Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

We are looking into a flight into Heathrow and taking another flight out one
of London's three other airports. We aren't certain which one we will be
using, it will depend on distance and time it would take to reach it.
How far are the airports from Heathrow?
Is there bus or train connection to them?
Do they accommodating with luggage?
How much does it cost?
Are there any non-stop modes of transportation (other than taxis)?
Are the buses affected substantially by traffic?
Thanks.

Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

In article ,
(DFN) wrote:

We are looking into a flight into Heathrow and taking another flight
out one
of London's three other airports. We aren't certain which one we will be
using, it will depend on distance and time it would take to reach it.
How far are the airports from Heathrow?

As the crow (or 777) flies, Gatwick is the closest, Luton is a little
further and Stansted is by far the furthest.

But public transport costs aren't directly proportional to distance in the
UK (unlike countries where trains are charged per kilometre, for example),
so it may still be cheaper to go from an airport other than Gatwick,
depending on the airfares. And you may decide a slightly longer
interchange is worth the saving...

Incidentally, London actually has a fifth airport too, London City,
located in the east of the city itself. It's focused on short-hop business
travel, though.

Is there bus or train connection to them?
Do they accommodating with luggage?

You mean can you take luggage on buses/trains? Yes, effectively as much as
you want. (Though if your journey involves the London Underground be aware
this is very difficult with trolley-loads of luggage. You can always take
a taxi just to cross London if necessary and use trains or buses for the
rest of the trip.)

How much does it cost?
Are there any non-stop modes of transportation (other than taxis)?

Buses will be cheapest, taxis most expensive (unless you can cram the taxi
with people, perhaps), trains in the middle. If you decide to take a taxi
it's likely to be cheaper to book in advance.

Check http://www.gobycoach.com and http://thetrainline.com for details of
bus and train services respectively, because stops, timings and costs can
vary according to the day and the time of day.

Are the buses affected substantially by traffic?

They can be, but trains are also subject to delays sometimes and obviously
taxis are affected by traffic, so on its own it's not a big anti-bus
factor!

Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

"DFN" wrote in message
...
We are looking into a flight into Heathrow and taking another flight out
one
of London's three other airports. We aren't certain which one we will be
using, it will depend on distance and time it would take to reach it.
How far are the airports from Heathrow?
Is there bus or train connection to them?
Do they accommodating with luggage?
How much does it cost?
Are there any non-stop modes of transportation (other than taxis)?
Are the buses affected substantially by traffic?

What about flying out of Heathrow itself? Once you've taken into account
transfer costs and of course 'hassle factor' it may well work out better?

Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...

"DFN" wrote in message
...
We are looking into a flight into Heathrow and taking another flight out
one
of London's three other airports. We aren't certain which one we will be
using, it will depend on distance and time it would take to reach it.
How far are the airports from Heathrow?
Is there bus or train connection to them?
Do they accommodating with luggage?
How much does it cost?
Are there any non-stop modes of transportation (other than taxis)?
Are the buses affected substantially by traffic?

What about flying out of Heathrow itself? Once you've taken into account
transfer costs and of course 'hassle factor' it may well work out better?

That is true but a cursory glance at the fares to either Prague or Venice
seems to support the theory that flying out of the other airports seems to
be substantially cheaper. There are three of us in our family so perhaps a
taxi may be ideal.
Do they have shuttle bus service that connects the airports?

Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

Heathrow - Gatwick does have a bus run by BA I think. Any bus will be
very time of day dependent. You might also compare car/driver services
with taxis for cost. FFM

DFN wrote:

"Mark Hewitt" wrote in message
...

"DFN" wrote in message
...

We are looking into a flight into Heathrow and taking another flight out one
of London's three other airports. We aren't certain which one we will be
using, it will depend on distance and time it would take to reach it.
How far are the airports from Heathrow?
Is there bus or train connection to them?
Do they accommodating with luggage?
How much does it cost?
Are there any non-stop modes of transportation (other than taxis)?
Are the buses affected substantially by traffic?

What about flying out of Heathrow itself? Once you've taken into account
transfer costs and of course 'hassle factor' it may well work out better?


That is true but a cursory glance at the fares to either Prague or Venice
seems to support the theory that flying out of the other airports seems to
be substantially cheaper. There are three of us in our family so perhaps a
taxi may be ideal.
Do they have shuttle bus service that connects the airports?

Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

You'll probably find that if you rather booked your flight from your
departure city to Prague or Venice with a stopover in London, if you
plan to spen any time there, you'll get a much better fare all round.

Regards,
Bart

---
Travel-mania
http://www.travel-mania.net

Low Cost Carrier discussion forums
http://www.travel-mania.net/lccforum


On Thu, 26 Feb 2004 09:31:09 -0500, "DFN" wrote:

That is true but a cursory glance at the fares to either Prague or Venice
seems to support the theory that flying out of the other airports seems to
be substantially cheaper. There are three of us in our family so perhaps a
taxi may be ideal.
Do they have shuttle bus service that connects the airports?



---
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Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

"DFN" wrote in message
...

That is true but a cursory glance at the fares to either Prague or Venice
seems to support the theory that flying out of the other airports seems to
be substantially cheaper. There are three of us in our family so perhaps a
taxi may be ideal.
Do they have shuttle bus service that connects the airports?

Where did you give your cursory glance at the fares? Last year, I was
planning a trip to Prague (buggered up by a heart attack a couple of weeks
before I was due to travel). I had initially intended an apparently cheap
flight with CSA from Stansted, but a subsequent change in flying time (with
consequent need to pay for parking because of early check-in), meant that it
would be cheaper, as well as more convenient, for me to fly from Heathrow.

In the event, CSA's more generous refund policy, compared with that of some
dirt-cheap airlines, also proved to be a godsend.

Looking on Opodo or Expedia may well enable you to find really cheap flights
from H'row.

If you do insist on changing airports, there are frequent coaches -
http://www.gobycoach.com - between airports, but you do need to be aware
that timings can be seriously affected by traffic conditions on the M25.

Alan Harrison

Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

"Alan Harrison" wrote in message
...

"DFN" wrote in message
...

That is true but a cursory glance at the fares to either Prague or
Venice
seems to support the theory that flying out of the other airports seems
to
be substantially cheaper. There are three of us in our family so perhaps
a
taxi may be ideal.
Do they have shuttle bus service that connects the airports?

Where did you give your cursory glance at the fares? Last year, I was

I looked into openjet.com and found flights from Luton to Venice for around
$170 round trip. I can also get tickets from Dulles to London for about
$350.
Now the cheapest flight to Venice from DC I have been able to find is
$1,600. So we have tentaively decided that some inconvenience is acceptable
to save roughly $3,000 for my family.

planning a trip to Prague (buggered up by a heart attack a couple of weeks
before I was due to travel). I had initially intended an apparently cheap
flight with CSA from Stansted, but a subsequent change in flying time
(with
consequent need to pay for parking because of early check-in), meant that
it
would be cheaper, as well as more convenient, for me to fly from Heathrow.

In the event, CSA's more generous refund policy, compared with that of
some
dirt-cheap airlines, also proved to be a godsend.

Looking on Opodo or Expedia may well enable you to find really cheap
flights
from H'row.

If you do insist on changing airports, there are frequent coaches -
http://www.gobycoach.com - between airports, but you do need to be aware
that timings can be seriously affected by traffic conditions on the M25.

Alan Harrison

Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

I wasted a lot of time assembling detailed answers to your questions with
hyperlinks, rather long to post, only to find that your e-mail address is
invalid. If you want my answers, please write to me by e-mail as I do not see
replies on this newsgroup (or anyone else who wants them).

In future, kindly include include notice that your e-mail address is invalid.

Larry in Berkeley (sea otter 6 at aol dot com)

Heathrow to Gatwick / Luton etc
 

"DFN" wrote in message
...
I looked into openjet.com and found flights from Luton to Venice for
around
$170 round trip. I can also get tickets from Dulles to London for about
$350.
Now the cheapest flight to Venice from DC I have been able to find is
$1,600. So we have tentaively decided that some inconvenience is
acceptable
to save roughly $3,000 for my family.

It might, however, be possible to find a cheaper onward flight from Heathrow
itself. I'm not so sure about Venice, but, in addition to the Prague flight
I mentioned earlier, I have found flights from H'row to Milan last year and
this which worked out cheaper than the flight I took from Stansted in 2002
with a low-cost airline.

Alan Harrison