London Airport Transport

[kqcallahan]

Hi All,

 

Wondering if anyone has ever used London Airport Transport for any of their London transportation needs. I'm considering booking with them but I would love to hear form the veterans before the newbie picks :)

http://www.londonairporttransport.co.uk/index.php

 

THanks to everyone

[Pia1913]

Hi All,

 

Wondering if anyone has ever used London Airport Transport for any of their London transportation needs. I'm considering booking with them but I would love to hear form the veterans before the newbie picks :)

http://www.londonairporttransport.co.uk/index.php

 

THanks to everyone

 

From where to where. I've used transports from London hotels to airport and vice versa, but not to/from Southampton. Much easier to use National Coach Express.

[Aussie One]

go into england ports of call there are heaps of infomation on transfers from london ports and southampton

[Shoalwater]

From where to where. I've used transports from London hotels to airport and vice versa, but not to/from Southampton. Much easier to use National Coach Express.

the Southwest train service. Train stops right at Gatwick entrance, simple and convenient. LHR to Southampton is probably best by the bus like Pia says.

[kqcallahan]

Hi, I'm thinking from Heathrow ro Central London. The company is called "London Airport Transport". I'm curious if anyone has used that company and experiences :)

[rdsqrl]

If it's just a transfer from the airport to central London, as long as you're okay with the price, then go for it. Who needs review? I mean, it's not like you're depending on them for a tour or to execute some complicated long-distance transfer. Worst case: they don't show up, right? There are plenty of other options to get to London if that happens.

 

Frankly, I wouldn't bother with a car service, especially if on a red-eye that has me landing during morning rush hour. I'd take the Heathrow Express train -- it's quick, it's comfortable, and takes you from right inside the terminal into Paddington Station, where you can grab a cab anywhere. I've done it several times and never had a problem.

[windsor26]

National Express coaches are good for all of the routes. We used it for Southampton and we always use it from Heathrow to Gatwick where we meet the family as it is closer to home for them. And dont forget no matter where you come from you will get a seniors reduced ticket if you are over 55 ;)

[Josy1953]

I have used London Airport Transport many time to get from Heathrow to the railway stations in central London. It is an excellent service but I would be reluctant to use it if I had a lot of luggage.

[Pia1913]

National Express coaches are good for all of the routes. We used it for Southampton and we always use it from Heathrow to Gatwick where we meet the family as it is closer to home for them. And dont forget no matter where you come from you will get a seniors reduced ticket if you are over 55 ;)

 

Their site says you need to be 60+

[handfordr]

National Express coaches are good for all of the routes. We used it for Southampton and we always use it from Heathrow to Gatwick where we meet the family as it is closer to home for them. And dont forget no matter where you come from you will get a seniors reduced ticket if you are over 55 ;)

 

National Express discontinued seniors fares last Novenber when the government withdrew the subsidy.

[scottbee]

the Southwest train service. Train stops right at Gatwick entrance, simple and convenient. LHR to Southampton is probably best by the bus like Pia says.

 

Actually gatwick to southampton is Southern Rail (not southwest), but yes, the rail service is excellent. Once/hour from Gatwick Airport to Southampton Central train station.

[Aussie One]

National Express coaches are good for all of the routes. We used it for Southampton and we always use it from Heathrow to Gatwick where we meet the family as it is closer to home for them. And dont forget no matter where you come from you will get a seniors reduced ticket if you are over 55 ;)

 

The seniors reduced ticket is no more this was a government deduction

so full price is payable.

[MacThespian]

From where to where. I've used transports from London hotels to airport and vice versa, but not to/from Southampton. Much easier to use National Coach Express.

 

I'm planning to use National Coach Express, but I'm a little leery of booking ahead of time (since flights oft get delayed, and I'm not entirely sure how quickly we can get through Customs, even in the green lane). In your experience, would there be any problem getting a ticket on the day of our arrival at Heathrow?

 

Thanks.

[John Bull]

I'm planning to use National Coach Express, but I'm a little leery of booking ahead of time (since flights oft get delayed, and I'm not entirely sure how quickly we can get through Customs, even in the green lane). In your experience, would there be any problem getting a ticket on the day of our arrival at Heathrow?

 

Thanks.

 

Heathrow to Southampton

You should definately book ahead for the National Express coach, they do sometimes book-out.

Allow 60 mins from touch-down to arrivals hall, and another 10-15 mins walk from terminals 1-3 to the airport bus station (for T4 or T5 the bus stops are at the terminal concourse).

If you or your flight are delayed, you can re-schedule your ticket, I think there's a nominal fee. (nb to other readers - the re-scheduling facility is only available for airports)

 

If you're still leery of pre-booking, you could travel by train. This involves a shuttle-bus from Heathrow (same pick-ups as Nat Express) to a mainline station (usually Woking, sometimes Reading, depending on timetables), then a direct train to Southampton. A little more complicated, more expensive, but same total journey time. Still simplest to pre-book but you don't have to specify a time, they have much better frequency, & no problem of availability.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

Your destination is Southampton central

 

JB :)

Edited March 3, 2012 by John Bull

[MacThespian]

Heathrow to Southampton

You should definately book ahead for the National Express coach, they do sometimes book-out.

Allow 60 mins from touch-down to arrivals hall, and another 10-15 mins walk from terminals 1-3 to the airport bus station (for T4 or T5 the bus stops are at the terminal concourse).

If you or your flight are delayed, you can re-schedule your ticket, I think there's a nominal fee. (nb to other readers - the re-scheduling facility is only available for airports)

 

If you're still leery of pre-booking, you could travel by train. This involves a shuttle-bus from Heathrow (same pick-ups as Nat Express) to a mainline station (usually Woking, sometimes Reading, depending on timetables), then a direct train to Southampton. A little more complicated, more expensive, but same total journey time. Still simplest to pre-book but you don't have to specify a time, they have much better frequency, & no problem of availability.

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

Your destination is Southampton central

 

JB :)

 

Thanks! This is exactly the information I've been looking for.

We are scheduled to arrive at Terminal 5 at 10:10 AM, so if we figure an hour to the arrivals hall it's 11:10, and then another 10-15 minutes to the bus stop, we should be able to get the noon bus.

But the shuttle bus and train combination sounds like a good alternative too.

[John Bull]

Thanks! This is exactly the information I've been looking for.

We are scheduled to arrive at Terminal 5 at 10:10 AM, so if we figure an hour to the arrivals hall it's 11:10, and then another 10-15 minutes to the bus stop, we should be able to get the noon bus.

But the shuttle bus and train combination sounds like a good alternative too.

 

No worries about time to the bus stop.

For terminal 5, the bus stops (Nat Express or RailAir shuttle-bus) are on the concourse right outside the terminal entrance.

But, hey, with that schedule no worries anyway.

 

Just to confuse the visitor, RailAir sometimes charter shuttle-buses from Nat Express so you may find RailAir in Nat Express livery. Don't get on the wrong one :D

 

JB :)

[MacThespian]

No worries about time to the bus stop.

For terminal 5, the bus stops (Nat Express or RailAir shuttle-bus) are on the concourse right outside the terminal entrance.

But, hey, with that schedule no worries anyway.

 

Just to confuse the visitor, RailAir sometimes charter shuttle-buses from Nat Express so you may find RailAir in Nat Express livery. Don't get on the wrong one :D

 

JB :)

 

But I'm so easily confused!!!

 

If we do decide to do the bus/train combination (which would give me a bit more peace of mind, I think, and would be worth the slightly higher fee), I assume that we'd take a Nat Express bus to Woking (rather than RailAir, which apparently does not go there), and then pick up a train there. I just have to make sure I get on the right bus.

I'm assuming that they do some sort of e-ticket that I would print at home, rather than having to check in once I get to Heathrow (but I'll have to wait for a bit since they don't sell tickets this far in advance). And I also assume that the bus would arrive right at the train station in Woking. But assumptions are just that, so if I'm wrong I'd appreciate being set straight.

 

Thanks again. You've cleared up a lot for me.

[MacThespian]

No worries about time to the bus stop.

For terminal 5, the bus stops (Nat Express or RailAir shuttle-bus) are on the concourse right outside the terminal entrance.

But, hey, with that schedule no worries anyway.

 

Just to confuse the visitor, RailAir sometimes charter shuttle-buses from Nat Express so you may find RailAir in Nat Express livery. Don't get on the wrong one :D

 

JB :)

 

And to get me even more confused...

 

I found a Southwest Trains website, and emailed them for some information. Their response was: "At present there is no Self Service Ticket Machine at Heathrow station. The Self Service Ticket Machines we list on our website are those that are linked to a nationwide reservation system where prepaid tickets can be collected.

 

Train Operators are working together to increase the availability of these machines across UK stations and our website is updated as soon as new Self Service Ticket Machines are added to the network. You may buy your tickets on the day of travel from the station for your journey from Heathrow Terminal to London Paddington.

 

We would suggest you to purchase the ticket at the station for your journey from Heathrow to Woking station and purchase the ticket online for your journey from Woking to Southampton station."

 

I'm not sure why they mention a journey from Heathrow to London Paddington, but if I'm reading this correctly, there's no e-ticket availability. I would have to buy tickets from National Express for the journey from Heathrow to Woking, presumably when I arrive; I can purchase the train ticket from Woking to Southampton online, in advance, but I wouldn't get the ticket until I got to Woking, and could use on of the Self Service Ticket Machines. This is beginning to sound much more complex.

 

Am I missing something?

[John Bull]

And to get me even more confused...

 

I found a Southwest Trains website, and emailed them for some information. Their response was: "At present there is no Self Service Ticket Machine at Heathrow station. The Self Service Ticket Machines we list on our website are those that are linked to a nationwide reservation system where prepaid tickets can be collected.

 

Train Operators are working together to increase the availability of these machines across UK stations and our website is updated as soon as new Self Service Ticket Machines are added to the network. You may buy your tickets on the day of travel from the station for your journey from Heathrow Terminal to London Paddington.

 

We would suggest you to purchase the ticket at the station for your journey from Heathrow to Woking station and purchase the ticket online for your journey from Woking to Southampton station."

 

I'm not sure why they mention a journey from Heathrow to London Paddington, but if I'm reading this correctly, there's no e-ticket availability. I would have to buy tickets from National Express for the journey from Heathrow to Woking, presumably when I arrive; I can purchase the train ticket from Woking to Southampton online, in advance, but I wouldn't get the ticket until I got to Woking, and could use on of the Self Service Ticket Machines. This is beginning to sound much more complex.

 

Am I missing something?

 

Wow.

Do they want the business? :(

Complicated & confusing even for a local guy.

I ended up phoning RailAir.:rolleyes:

 

National Express operate the rail-air link to Woking station, the train operator is South-west trains.

"RailAir" operate the link to Reading station, the train operator is Great Western Trains.

 

Better frequency via Woking, though some travel times from either Reading or Woking involve a simple train change at Basingstoke.

Total journey time from airport to Southampton about 1 hr 55 via Woking, 1hr 35 via Reading.

 

For the Reading train, you can buy from RailAir, a RailAir bus ticket. Or you can buy from Great Western, a combined RailAir+train ticket.

You can do this on-line & print-off your ticket, or you can buy the RailAir ticket at terminal 5, at (believe it or not) the National Express desk.

Buying the RailAir ticket on-line costs £14, buying at the airport costs £18. The RailAir ticket is not timed, you can board the RailAir bus at any time.

A combined ticket costs £34.50 on-line, buying separately can cost as little as £23.50 if you buy on-line & specify the train..

 

A similar routine via

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

for travel via Woking. Buying on-line is about £3 cheaper than on-the-spot, it's simpler & slightly cheaper to buy a combined Nat Express shuttle+rail ticket rather than buying separately. And neither portion of the ticket is timed, you travel anytime.

 

Jeez, what a complicated mess. :mad:

 

Any train or coach option will cost you a further £5 to £7 for a Southampton taxi to the ship.

 

BTW - definately ignore the London Paddington option. It involves airport shuttle from T5 to the T1-3 complex, train from there to Paddington, train from Paddington back past Heathrow to Reading, and train from Reading to Southampton. Adds £££ and a minimum 30 minutes to your total journey time.

 

Me?

 

I'd pay approx £90 for a private transfer, for two people it's only about £40 more than the cheapest rail option. And so quick & simple :)

Two private transfer operators frequently recommended on CC are

www.westquaycars.com

and

www.smithsforairports.com

 

 

Or £16.60 pp for the simple scheduled Nat Express coach direct from T5 to Southampton, despite the commitment to a specific coach. The 12.00 coach is comfortably timed and, as my earlier post, if you're seriously delayed you can change your ticket, at the Nat Express desk in T5.

Just two minor irritations with this option:

1. Your destination is Southampton (coach station). Ignore the Southampton (cruise terminal) option on the website, it applies only to Fred Olsen cruises.

2. Nat Express have a new luggage policy, nobody yet knows how it's working out, check the details on their website.

 

I'm now abandoning my keyboard to down a strong coffee & some headache pills :D

 

 

JB :)

[Pia1913]

 

 

I'm now abandoning my keyboard to down a strong coffee & some headache pills :D

 

 

JB :)

 

You've earned it. Thanks for your help last year, since I never would have attempted the National Coach if it hadn't been for your guidance.

[MacThespian]

Wow.

Do they want the business? :(

Complicated & confusing even for a local guy.

I ended up phoning RailAir.:rolleyes:

 

National Express operate the rail-air link to Woking station, the train operator is South-west trains.

"RailAir" operate the link to Reading station, the train operator is Great Western Trains.

 

Better frequency via Woking, though some travel times from either Reading or Woking involve a simple train change at Basingstoke.

Total journey time from airport to Southampton about 1 hr 55 via Woking, 1hr 35 via Reading.

 

For the Reading train, you can buy from RailAir, a RailAir bus ticket. Or you can buy from Great Western, a combined RailAir+train ticket.

You can do this on-line & print-off your ticket, or you can buy the RailAir ticket at terminal 5, at (believe it or not) the National Express desk.

Buying the RailAir ticket on-line costs £14, buying at the airport costs £18. The RailAir ticket is not timed, you can board the RailAir bus at any time.

A combined ticket costs £34.50 on-line, buying separately can cost as little as £23.50 if you buy on-line & specify the train..

 

A similar routine via

http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/service/planjourney/search

for travel via Woking. Buying on-line is about £3 cheaper than on-the-spot, it's simpler & slightly cheaper to buy a combined Nat Express shuttle+rail ticket rather than buying separately. And neither portion of the ticket is timed, you travel anytime.

 

Jeez, what a complicated mess. :mad:

 

Any train or coach option will cost you a further £5 to £7 for a Southampton taxi to the ship.

 

BTW - definately ignore the London Paddington option. It involves airport shuttle from T5 to the T1-3 complex, train from there to Paddington, train from Paddington back past Heathrow to Reading, and train from Reading to Southampton. Adds £££ and a minimum 30 minutes to your total journey time.

 

Me?

 

I'd pay approx £90 for a private transfer, for two people it's only about £40 more than the cheapest rail option. And so quick & simple :)

Two private transfer operators frequently recommended on CC are

www.westquaycars.com

and

www.smithsforairports.com

 

 

Or £16.60 pp for the simple scheduled Nat Express coach direct from T5 to Southampton, despite the commitment to a specific coach. The 12.00 coach is comfortably timed and, as my earlier post, if you're seriously delayed you can change your ticket, at the Nat Express desk in T5.

Just two minor irritations with this option:

1. Your destination is Southampton (coach station). Ignore the Southampton (cruise terminal) option on the website, it applies only to Fred Olsen cruises.

2. Nat Express have a new luggage policy, nobody yet knows how it's working out, check the details on their website.

 

I'm now abandoning my keyboard to down a strong coffee & some headache pills :D

 

JB :)

Amazing, isn't it? But thank you so much for sorting this out for me. That's one of the advantages of being on Cruise Critic: not only the friendliness, but people who go the extra mile to help a stranger. I really appreciate it.

 

We're actually going to stay overnight in Southampton before the cruise. We figured this was probably a better alternative than staying overnight in London and taking a train down the day of the cruise. We'd avoid a relatively expensive night in London (B&Bs cost less in Southampton, not surprisingly), we'd avoid the urge to push ourselves to "do" something when we just needed to rest up and recover from jet lag, and we'd get to spend at least a little time in a city we've never visited.

 

I will have to check the Nat Express luggage policy; thanks for the tip. And while the £40 extra for a private transfer isn't a deciding point, it's a consideration; still, I assume they could bring us directly to the B&B, so we'd save about £5 or so on a taxi from the coach station. Question: I assume it would be customary to tip the driver for such a transfer, but I don't know the usual tip amounts in the UK for this--all I know is that we tip differently in the USA. Any guidelines.

 

And thanks so much for taking all the time on this; my wife and I really appreciate it.

[John Bull]

Question: I assume it would be customary to tip the driver for such a transfer, but I don't know the usual tip amounts in the UK for this--all I know is that we tip differently in the USA. Any guidelines.

 

And thanks so much for taking all the time on this; my wife and I really appreciate it.

 

Yes, a different tipping culture in the UK.

We do tip, but tips are the jam, not part of the bread & butter.

 

For a door-to-door transfer from Heathrow, £5 to £10 (oops, there goes the £5 saving on a taxi in Southampton :D)

 

For a short taxi hop from Southampton rail or coach station to your hotel/B&B, just rounding rounding up to the next pound, mebbe another £1 on top if you're feeling generous.

 

A lot of Southampton B&Bs are for folk working temporarily in Southampton, some are even state-subsidised social-housing. Not the sort of place you'd want to stay.

So choose carefully, I've seen several tourist B&Bs very highly-recommended on CC but don't remember the names.

 

Southampton's not a tourist city, but it has enough to occupy you for a day or so.

Check it out on

http://www.visit-southampton.co.uk/

 

Enjoy your time in Blighty

 

JB :)

[MacThespian]

Or £16.60 pp for the simple scheduled Nat Express coach direct from T5 to Southampton, despite the commitment to a specific coach. The 12.00 coach is comfortably timed and, as my earlier post, if you're seriously delayed you can change your ticket, at the Nat Express desk in T5.

Just two minor irritations with this option:

1. Your destination is Southampton (coach station). Ignore the Southampton (cruise terminal) option on the website, it applies only to Fred Olsen cruises.

2. Nat Express have a new luggage policy, nobody yet knows how it's working out, check the details on their website.

 

JB :)

 

Thanks for the tip on checking the Nat Express luggage policy. Their web site is a bit confusing, of course: "You are allowed to take onto a service one or two medium sized suitcases or rucksacks (no more than 20kg per item) free of charge and one small piece of soft hand luggage. ... We shall have no obligation to carry luggage in excess of the permitted amount or size but additional pieces of hold luggage, or 'outsized' items, will be permitted, subject to space being available, and on payment of a charge for each extra piece. ... Items of luggage significantly in excess of 20kgs may be charged."

 

No more than 20 kg, else it will be charged, but luggage "significantly in excess of 20 kg may be charged"??? Yes, or no? Our flight allows us to bring two pieces of luggage, each no more than 23 kg; I wonder if this is "significant" or not.

 

It's making the private transfer seem more attractive minute by minute. Still, the cost for two of us on the direct coach is £33.20 (plus about £5-6 for a taxi to the B&B), as opposed to £90 (plus tip?) for a private transfer. Hmm. Decisions, decisions--but at least I now have the information I need to make them.

 

Thanks again.

[MacThespian]

Yes, a different tipping culture in the UK.

We do tip, but tips are the jam, not part of the bread & butter.

 

For a door-to-door transfer from Heathrow, £5 to £10 (oops, there goes the £5 saving on a taxi in Southampton :D)

 

For a short taxi hop from Southampton rail or coach station to your hotel/B&B, just rounding rounding up to the next pound, mebbe another £1 on top if you're feeling generous.

 

A lot of Southampton B&Bs are for folk working temporarily in Southampton, some are even state-subsidised social-housing. Not the sort of place you'd want to stay.

So choose carefully, I've seen several tourist B&Bs very highly-recommended on CC but don't remember the names.

 

Southampton's not a tourist city, but it has enough to occupy you for a day or so.

Check it out on

http://www.visit-southampton.co.uk/

 

Enjoy your time in Blighty

 

JB :)

 

You're a wealth of information. Thanks.

 

Even with a £10 tip, the private transfer is "only" £100--all told, not a bad price. I'm definitely tempted.

 

I found a B&B on Trip Advisor (the Mayfair Guest House) and have found the proprietor to be very accommodating. It's gotten very good reviews, so I think (mind, I say "I think") I made a good choice.

 

And thanks for the link to visit-southampton.co.uk; I'll check it out as soon as I post this note.

 

(Hope you got enough coffee! You've put in a lot of work answering my questions.)

[John Bull]

I found a B&B on Trip Advisor (the Mayfair Guest House) and have found the proprietor to be very accommodating. It's gotten very good reviews, so I think (mind, I say "I think") I made a good choice.

 

(Hope you got enough coffee! You've put in a lot of work answering my questions.)

 

The Mayfair is one I'd seen on CC.

It's a 20 min walk to the Civic Centre, at the top of the city centre, so not as convenient as city centre hotels.

But a quiet & perfectly acceptable location and yep, gets great reviews.

 

Nope. I'm way past coffee, and on to the shiraz :D

 

JB :)