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Post by Viajante on May 18, 2003 22:31:41 GMT -5
I fly into London Heathrow at 11am on June 1st, and then I need to catch a flight from London Stansted to Glasgow the same day. I plan on flying RyanAir to Glasgow, but I haven't booked my flight yet because I don't know how long it will take me to travel from Heathrow to Stansted.
Should allow myself a few hours between airports in case my flight is delayed or I have trouble getting between the two airports?
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Post by WillTravel on May 19, 2003 5:09:08 GMT -5
Ryanair, as you likely know, is totally unforgiving if you are late for a flight. You will not get booked on to a later flight. You will not get a refund. Your only hope will be to book a new flight at highly inflated rates, since you will want the flight right away. (As for highly inflated rates - I don't know in your case, but I have read accounts of 179 pounds for a new flight that had previously been only 25 pounds, for example.)
Given these facts, I am leaving 24+ hours between my London arrival and my Ryanair flight. But in general, I've read that you should plan for a minimum of six hours between the two airports, because you have to go through customs, walk to wherever you're going to get the transport, fight London traffic, etc. You also should be at Stansted 2 hours early.
Personally, I'd be very concerned about the possibility of your arrival flight being delayed somehow, or even rescheduled.
As you can see, I'm a worrywart. But because there are no good options if you miss your Ryanair flight, you have to consider that.
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Post by LHR02 on May 19, 2003 6:19:58 GMT -5
I'd have to agree with WillTravel on this one.....to be totally safe I would book it the next day. Barring that, I would allow no less than 12 hours between flights. International flights are routinely delayed, of the couple of dozen I have taken I'd wager no more than two or maybe three have arrived 'on time'....granted, it's often a rather short delay, but if you are on a tight schedule even 30 minutes can be deadly to your futher plans. As for time between the two.....in a perfect world, one with no traffic, no hold ups at customs, etc you'd propbably need 3 hours to navigate between the two. And you really need to be at Stansted 2 1/2 hours early. Ryan opens the ticketing/boarding window 2 hours before flight time, everyone just lines up in front of the window and you do not want to be at the end of that line! As for specific directions to get between the two airports, there is a thread on this already in this section. But just ask if you have other questions!  ging oops- just went to look, it's not in this section at all.....it's called London Airports and right now it is on page 3 under the 'Pre-Travel Planning' header |
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Post by nitsansh on May 19, 2003 10:53:22 GMT -5
Yes, I recall that discussion...
Travel between the airports usually takes about 2 hours. In ideal conditions, you can make the transition in about 4 hours. 6 hours should be pretty safe unless there's a long delay of your trans-Atlantic flight...
Be aware that it's a Sunday. Recently the Stansted Express train had been paralized on Sundays for maintainance works, so it might take longer if you need to go by bus. Look at the note regarding travel to Stansted on Ryanair website.
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Post by LHR02 on May 19, 2003 13:04:44 GMT -5
Agree, 'travel' between the two can be done in 2 hours.....but, he is coming off a flight first, so needs baggage claim, customs, and just generally finding his way first. Can't imagine even the most 'experienced' traveler could do it in 2 hours from de-planing to next airport.  welcome back nit |
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Post by nitsansh on May 19, 2003 16:28:56 GMT -5
2 hours is net travel time. 4 hours is estimated transfer time from touch down to take off "in ideal conditions", IE no delays of any sort...
Just to give you an example of what might happend... my landing at TLV airport yesterday morning was unexpectedly delyed by about 30 minutes because the pilot couldn't find the landing strip in the fog... we went back and forth 2 times until he made it on a 3rd attempt...
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Post by LHR02 on May 19, 2003 17:58:07 GMT -5
>>>>>>>my landing at TLV airport yesterday morning was unexpectedly delyed by about 30 minutes because the pilot couldn't find the landing strip in the fog... we went back and forth 2 times until he made it on a 3rd attempt... <<<<<<< huh? Isn't this what I said basically? >>>>>>>International flights are routinely delayed, of the couple of dozen I have taken I'd wager no more than two or maybe three have arrived 'on time'....granted, it's often a rather short delay, but if you are on a tight schedule even 30 minutes can be deadly to your futher plans.<<<<<< My advice remains the same, I'd book it for the next day as WillTravel suggested or a MINIMUM of 12 hours.....just to be on the totally safe side. Sheeesh.....why is it you can offer basically the exact same thing but turn it into an argument/discussion nevertheless?  ?? |
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Post by nitsansh on May 19, 2003 19:33:43 GMT -5
It's just a question of how much risk you can take...
I had no experience of serious delays, and never missed an onward flight because of that... the biggest delay I recall was on a flight from Las Vegas to Calgary, when the plane had a mechanical problem and had to be replaced... I think we were about 2 hours late, it was close to midnight when we arrived (me and my mom), there were no buses and we had to take a taxi...
It would surely be the safest NOT to plan an onward flight on the same day, but if you must get to Glasgow that night, book the last available flight... if there is a late evening flight to Glasgow, that gives you about 10 hours transfer time... if you have time to spare, you can see some sights in London...
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Post by WillTravel on May 19, 2003 20:52:52 GMT -5
The last flight Ryanair has on June 1 to Glasgow Prestwick leaves at 2145, arriving at 2255. Yes, your odds are probably well into the 95%+ range you would succeed with an earlier flight, but the worry would be troublesome to me. What would your worst-case scenario be, and what would you do if you couldn't get that flight?
(One risk factor you might consider - are you taking a nonstop or connecting flight to LHR? The odds of the itinerary getting delayed increase with a connection, obviously.)
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Post by nitsansh on May 20, 2003 10:28:25 GMT -5
The worst case is...
If you are too late to get to the 21.45 Ryanair flight from Stansted, you might...
1. Find a BA or another airline flight from Heathrow.
or
2. Take a night train or bus London-Edinburgh. I believe these depart at 10.30-11PM, so you might make it, but you have no guaranty of a vacancy.
or
3. Stay overnight in London and travel the next morning
In any case, you have to pay for the new travel arrangement. The cheapest, but also longest option, is the bus.
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Post by Viajante on May 20, 2003 12:58:07 GMT -5
Thanks so much for all your input. I can tell that this can be a tricky part of planning. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet - I'm waiting to hear from my friend who I'll be meeting in Glasgow. Sounds like I might take RyanAir's latest flight that night.
Thanks again!
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Post by Viajante on May 20, 2003 13:09:54 GMT -5
Ok, I just read the old thread about London airports.
Anyone out there who took the bus to Stansted? I know Ging said it was probably not a good idea, but I'm just wondering if anyone has tried it. That option sounds tempting as I will be dog-tired from my flight and in a foreign place. Getting lost in London would not be a good way to start my trip. But I think I could manage the London tube if I need to.
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Post by WillTravel on May 20, 2003 14:16:41 GMT -5
I'm planning on taking the bus to Stansted Airport from Victoria Coach Station on June 29. These reasons:
We're arriving on the 28th at Victoria Station from Gatwick and staying near Victoria Station. I don't want to have to take the tube to Liverpool Street. (Note: Victoria Coach Station and Victoria Station are two separate places, but very near to each other.)
On Sunday, there's no train to Stansted anyway, but instead a bus from Liverpool Street Station. So we would have to go to Liverpool Street and then just get a bus anyway (although that one would be a bit faster once we got there).
The National Express bus is cheaper than the Liverpool Street Station arrangement.
But in your case, you're talking about a Heathrow to Stansted express bus, right? I'm sure it exists, but don't know anything about it. I bet it would be as fast as any other method when all is said and done, and if it's set up for travellers and their luggage, that's always nice.
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Post by Viajante on May 20, 2003 19:52:09 GMT -5
Well, I found a solution to my problem. I discovered that British Midland Airlines (www.flybmi.com) flies out of Heathrow to Glasgow for decent prices. For about 7GBP more than I would have paid for the Ryan Air flight, I got a flight right out of Heathrow (with a few hours time between my incoming int'l flight) into Glasgow. Since I won't be paying for the transportation costs of going between Heathrow and Stansted, the price is probably about the same.
Thank you for all your help!
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Post by nitsansh on May 21, 2003 13:42:06 GMT -5
If the difference is 7 Pounds, you would save about 10 pounds if you fly out of Heathrow!!!
IIRC, the cost of transfer Heathrow-Stansted is at least 16 Pounds! (tube to central London 3.70, Stansted Express 13 Pounds, or 18 pounds by bus)
Not to mention the great save of time and hassle!!
Definitely fly from Heathrow if the price is reasonable!!
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