London Arrival: Gatwick vs Heathrow

[BriarFlyer]

I'm looking at a choice of flights ex DXB, arriving either LGW or LHR 1pm-3pm. LGW is a marginally better connection but I've never flown to/from there. LHR on the other hand left a lasting impression (and not a good one.) We'll have a pick-up so transfers don't matter, unless the advice is "traffic Gatwick-London is horrendous and will take hours more. Avoid. Avoid. Avoid."

Is there any reason not to go for LGW over LHR?

 

[scwappy]

Probably depends where in London you are heading. Maybe have a look at the expected travel time to your destination from both LHR and LGW

 

[esseeeayeenn]

I would ask whoever is picking you up which is more convenient for them.

 

[scwappy]

I would ask whoever is picking you up which is more convenient for them.

I think they may be getting an EK chauffeur.

 

[Chris Cryptic]

Big deciding factor would be where in London you are heading. When flying in to London I generally go for LHR because it is easier for me to get where I am going (tube et al), however there have been times I have taken a LGW flight purely for convenience of next destination in London.

 

[Dr Ralph]

I think they may be getting an EK chauffeur.

From memory there is a 40km limit for this.

 

[Princess Fiona]

From memory there is a 40km limit for this.

Way further. It's 70 miles
Emirates Chauffeur Drive

 

[Dr Ralph]

Way further. It's 70 miles
Emirates Chauffeur Drive

Apologies, you are correct.

It's only 40 kms in Sydney and I had wrongly assume it was the same everywhere:

Sydney (SYD)

Within 40 driven kms of Sydney International Airport.

Chauffeur-drive | The Emirates Experience | Emirates Australia

 

[BriarFlyer]

Sorry, I should have been clearer. It will be an EK chauffeur and the Ts and Cs and say 70km and/or a greater London postcode (or something to that effect) and we'll be heading somewhere central to the city. Quite a bit further from Gatwick than Heathrow.

 

[clifford]

It certainly would depend on where you're going in London, but as a point of reference it takes the non-stop Easybus just over an hour from LGW to Earls Court (and it doesn't hang around). I would guess up to half an hour longer to Central London, eg Victoria. Of course, it all depends on the traffic, and you could add quite a few minutes at the height of the rush hour.

From Heathrow it can certainly be done in less than an hour down the M4. In my opinion, Heathrow is also a much nicer airport, with better facilities all round.

 

[BriarFlyer]

The facilities in general won't worry us. We'll just be wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible, but that difference in drive-time is considerable. I would hope that immigration queues aren't as bad as the last time we flew into LHR (2+hrs but that was many moons ago.)

 

[dajop]

For estimated travel time use Google maps around the time of day you arrive to estimate time between your destination and LHR T3 and your destination and LGW. You'll probably find if you are on the Hyde Park side of Central London, LHR will certainly be quicker. If you are on the Tower Bridge side then LGW probably quicker. Somewhere in between - probably LHR but depends where.

I've travelled into LHR several times mid afternoon on SQ and longest wait for immigration was about 20 mins - although it has been a little while since arriving at that time in T3, where EK arrive.

 

[YSSY]

The facilities in general won't worry us. We'll just be wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible, but that difference in drive-time is considerable. I would hope that immigration queues aren't as bad as the last time we flew into LHR (2+hrs but that was many moons ago.)

Oh LHR is still the same, but LGW and MAN are fairly similar in that respect. Sometimes you can be lucky and everything seems to move quickly, other times the queues are endless. As a British passport holder it's a nightmare when I travel with my son because we can't use the e-gates. We are treated far better in Australia, firstly because far more nationalities can use the e-gates and secondly if with young kids they let you use the express line, whether or not you have an express card.
UK airports are liked being in a 3rd world country, even Manila is better then Heathrow!

 

[BriarFlyer]

Thanks, dajop, that's very helpful. Google maps estimates show Gatwick could take an hour longer. :shock: We may reconsider and head in the opposite direction for the weekend.

 

[clifford]

I've travelled into LHR several times mid afternoon on SQ and longest wait for immigration was about 20 mins - although it has been a little while since arriving at that time in T3, where EK arrive.

From personal observation (I'm a dual passport holder) LGW can be much quicker through Immigration for non-EU passport holders. This is because it tends to cater more for LCC's and British holidaymakers who can often jam the EU queue in large numbers, whereas I've seen the "other" queue almost empty most of the time. Of course, this assumes that Immigration don't give you a hard time for some reason.

Although, it will be a completely different ballgame post Brexit.

 

[BriarFlyer]

Thanks YSSR and clifford. I'm a bit (!) of an obsessive planner and I should know better than to try to anticipate time spent in immigration/customs queues or, indeed, stuck in traffic. Who knows what each variable will be on a specific day 11 months away. But thank you all for helping me arrive at this conclusion. At least I now know that neither airport is a definite no.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

If an EK chauffeur is picking you up then provided it is within their mileage limit it shouldn't make any difference.
Choose the most convenient connecting flight.
Facilities at an arrival airport are irrelevant.
Time at customs and immigration is impossible to predict so don't try.

 

[scwappy]

LGW does have a Premium Gatwick arrival service £12.50 each, effectively straight through immigration.

I used the normal line last week and it took me around 40 minutes to get through immigration

 

[TheRealTMA]

It's a 50-50 deal depending on time of arrival and weather. LHR immigration queues can be horrendous but you'll normally get fast track clearance from J/F on EK.

We flew into LGW last Xmas and immigration clearance and connection with EK CD was quite efficient. Then it took 2.5 hrs to get to central London because of weather and traffic.

So it all depends on schedules. Pick and try your luck.

 

[scwappy]

The train into London from either LHR or LGW is worth considering over the chauffeur depending on your final destination