I have an unholy set of flights booked from the US which culminates in a
transfer from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport for the final leg of my
journey. I only have 3 hours between landing and take off of the next flight
(need 40 minutes check in) and I assume it will take me 40 minutes to get
out of Gatwick. This leaves me with about an hour and a half to get from LGW
to LHR.

Can anyone advise me as to the best way to do this? I'm thinking taxi, but
those Checker Cabs guys at G
Gatwick always have a laugh with prices. Last time it cost me £80 from LGW
home to Islington! Any viable public transport options?

Thanks,
David.

David FitzGerald wrote:
I have an unholy set of flights booked from the US which culminates
in a transfer from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport for the
final leg of my journey. I only have 3 hours between landing and
take off of the next flight (need 40 minutes check in) and I assume
it will take me 40 minutes to get out of Gatwick. This leaves me
with about an hour and a half to get from LGW to LHR.

Can anyone advise me as to the best way to do this? I'm thinking
taxi, but those Checker Cabs guys at G
Gatwick always have a laugh with prices. Last time it cost me £80
from LGW home to Islington! Any viable public transport options?

This looks like a non-starter. I would have thought 40 minutes from
arrival of the plane to clearing immigration and baggage was very
optimistic for a transatlantic flight. And the flight might be late.
If it's an early morning arrival, you would run into the peak queues on
the M25.

A few questions which are relevant:

1. Are you a British or EU passport holder? (reduces immigration time at
Gatwick)
2. What day of the week and time are you scheduled to land at Gatwick?
3. What's the destination of your flight from Heathrow? (I'm thinking:
is it *really* necessary to fly from Heathrow?)
4. Would you be able to cope with your baggage on public transport,
including walking up and down stairs?
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

In article ,
(David FitzGerald) wrote:

I have an unholy set of flights booked from the US which culminates in a
transfer from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport for the final leg of
my journey. I only have 3 hours between landing and take off of the next
flight (need 40 minutes check in) and I assume it will take me 40
minutes to get out of Gatwick. This leaves me with about an hour and a
half to get from LGW to LHR.

Can anyone advise me as to the best way to do this? I'm thinking taxi,
but those Checker Cabs guys at G Gatwick always have a laugh with
prices. Last time it cost me £80 from LGW home to Islington! Any viable
public transport options?

The TFL journey planner suggests 1:31 to 1:50 hours. The quickest times
are on the hourly (xx:37 M-F) Brighton-Watford trains to West Brompton,
District to Earls Court then Piccadilly to Heathrow. The 1:47 to 1:52
timings are for GatEx or SCentral to Victoria, bus to Paddington and HEx
or SCentral to Clapham Jcn, SWT to Isleworth, bus to Hounslow bus station,
walk to Hounslow East and Piccadilly Line.

You may have no option but a cab. Can you book one from Victoria?

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In message , David
FitzGerald writes
I have an unholy set of flights booked from the US which culminates in a
transfer from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport for the final leg of my
journey. I only have 3 hours between landing and take off of the next flight
(need 40 minutes check in) and I assume it will take me 40 minutes to get
out of Gatwick. This leaves me with about an hour and a half to get from LGW
to LHR.

Can anyone advise me as to the best way to do this? I'm thinking taxi, but
those Checker Cabs guys at G

I am a London (black) taxi driver. I live in Worthing and it would only
take a very short diversion for me to pick you up on my way in to London
or Heathrow.

When are you arriving and at what time

Gatwick always have a laugh with prices. Last time it cost me £80 from LGW
home to Islington! Any viable public transport options?

That's about the normal price of a London taxi but I'm quite happy to
make a fixed price deal for less than that, depending on the time and
date.

Mike

--
Mike Hughes
A Taxi driver licensed for London and Brighton
at home in Tarring, West Sussex, England

"David FitzGerald" wrote in message
...
I have an unholy set of flights booked from the US which culminates in a
transfer from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport for the final leg of my
journey. I only have 3 hours between landing and take off of the next
flight
(need 40 minutes check in) and I assume it will take me 40 minutes to get
out of Gatwick. This leaves me with about an hour and a half to get from
LGW
to LHR.

Can anyone advise me as to the best way to do this? I'm thinking taxi, but
those Checker Cabs guys at G
Gatwick always have a laugh with prices. Last time it cost me £80 from LGW
home to Islington! Any viable public transport options?

Have a look at Speedlink coach service. Runs every 15 minutes and takes
about an hour. If the traffic is bad the drivers often divert around it. Do
a Google search to find their site. Your airline may provide you with a
ticket free. It helps if you arrive at the North Terminal at Gatwick and
depart from T4 at Heathrow, as the time is shorter between those two points.
--
Terry Harper, Web Co-ordinator, The Omnibus Society
75th Anniversary 2004, see http://www.omnibussoc.org/75th.htm
E-mail:
URL: http://www.terry.harper.btinternet.co.uk/

In message , David
FitzGerald writes
I have an unholy set of flights booked from the US which culminates in a
transfer from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport for the final leg of my
journey. I only have 3 hours between landing and take off of the next flight
(need 40 minutes check in) and I assume it will take me 40 minutes to get
out of Gatwick. This leaves me with about an hour and a half to get from LGW
to LHR.

A few more potential problems:

If you are arriving at the North Terminal then the mainline train runs
from the South terminal. That can easily add 15 minutes to the journey
(especially if only one shuttle is running and you've just missed one).

Be careful about the granularity of the mainline trains. It's no good if
the end to end time is an hour and a half, if the next train is in 20
minutes.

You might also want to check your airline's online arrivals page for a
few days, to see whether their flights are typically on time or late.

All in all I'd reckon you can only make this transfer by taxi, and even
then there's a more than 50:50 chance that you'll miss the Heathrow
flight. Perhaps you can find a taxi firm and call them from the USA
departure lounge to arrange the pickup. That way, if the plane looks
like being significantly delayed you aren't wasting your money.
--
Roland Perry

In article ,
(Mike Hughes) wrote:

In message , David
FitzGerald writes
I have an unholy set of flights booked from the US which culminates in
a transfer from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport for the final leg
of my journey. I only have 3 hours between landing and take off of the
next flight (need 40 minutes check in) and I assume it will take me 40
minutes to get out of Gatwick. This leaves me with about an hour and a
half to get from LGW to LHR.

Can anyone advise me as to the best way to do this? I'm thinking taxi,
but those Checker Cabs guys at G

I am a London (black) taxi driver. I live in Worthing and it would only
take a very short diversion for me to pick you up on my way in to
London or Heathrow.

When are you arriving and at what time

Gatwick always have a laugh with prices. Last time it cost me £80 from
LGW home to Islington! Any viable public transport options?

That's about the normal price of a London taxi but I'm quite happy to
make a fixed price deal for less than that, depending on the time and
date.

A kind thought I'm sure, but would you care to comment on the feasibility
of the whole project? See the post querying the 40 minutes to get out of
Gatwick as well. Even without that complication 1 hour 40 minutes doesn't
seem that generous to me to get to Heathrow from Gatwick by road.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

In message ,
Colin Rosenstiel writes
Even without that complication 1 hour 40 minutes doesn't
seem that generous to me to get to Heathrow from Gatwick by road.

My mapping software says it's 45 minutes on a clear road. We don't yet
know what day, or time of day, the OP will be travelling.
--
Roland Perry

In article , Roland Perry
writes

All in all I'd reckon you can only make this transfer by taxi, and even
then there's a more than 50:50 chance that you'll miss the Heathrow
flight. Perhaps you can find a taxi firm and call them from the USA
departure lounge to arrange the pickup. That way, if the plane looks
like being significantly delayed you aren't wasting your money.
--

I'm with Roland and Mike - book Mike and his taxi. A guaranteed ride
which will be waiting for you the moment you clear immigration and
customs. dedicated run and Mike knows the alternative routes if the M25
is clogged (there are major roadworks on the M25 between the M3 and
Heathrow at the moment).

You are against the clock, change your connecting flight or use Mike.
--
Andrew
Electronic communications can be altered and therefore the integrity of this
communication can not be guaranteed.
Views expressed in this communication are those of the author and not
associations or companies I am involved with.

On Thu, 8 Apr 2004 21:44:14 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message ,
Colin Rosenstiel writes
Even without that complication 1 hour 40 minutes doesn't
seem that generous to me to get to Heathrow from Gatwick by road.

My mapping software says it's 45 minutes on a clear road. We don't yet
know what day, or time of day, the OP will be travelling.

Guess he's arriving in the early morning, as transatlantic flights
tend to. You don't get a clear road then!! IMO the timing is very
tight.

Nobody has mentioned the direct bus which, in spite of the traffic, is
probably the quickest, see
http://www.nationalexpress.com/p.cfm?n=pai-htg
--
Peter Lawrence