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 was buying through the Trainline. I'm assuming it can't be an open return because it's a commuter route and open returns are pretty easy to abuse. You can't buy an open return into London from here either. We're also not far from Luton and I don't object to it too much, but I'll avoid Stansted at all costs, DH reckons it's the seventh circle of hell. Heathrow is definitely our preference however unfortunately with BA if you're flying to a "holiday" destination, it's often Gatwick.

I like City too, in a previous life I used to fly from there a LOT.

For us, Heathrow is easiest by a long way. Never tried to get to Gatwick, but just looking at where it is I can see how it would likely be a nightmare. Stansted and Luton looks more doable, but still harder than Heathrow.

Tbh, if I had the choice, I'd just fly from Birmingham International. Just one direct train away. Otherwise I have family just down the M42 that would be willing to drop us of (and would be handsomely remunerated for it!) if we had an early/late flight that meant public transport was impossible.

I agree and I'm a tad stunned by the people living in East Anglia that think Gatwick is easier to get to than Stansted, Heathrow or London city,

Trains from Faringdon, Victoria & London Bridge, really what’s the problem? Apart from narrow platforms, but I think they are widening them.

Gatwick is super easy for us, as it is for anyone in easy distance of Victoria or Croydon stations.

I actually think Gatwick is remarkably well connected trainwise.

I agree.

Direct trains to St Pancras, allowing onward connections from either there or Kings Cross, which covers a lot of the North and up into Scotland.

Reading gets you access to the West Country, Wales and the Midlands.

That’s not including Cambridge, Brighton, Peterborough, Luton, and I’m sure there are other places I’ve forgotten.

It’s definitely better connected by rail than Heathrow.

We're in north London and fly from Gatwick at least once a year. Very easy as we're on the Northern line so we go to London Bridge and get a train from there. Heathrow is easy too as we can get the Northern line to Tottenham Court Road and then the Elizabeth line. Luton is easy as we can get a train from St Pancras. Stansted is probably the most difficult as we switch at Moorgate and then walk to Liverpool St to get the train. Usually takes 1-1.5 hours to any airport from our front door. We never need to book airport hotels and always take public transport, never need to drive or take a taxi or the more expensive trains, and it works out quite cheap as we use a Family Railcard.

And Euston is less than a ten minute trot from St Pancras, opening up further trains to the frozen north, west and other godforsaken lands.

I think it’s a pain to get to train wise from SW London. You have to travel in or across to go out.

That's a South London thing in general, sadly. In North London there's all the sideways overground, bar the one, we don't really have that so it's in and out. Annoys me too.

Much less of an arse than Heathrow for me. And at least it has a train connection, unlike many other airports around the UK and the world. And so easy to get between the terminals. It's not a bad airport at all.

A pp mentioned Sutton but doesn’t that involve either 2 train changes or 1 change which takes an hour?

@murasaki yes I hate the fact if you want to go SE or vice versa it’s in & out.

I have no problem driving to Gatwick for SW London as it’s much quicker but environmentally the train would be better & other European countries manage to have more efficient train services.

I just get the train if you are in the Thameslink line it goes direct

Well, I much prefer Heathrow as it's closer. I imagine if I were nearer Gatwick I'd be happy they're putting more stuff there, I have always found it quite a nice airport and a lot more relaxed and friendly than LHR. But since I'm only 20-25 miles to Heathrow I get very annoyed they keep shoving major routes off to Gatwick - BA don't even fly to Bangkok from Heathrow any more, which shocked me. I tend to think of Gatwick as being short-haul, and of Heathrow as the 'proper' airport! Luton's hell, it's probably not much less convenient than Heathrow, but it's such a dump I'd need an extremely good reason to use it. I have never been to Stanstead, and nor do I intend to; it's absurd to call it a London airport. Might as well call Southampton a London airport! Find it extremely odd that Emirates use it.

You have absolutely no idea! I live 15 minutes from an airport, but there are so few places we can fly to. To have the (direct) access to the rest of the world like you have in the south east would be amazing.

I live in South London and know how to change trains. Last time I flew to Gatwick, I arrived home exactly an hour after landing. Can't do that from any other London airport

Now we know you're not a serious person

It's one of the easiest airports to get to. I live in Surrey and it's a 15/20 min drive. The M23 is rarely busy, outside of rush hour. Parking is easy, if not cheap and public transport is easy. I have to be dragged kicking screaming to any country that involves having to travel to and fly out of the absolute shit hole that is Heathrow.

It’s nice and handy for me - 15-20 mins. But yeah it’s not exactly handy for central London, I mean it’s in Sussex.

I flew from Gatwick for first time this year and it was easy for me!

We live in N London and avoid Gatwick like the plague. Hate travelling there, and hate it once we are there. We occasionally have to use it due to lack of other options but that is the last resort.

I live on the south coast and hate having to fly from Heathrow because that means a train into London and then the Tube to Heathrow.
I love it if I can get a flight from Gatwick because it's on the direct line. Much cheaper, quicker and easier.

For anyone on a direct train line it’s very easy, easier than Heathrow and I don’t live anywhere near Croydon.

Heathrow is a pain because public transport there is awful and it’s always horrible traffic.