[DavidGordon10]

Tom, congratulations on these three related threads, which were much needed.

I remain struck by the astonishing expense of some of our services: Heathrow Express (more expensive per mile than Concorde) and the LHR Hotel Hoppa, a rip-off compared with the free TfL red buses.

[Gin&Tonic]

Has anyone ever booked a BA flight from the regional origins that shows the connection ex Lgw. When I look for a BA flight it often gives Lgw as an option but they offer no transfer between airports ,I therefore assume there no checked through baggage either.

[openfly]

GnT When BA was a proper airline, you could through check your bags on a LHR-LGW connection but that was curtailed when BA started the slippery slide, when they decided that “passengers and their bags are a nuisance”.

[CathayLoyalist2]

Today going to LHR via LGW I wouldn’t dream of opting for a through check if it was available. It just adds another potential broken link in the chain

[backintheseat]

I often arrive T5 early morning and have a European connecting early evening flight from LGW.
I take the tube into town. I think off peak TFL all day travel fare is around 12GBP (maybe 17 GBP for peak). I leave my bags at Victoria station and spend the day sightseeing or visiting friends by bus or tube. Returning to Victoria I buy an extension to my TFL day ticket for the Gatwick Express. It’s 5 GBP. Thats 17 or 22 GBP for a full day on the buses or tube plus my transfer. The direct walk on fare for the coach is 25 GBP.

1 user thanked author for this post.

GivingupBA

[FDOS_UK]

Alternatively you can travel from Heathrow into London and then back out again to Gatwick.

Gatwick Express trains run non-stop between London Victoria and Gatwick Airport. The journey takes 30 minutes and a standard-class single costs £17.70. All rail services operate from Gatwick’s South Terminal. There is a shuttle service at Gatwick between North and South Terminal which takes only two minutes.

To make the link with Heathrow your options include:

London Underground between Victoria and Heathrow (50min, £4.80)

Just worth pointing out that a good route is Victoria to Hammersmith on the District Line, then walk across the platform to change to the Piccadilly Line to Heathrow – this avoids carting luggage up/down stairs.

[openfly]

….or Barons Court.

[openfly]

@backintheseat…..You were very lucky to get £5 add-on for the Gatwick Express accepted. The £5 is on the normal Southern trains. It is the extension from the boundary at Coulsdon South to Gatwick onto TFL 6 zone Travelcards.

[LuganoPirate]

[quote quote=817468]Thanks for providing the link, canucklad.

Back in 2015, London’s present Mayor Sadiq Khan mooted the idea of a high-speed rail link between the two airports so that LHR’s third runway would not be needed (if a second runway at LGW were to be built).

But one can just imagine the outcry from residents affected were this rail line (which would have to be routed through prime land) to be built.

[/quote]

Why overground Alex? The Swiss have just finished a 57 km long tunnel through earthquake zones and through 3,000 meters of mountains. Surely a high speed tunnel of about 40 kms through relatively flat terrain would be a doddle?

I also remember the BCAL chopper and took it a couple of times. It was great and not too expensive at the time, I seem to recall..

[backintheseat]

@openfly
I’ve used it a few times … suggested to me by the TFL underground ticket desk in T5 arrivals. Never a problem.

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GivingupBA

[IanFromHKG]

I have several times used the National Express service between LHR and LGW (and to other destinations). They have a per-piece allowance (basically, one suitcase plus airline-style carry-on) while I note Megabus seem to operate on a weight basis (20kg), have been introducing WiFi (not on all coaches I have been on, but I note Megabus seem to suggest they have WiFi on all their coaches), and for those NatEx coaches that do have WiFi they have quite a good entertainment app (which must be downloaded BEFORE getting on the coach!!) featuring a limited range of shows and a decent range of magazines (which can be kept on the device for a period after the journey for later reading). So far, so good for NatEx. HOWEVER, as a tall person (6’3″ or 189cm for those who prefer Napoleonic systems) I find the legroom very cramped, and I NEVER seem to be able to get the front seats as they board the coach in order of destination and mine is always something other then the first group called! Recline is limited, the tray table is tiny. The seats are rather firm, too. Reading lights are ok, ventilation ditto. A bit like travelling regional economy on BA (not a BA-bash, just a reference point).

How do Megabus compare? I have heard rude things about them in comedy shows, but don’t know how what the reality is like or how they stack up against National Express. Can anyone offer the benefit of personal experience?

[capetonianm]

This is an interesting article about unrealistic connection times, although there’s nothing in it that most of us don’t know.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-airways-minimum-connecting-time-plane-talk-optimism-flight-gatwick-heathrow-a8125121.html

One of my jobs when I worked for an airline was checking and maintaining MCT tables for submission to the distribution systems. Some of the times were laughable and unrealistic.

The last paragraph of the article is perhaps the most significant :

“A good human travel agent (as opposed, in my experience, to the online variety) will naturally point out such challenges, and suggest alternatives – but if you are booking everything yourself, then beware of excessive optimism.”

[Stowage222]

I did not know Megabus operates between LHR & LGW – thanks team. Would use them before Nat Express any day of the week.

[IanFromHKG]

Stowage, why do you say that? I asked in an earlier post for comments comparing National Express with Megabus but didn’t get any information, and I would love to hear some firsthand feedback

Ian

[Author]

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