I took the new St Andrews to Edinburgh Airport bus on its first day - was it all 'plane' sailing?

The Courier

06-05-2025

Scenic countryside whizzes past as we cruise through Fife in bright sunshine on a comfortable coach heading to Edinburgh Airport.
I'm one of about a dozen passengers on board one of the first bus services from St Andrews to Scotland's busiest airport.
Stagecoach launched the new Jet 787 on Monday, which is the day I hop aboard to try it out for myself.
It now provides a new direct link from St Andrews to the airport, stopping along the way at Guardbridge, Cupar, Auchtermuchty, Kinross Park & Ride and Halbeath Park & Ride.
The full journey takes about one hour and 25 minutes, and it operates up to every two hours.
But how does the new service shape up? Stepping onto new St Andrews airport bus
When I arrive at St Andrews bus station, this small hub is a hive of activity with services connecting the town to destinations including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and neighbouring Fife towns.
Buses come and go, but the 11am Jet 787 service is nowhere to be seen, which would be worrying me if I were a holidaymaker.
Eventually, the coach arrives at stance four and 11 fellow passengers place their suitcases into a large luggage hold. Sunny weather made for a scenic journey through Fife. Image: Finn Nixon/DC Thomson
We hit the road at 11.08am and our elevated position provides good views of the River Eden's estuary.
The coach is a comfortable temperature and I feel the leg room beats low-cost airlines for comfort.
We stop in Guardbridge and then continue onwards to Cupar, passing through Dairsie, which has not been listed as a stop on the route.
Roadworks and then a Manitou cause further delay, but soon we are cruising again.
We pick up another intrepid traveller in Cupar, and I watch as he is waved off by his family. Late arrival at Edinburgh Airport
It feels like we are making up time as we pass between colourful fields and under the big skies of Fife.
After about an hour, the coach pulls onto the M90.
No one boards at the next stop, which is Kinross Park & Ride.
But three more passengers board 15 minutes later at Halbeath Park & Ride near Dunfermline.
They talk excitedly about the new bus service as we wait for the coach's faulty ticket machine to be replaced, which delays us further. The bus dropped us off just outside the Edinburgh Airport terminal building. Image: Finn Nixon/DC Thomson
Eventually, the Firth of Forth is flying by as we cross the Forth Road Bridge, before the Edinburgh Airport runway comes into view.
However, our plain sailing ends abruptly when we hit traffic again near the Newbridge Roundabout, and from there, it is slow going to the airport.
It would likely prove pretty stress-inducing if I had a flight to catch.
Unfortunately, there is nothing the bus driver can do about bank holiday traffic.
We arrive outside the terminal building at 12.55pm – 20 minutes later than scheduled.
Despite the delay, the journey has been comfortable and felt fast.
I had been hoping to catch the 12.45pm bus back but it has already left.
I'm left to sit in a cafe and grit my teeth at how much an airport lunch costs. 'Getting the bus makes life a lot easier'
Eventually, 2.45pm rolls around and I realise it's time to head back to Fife, leaving unrealistic aspirations of a dream holiday behind.
The bus picks up passengers at stance 12 outside the terminal building.
A lack of signage at this stop proves confusing.
Sean Morison, 26, is also waiting for the bus after visiting family in Bournemouth.
The St Andrews University graduate lives in the Fife town with his girlfriend. Sean Morison was also waiting at Edinburgh Airport for the bus to St Andrews. Image: Finn Nixon/DC Thomson
'It will be interesting to see if this bus is any good,' he says.
'I'll definitely be getting it a lot more.
'Normally, I would get the bus and then a tram, then a train, and then another bus just to get 50-60 kilometres.
'On a good day, it would take about three hours.
'One time I arrived here at around 11pm and I had to order an Uber all the way from here to St Andrews.
'It cost me £96 and the taxis were trying to charge me £150.
'Getting the bus makes life a lot easier.' What is the verdict on the new St Andrews airport bus?
The bus pulls out of the airport at 3pm.
I'm joined by only seven other passengers, but it is noticeably hotter on board and the air conditioning doesn't seem to be working.
The St Andrews sea air soon wakes me up, though, as we arrive at 4.37pm after an otherwise uneventful journey.
The experience has largely been a positive one and I'm impressed by the duration of the ticket prices and journey time.
A dayrider ticket cost me £12.20 for the day, which is a huge saving on the return journey compared to other modes of travel, as described by Sean. The Jet 787 coach at St Andrews bus station. Image: Finn Nixon/DC Thomson
However, if I had been heading for sunnier climes, I would have opted for a Jet period return priced at £21.40.
According to the Edinburgh Airport website, the cheapest seven-day pre-booked parking option is the long-stay park, with prices from £28.99.
Meanwhile, a return train journey from Leuchars to Edinburgh is likely to cost at least £14, with a bus fare added onto that.
A tram from Edinburgh city centre to Edinburgh Airport alone costs £7.90.
The Jet 787 timetable also offers buses at anti-social times, with the first one leaving St Andrews at 3.10am and the last one leaving Edinburgh Airport at 1.05am.
Finn Nixon is a reporter for The Courier's live news team.
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