Meet and Greet at the Airport: What It Actually Includes

Almost every chauffeur company advertises “meet and greet”, and almost none of them mean the same thing by it. The difference matters most on the arrivals that are hardest — a long-haul landing at midnight, a delegation of nine, a principal who does not want to stand in a public hall.

The four kinds of meet

A curbside meet is the cheapest and the most fragile. The chauffeur waits at the designated pickup lane and you call when you have your bags. It works for a confident solo traveller with hand luggage and falls apart in bad weather or heavy enforcement.

An arrivals hall meet puts a chauffeur inside the terminal with a name board, past customs, where you can see them the moment you walk out. This is the default we include at no extra charge, because it is the one that removes the most uncertainty for the least money.

An airside meet places a greeter beyond immigration, before you reach the baggage hall. It requires an airport that permits it and a greeter with the relevant pass. Where it is available it is the difference between a first-time visitor finding the right queue and joining the wrong one.

A jet-bridge meet is the closest to the aircraft that a commercial arrival allows. It exists at a minority of airports, usually through a paid concierge programme, and it is the right answer for passengers with mobility needs, unaccompanied minors and principals on tight connections.

What changes with a private arrival

Private aviation removes the problem. There is no baggage hall and often no formal arrivals process, so the vehicle can be staged on the ramp and the transfer starts at the airstairs. The coordination moves from the terminal to the FBO, which is why we work from the tail number rather than a flight number.

Questions worth asking before you book

• Does the quoted meet happen inside or outside the terminal?
• How much free waiting time is included, and when does the clock start — at landing, or at the scheduled arrival time?
• Who tracks the flight, and what happens automatically if it is delayed?
• Is there a parking or terminal-access fee added afterwards?
• For a group: is there porter support, or is one chauffeur handling fourteen bags alone?

The last one catches people out more than any other. A nine-person delegation with checked luggage is not one booking with a bigger car; it is a movement, and it should be quoted as one.