National Express timing

[DougH]

How long should I allow after I land in Heathrow to clear customs and get to the Nationsl Express terminal for a ride to Southampton. I had allowed two hours but just got notice of a schedule change and now have only 1hour 10 minutes. Take into account I walk slow, is this makeable?

[gumshoe958]

3 hours ago, DougH said:

How long should I allow after I land in Heathrow to clear customs and get to the Nationsl Express terminal for a ride to Southampton. I had allowed two hours but just got notice of a schedule change and now have only 1hour 10 minutes. Take into account I walk slow, is this makeable?

It should be, but the big unknown is baggage reclaim which can be very hit or miss at LHR. On a bad day it’s not unknown to wait an hour for your luggage to appear. Border control is normally pretty quick as long as you have a biometric passport and are eligible to use the automated e-gates.

[sddsddean]

Have you already got your NE ticket? Did you pay the extra £5 to allow you to change it at the airport?(All terminals have an NE office in them if you need help). As gumshoe says, your two bugbears are baggage and what is happening at border control that day...customs should not be an issue. Bear in mind, if you are arriving T4 or T5, the coach stop is just outside the building. If you are at T2or3, you have a good 10 minute walk to Central Bus station to get the coach.

 

Simon

[gumshoe958]

2 hours ago, sddsddean said:

Have you already got your NE ticket? Did you pay the extra £5 to allow you to change it at the airport?(All terminals have an NE office in them if you need help). As gumshoe says, your two bugbears are baggage and what is happening at border control that day...customs should not be an issue. Bear in mind, if you are arriving T4 or T5, the coach stop is just outside the building. If you are at T2or3, you have a good 10 minute walk to Central Bus station to get the coach.

 

Simon

Sadly National Express closed all their ticket offices at Heathrow during the pandemic and never reopened them. All ticketing issues now have to be resolved by phone.

[sddsddean]

Wow! Didin't know that gumshoe. Like everything else it seems, you have to sort stuff out on your phone!!

 

Simon

[DougH]

I went online and moved to a later bus. I now have about 2 1/2 hours after I land. I know they have no onsite offices from past experiences and I have the longer walk to the station. I did buy the ticket that allows changes and have an extra day in Southampton before my cruise so no rush.

[sddsddean]

Sounds like a plan…gives you a bit of wiggle room!

 

Simon

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, DougH said:

I went online and moved to a later bus. I now have about 2 1/2 hours after I land. I know they have no onsite offices from past experiences and I have the longer walk to the station. I did buy the ticket that allows changes and have an extra day in Southampton before my cruise so no rush.

 

Much more sensible 

 

JB 🙂

[Ombud]

National Express Coach driver didn't check the ticket time last year. My ticket was correct but 2 others were just told to board the almost empty bus. 

[travelbuds]

On 7/25/2024 at 2:55 AM, sddsddean said:

Have you already got your NE ticket? Did you pay the extra £5 to allow you to change it at the airport?(All terminals have an NE office in them if you need help)......

 

Simon

Hi, I just got off the National Express website which said that the NE ticket office at LHR's central bus station is permanently closed. https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/coach-stations/heathrow-central-bus-station  Do you know if this is currently true? If true, how do you go about getting a ticket change if needed? Thank you.

[sddsddean]

6 hours ago, travelbuds said:

Hi, I just got off the National Express website which said that the NE ticket office at LHR's central bus station is permanently closed. https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/coach-stations/heathrow-central-bus-station  Do you know if this is currently true? If true, how do you go about getting a ticket change if needed? Thank you.

Yes, my mistake. See post #4 above. You have to do it on the phone now!

Sorry for any confusion.

 

Simon

[travelbuds]

12 hours ago, sddsddean said:

Yes, my mistake. See post #4 above. You have to do it on the phone now!

Sorry for any confusion.

 

Simon

Hi Simon,

No problem. Thank you for your response. I have allowed 3 hours from our scheduled landing at LHR Terminal 3 to get to the Central Bus Station. I suspect that deplaning and luggage claim will eat into the time. Will 3 hours be enough? Landing at 1PM on a Friday. Thanks again.

[sddsddean]

2 minutes ago, travelbuds said:

Hi Simon,

No problem. Thank you for your response. I have allowed 3 hours from our scheduled landing at LHR Terminal 3 to get to the Central Bus Station. I suspect that deplaning and luggage claim will eat into the time. Will 3 hours be enough? Landing at 1PM on a Friday. Thanks again.

Should be plenty of time 🤞, but you never know!!

 

Simon

[Ombud]

On 7/30/2024 at 9:03 PM, Ombud said:

National Express Coach driver didn't check the ticket time last year. My ticket was correct but 2 others were just told to board the almost empty bus. 

Ok. Dilemma time. I haven't bought the ticket yet. 

 

I had planned on taking my little suitcase next week (17" / 43 cm) but couldn't narrow my stuff down so I'm taking my big one (23.5" / 60 cm inc wheels) and checking luggage. If I land at 10:25 and the bus leaves at 12:10 or 13:30 from T2/T3 which one should I pick? Apparently I can shift up to 12 hours w/o charge? Hoping @John Bull chimes in as I won't have wifi that day

 

E-gates aren't the issue. Its getting that big bag after my flight. And I could ruthlessly go thru and pare down but I'm going to be gone for 3 weeks so I'd really prefer the big case

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 05:18 PM by Ombud

[Cotswold Eagle]

1 hour ago, Ombud said:

I won't have wifi that day

There is free WiFi across Heathrow. 

[Ombud]

@Cotswold Eagle makes my choice easy .... 12:10 & not paying for large luggage as it's not THAT large. Thanks!

[gnome12]

47 minutes ago, Ombud said:

@Cotswold Eagle makes my choice easy .... 12:10 & not paying for large luggage as it's not THAT large. Thanks!

The only thing to note is that if the 13:30 is full, you will need to wait for a later bus with space.

[gumshoe958]

15 hours ago, Ombud said:

Ok. Dilemma time. I haven't bought the ticket yet. 

 

I had planned on taking my little suitcase next week (17" / 43 cm) but couldn't narrow my stuff down so I'm taking my big one (23.5" / 60 cm inc wheels) and checking luggage. If I land at 10:25 and the bus leaves at 12:10 or 13:30 from T2/T3 which one should I pick? Apparently I can shift up to 12 hours w/o charge? Hoping @John Bull chimes in as I won't have wifi that day

 

E-gates aren't the issue. Its getting that big bag after my flight. And I could ruthlessly go thru and pare down but I'm going to be gone for 3 weeks so I'd really prefer the big case

 

 

A few things to note:

 

You should make the 12:10 if your flight’s on time. But baggage reclaim at LHR can be very variable and make sure you factor in the 10-15 minute walk from the terminal through the tunnels and up to the bus station.

 

The +/-12 hour change is not free of charge and doesn’t come as standard. You have to buy the £5 Change & Go upgrade which you’ll be offered during the online booking process.

 

If you need to use Change & Go on the day, National Express say you can do it online if you have an account, so consider setting one up when you book than just checking out as a guest. Or you can call to change. But as @gnome12 says, any changes on the day are subject to availability and if the 13:30 is sold out, it’s sold out.

 

Edited Thursday at 08:23 AM by gumshoe958

[Ombud]

@gumshoe958 I already had an old National Express account so I booked the 21-Sept 13:30 in that.  LHR states right now it takes 70 minutes to collect luggage and go thru E-gates.  Rather be safe than sorry and there is that boat show in Southampton the weekend so busses might fill up. Ah well. It's 2× 2021 & 2022 cost (pound has recovered value)