The pre-dawn airport run is one of the least glamorous and most valued things a chauffeur does. You have barely slept, the house is dark, the case was packed at midnight, and the last thing you want is uncertainty about whether a car is actually coming.
Removing that uncertainty is most of the job. The rest is logistics that happen while you are still asleep: the vehicle cleaned and fuelled the night before, the route checked for overnight closures, and a chauffeur who set an alarm considerably earlier than yours in order to be outside before the time on the booking.
What happens the night before
Preparation for an early job is done in the evening rather than in the small hours. The car is cleaned, fuelled or charged, and the interior set up, so that nothing needs doing at three in the morning beyond driving. The chauffeur has the address, the entry arrangements and your luggage count already, and knows which side of the building to approach.
The route is checked the night before too, because it is worth knowing in advance about anything that has closed. If a change to the plan is needed we would rather message you the evening before than surprise you on the doorstep. You should be able to go to bed assuming everything is arranged, which is the entire point.
Arriving without waking the street
A car turning up at four in the morning can be intrusive if handled carelessly. It is not difficult to do it properly, and these are the habits that keep an early collection quiet for you, your family and your neighbours.
- Parking a little short of the door rather than directly outside
- A message on arrival instead of ringing the bell, unless you ask
- Headlights off and the engine switched off while waiting
- Doors closed with a hand, never allowed to swing shut
- No horn, at any point, for any reason
- Luggage lifted rather than wheeled across gravel at speed
Timing an early departure sensibly
Empty roads tempt people into leaving later than they should. It is a mistake, because the small hours are exactly when the motorway network is closed for maintenance. A carriageway shut between two junctions on the M25 or a diversion around resurfacing on the M4 can add a great deal to what looked like a clear run on a map.
So we plan an early departure with the same margin as a daytime one, sometimes more. The upside is that once you are moving, the journey is usually calm and quick, and you will often arrive at the terminal with time to spare. Given the alternative, most people find that a very acceptable trade at that hour of the morning.
