travel, and the parents or guardians must pay the appropriate charges direct to the airline in advance. LAL cannot assist students 'airside' (between the aeroplane and passport control) at airports.

Our airport representatives in the Arrivals meeting hall will meet all students arriving at Heathrow. Our staff will wear red polo shirts (and red rain coats if it is wet) and carry clipboards marked with the LAL logo. This is a new uniform for 2009.

Students arriving at other airports will either be met by our airport representatives as above, or a driver holding clipboards marked with the school's logo.

If a student cannot find one of our staff, or is delayed, they should telephone the school on +44(0)1803 553 062, and be prepared to say where they are in the Airport. Our main meeting point for any lost students at Heathrow is at the Terminal One Information Desk.

Please note that students who arrive over two hours after their original scheduled landing time will have to pay for any additional costs involved in meeting them.

Students at Heathrow will wait for their allotted coach, minibus or National Express departure to Torbay.

When the students are first met, the staff will tell them at what time their coach from the airport will depart, and arrange a meeting point where the students should assemble nearer the transfer time. Our staff will supervise young students if they travelled as unaccompanied minors and at the pre-arranged time the airport representatives escort the students to the coach.

Students arriving at Stansted, Gatwick and Luton will normally be transported by car or coach to Heathrow to join our main transfer service. This will often involve waiting time at the airport of arrival and at Heathrow.

Students arriving at Bristol and Exeter will normally be transferred immediately to their destination, but may be asked to wait for further arrivals.

All coaches carrying children include LAL Torbay staff.

Once an LAL coach has left the London airports, the journey to Torbay will take about 4.5 to 5.5 hours, including a 45-minute break for refreshment. National Express coaches take 4.5-5 hours to Paignton, with no refreshment stop; National Express coaches have WCs on board.

Passengers arriving at Luton, Gatwick or Stansted will usually take time to travel to Heathrow to meet the main transfers; this will be at least 1.5 hours, but may be longer. The journey from Bristol is about 2 hours. The journey from Exeter is about an hour.

On arrival at Torbay, coaches stop at Torquay coach station, Paignton hotels and residences and Clennon Valley car park in Paignton to meet Host Families. A member of LAL Torbay staff, who will introduce each student to their host family or show them to their hotel or residence, will meet students at each point. Most students are collected by their host family but occasionally students may be sent to their host family by taxi.

Yes. Any suitcase or bag cannot exceed 20kg in weight and students should bring no more than two suitcases in addition to hand or cabin baggage. These restrictions are specifically to allow students' luggage to be stowed safely in the limited storage space of our transfer coaches.

We regret that LAL staff cannot carry your students luggage for them. It is therefore essential that students do not bring more luggage than they can carry.

All Students must have their name and the school's address clearly marked on all their luggage and written again on a sheet of paper on top of their items within each bag.

Lots of bags look the same, and it is easy to pick up the wrong bag at the airport if it is not clearly labelled. Due to airline regulations, a client who picks up the wrong suitcase will have to go back to the airport to return it personally: this would be at the client's expense. If someone else picks up your baggage, it may never be seen again.