Why is Gatwick such a big pain in the arse to get ro

[Pavementworrier]

And why does British airways put so many of its flights out of there??

Gets right on my wick

I hate travelling to Gatwick but I also think the over reliance on Heathrow needs to stop. A third runway at Heathrow is an abomination.

Lots of routes only go from Gatwick and BA has cancelled it's regional connections to Gatwick so you have to get to Gatwick from London and it's the oldest, shittest connection going

50 minutes in a car is a low expectation?

Blimey.

Nonsense. I want an airport that flys to most of the places I want to go to, within half an hour of my front door. And I have one. Lucky old me!

Where would you prefer they put their flights? Most BA flights are from Heathrow anyway, so it's not clear what the issue is

Gatwick is one of my preferred airports! It's a breeze to get to as quick train from London Bridge

You can get the lizzie line from Heathrow to Farringdon and the Thames link straight to Gatwick. Easy. What a moan about nothing.

I won't go to certain airports due to annoying lenght of time and connections to get there.
Why are you booking Gatwick if its so hard to get to?

😂 as opposed to?

If London is so painful to you, fly from another airport.

30 mins for me

It’s the easiest airport to get to for me.

No idea what you mean about “low expectations of connectivity” in the SE - I can get everywhere I need or want to go to without too much of a hassle, from four different airports that are all reasonably accessible. Actually five if you include Southampton, though I’ve never felt the need to use that one.

Stansted on the other hand really is a pain.

We flew out of Gatwick at October half term, what's genuinely insane is that we live on the London to Cambridge mainline, which now extends to Brighton and stops at Gatwick. So literally we can get a direct train from our village station to Gatwick. However the cost in total was £180 return for the four of us, and there was no option other than a fixed return so you had to know in advance precisely what train you wanted to come home on, which obviously we could not do.

Long story short it was cheaper to pay for valet parking, so we drove, then spent 3 hours driving home after an overnight flight. Absolute fiasco, the entire place.

Gatwick is easy to get to.
Stansted however.....

However the cost in total was £180 return for the four of us, and there was no option other than a fixed return so you had to know in advance precisely what train you wanted to come home on, which obviously we could not do.

Can’t comment on the cost but the fixed return only doesn’t sound right - who told you that? It’s almost always possible to get an open return or there’s always the option of a single each way that doesn’t tie you to a specific train.

What are you talking about?

It depends where you live surely?

For me, Gatwick is dead easy. Heathrow or Luton are doable, but Stanstead is an utter PITA. Won’t go there unless no other option and I really really want to go to my destination.

But I flew BA from Heathrow last week!

Yep, I got an open return to Luton Airport parkway for precisely that reason. As I recall (2024) it was 42 quid, so 45 a head from Cambridge to Gatwick is about right . Within the framework that train prices are generally too much if they want us to use them obviously.

I live on the south coast nowhere near Croydon, and Gatwick is great for me!

I live 20 miles southeast of Gatwick, it’s the best one for me!

I live in Hampshire. Gatwick is the easiest for me. Then Heathrow, although I'd rather go to Gatwick.

Luton / Stansted - not a chance.

That's not the fault of the airport - it's the train!

I love flying from Gatwick
We live in East Anglia so that and Heathrow much of a muchness

As an aside -now we fly long haul 3/4 times a year ( kids all grown up - our time now yay!) -the Gatwick Lounge is lovely- feel like a jet setter in there! While Heathrow is like a school canteen !

Terminal 5 LHR is a pain in the neck for me. Was so much easier before it was built.

@Swissmeringue thats a problem with trains all over. You pay PP whereas you pay per vehicle for a car, and most of it is a sunk cost for most people, so it’s really just 4 people on the train vs fuel and parking. Mind you that eve works for flights. 3 people and it’s cheaper to drive to the alps than fly by the time you’ve included everything beyond just getting in your car and getting on the eurotunnel. Surprised you couldn’t get a more open return though. Were you buying direct or via some sort of middle man ticket seller?

Which airport is tat I agree with PP does depend on where you live. I’m probably closest to Luton but try to avoid it because the car parking is rubbish since the fire and the terminal is depressing. Heathrow is the best for us, then Gatwick. I’d go to East Midlands before I go to Stansted or that other famous London airport, Southend.

This!!! super easy for me.

Ha at Southend. I was once talking to a chap we were inviting to interview for a lecturer post and he said there was a flight to London Southend. I managed not to laugh and advised him to check Gatwick, City and Heathrow, given we were in Central London. When he turned up, he thanked me.