Transfer from Gatwick to Heathrow

[Onlyrainbows]

I'm starting to feel a bit paranoid about connecting from Gatwick to Heathrow. Plane lands in Gatwick at 945, that gives me 30mins to get to the National Express stop to take the bus to Heathrow, if I miss that one I need to wait an hour. My international flight is at 215, that should be enough time, but what if there isn't? Shall I take an Uber/taxi instead?

Oh wait sorry I thought your bags were already checked in. If you've got to wait for them at Gatwick and then check them in at Heathrow that does seem too tight.
Can you travel with a large cabin bag only ?

I think your need to.accept the transfer time isn't enough to guarantee getting your flight.

But, the "sleeper" train = no sleep, right?

How about getting up to London the night before, staying in a hotel or AirBnB and then getting up with plenty of time to get to Heathrow?

If you're considering spending a fortune on a cab anyway, this might not be much more. And so much less stressful.

There are loads of hotels near Heathrow. Premier Inn reckons it has rooms from £35.

@Onlyrainbows

There are no direct trains on Saturdays, (I've checked that route too). Could get up about 5 and make DH drive me with our DC to Exeter, I'd get into Paddington just before 11. Not terrible but not great either.

Oh sorry, I just saw you can't fly the day before.

Us this a sensible option? Or pre-book a cab for this leg of the journey? Or hire a car for the day if your company will pay?

@rookiemere

I'd stick with the flights but have a pre-booked private hire taxi to take you to Heathrow. If your luggage is on the plane already then the air flight attendants will be very keen to get you on the plane, so if timings are tight , let them know as soon as you are at Heathrow. I'd imagine you'll need to go through security again, so you could see if fast passes are available for that.

She will have to deal with her own luggage it won’t magically transfer itself from Gatwick to heathrow

Op I think the train option sounds better. Either overnight or early morning from exeter. Presumably if you get the overnight train there is wiggle room for delays

I’d get a taxi from your office to the train station on Friday night then. Get to London late, sleep all morning, make it to LHR with plenty of time for the 2pm flight.

I thought you had already booked the flight to Gatwick but I'm not sure you have.

On that basis personally I'd get train on Friday night stay in Premier inn or travel lodge Friday night then tube to airport Saturday morning.

Sorry @Frazzled2207 I'd read it wrongly to begin with and thought luggage was checked through for a connecting flight but now I understand that's not the case.

There's no chance I can catch the last train to London the night. There are no direct trains from Plymouth to London on a Saturday, so they'd have to drive me insanely early to Exeter (including the DC). The only pp who's actually done it says it's right but doable.

I've done this journey with pretty similar timings but in reverse and I missed my onward connection back to Newquay because I was late coming in to Gatwick (my outbound journey was NQY-LGW but they swapped the NQY route to LHR while I was away. The flight delay, plus the bus getting stuck in traffic meant I missed my onward flight home to NQY and I had to fork out an extra £100 for a new flight despite ringing them to say I'd be delayed and them saying that's fine (fuck you FlyBe), which my travel insurance wouldn't pay for because the delay wasn't long enough. So I would get the sleeper because it's not worth the risk. Not ideal but gives you options.

As you have checked baggage what is the time that you need to check in for the transatlantic flight? It would be terrible to just make the rush between airports and still not make the flight because check in has closed.

Also I’ve not flown from Newquay recently, but when I did the flights were often unreliable due to fog (and this was between May/August). Sometimes late but once just totally cancelled.

If you get the last train to London, it doesn’t matter if you can’t get the Heathrow transfer that night - just stay at a Travelodge/premier inn in London and transfer the next day. I assume your work are refunding travel costs and this is a sensible cost as otherwise there is a high risk the transatlantic fare will be forfeited.

Could you get dropped off and stay near Exeter train station Friday night, then get first train Saturday morning?

Of all the options the least disruptive (as sad as it is) is the sleeper train either that or I chance it.

If you chance it and don’t make the second flight, does your company take responsibility and book you into a hotel for Sat night, and rebook you on Sunday’s flight? Or would they expect you to pay for the extra cost out of your own pocket?

I think you need to talk to your employers again. It doesn't help that there are bus replacements for the entirety of February on the Plymouth to Exeter line!

You said that there is nothing into Paddington late enough on the Friday evening. What about Reading (though I'd have thought that anything from Plymouth to Reading would be carrying on to Paddington anyway). Or Bristol? You could stay in Bristol overnight and then get a train to Reading and then the airport bus.

for the entirety of February at weekends

(or a SWR train to Waterloo on the Friday evening?)

My DH would have to drive me out of the Cornish mainline to catch some sort of train. He gets home at 6 with the kids (who are usually starving) there's a 2yo too! It seems very disruptive for them I might as well just take it for the team and take the sleeper train!

Is there a train station fairly close to your office that you could get a taxi to, on the Friday night?

I've slept quite well on the sleeper. And they should cover you for the Newquay flight too. It's ridiculous that they only let you book one particular flight

It's ridiculous that they only let you book one particular flight

I think it’s fairly clear they couldn’t ‘let’ her do anything else than book that flight, because it’s the only option that exists!

I personally think they should have covered the cost of a hire car so OP could drive on Sat morning, or let her finish a couple of hours earlier on Friday so she can make her way into London that night.

Eileen I WFH that's why I need to travel all the way from Cornwall. Our UK offices are in Liverpool, so not much help in this case!

As yu're travelling for work, they should let you take time off on Friday afternoon, get a taxi to the nearest mainline station and travel to Paddington on the train. Quick hop to HEathrow and work from the hotel if necessary to catch up.

Seeline in an ideal world maybe I should do that, but I also have childcare that I'd need to cover, and I'd like to see my kids before I leave.

Ah it sounded as though your DH brought the DCs home with him. But you would see your DCs in the morning before you leave?