Heathrow or Stansted?

[Oceanblue042]

I'm looking at flights options with Emirates, flying from London. It looks like there's little difference in fare between Heathrow and Stansted. I think parking may be cheaper at Stansted, but other than that, which airport would you choose?

We'd be driving down from the north and would be staying in a hotel close to the airport the night before. Travel time from home is pretty much the same (about 3 hours). We have a 5 year old, if that makes any difference.

There are lots of traffic disruptions around Heathrow at the moment due to road works.

Heathrow. I loath Stanstead airport and never fly from there if I have any choice.

Much prefer Stansted to Heathrow. Much less hassle to get to.

100% agree with @loudbatperson.

I'd always pick the smaller airport, so much quicker to get through, therefore Stansted.

Plus as you say, parking is cheaper. I only pick the big airports if the flight is not available or a lot more expensive than at the smaller one.

I'm equidistant from both.

If the journey I wanted was available from both, I'd pick STN .

Easier to get to, not known for traffic problems, easier & cheaper to park, etc

Never been from Heathrow but Stansted was the worst experience ever and I would never fly from there again.

Newcastle! If you're north anyway it is many many times easier than the London airports and an Emirates destination.

Which Heathrow terminal? We live about 2 hours from both, and would always choose Heathrow over Stansted given the option. Especially for an early morning flight. Never found parking to be noticeably different in price between the two

Emirates fly from Manchester and Birmingham.

Which terminal at Heathrow? Personally I prefer Heathrow but Stansted is considerably closer to me and a journey there doesn’t involve the M25 so I tend to go from there. It’s a shit show coming back though with the sodding train.

Hate stansted, no particular reason except I do. I would book Manchester!

Ah I didn't think of Newcastle! Thanks, I'll take a look.

Emirates fly from T3 at Heathrow. Never flown from Stansted before, but my experiences of LHR have been fine. Looks like views are mixed!

Thanks, I'll take a look at Birmingham. I've already checked Manchester (which is less than an hour's drive for us), but the total cost of fights are about £600 more from MAN than from the London airports!

I would definitely prefer Manchester myself (less than an hour for us), but fares seem to be considerably cheaper from London airports (by about £600 for the 3 of us), so it would make sense to go from London.

@Oceanblue042 check car park prices - Stansted isn't cheap.
We're closer to Stansted than Heathrow so would choose that, but have flown from both many times - there's really nothing in it.
There's a Travelodge/premier inn with a walkway in to Heathrow which is super easy for a morning flight.
Stansted the Travelodge is just off the main site but super close and there are shuttles.

Manchester - once you've factored in annual leave, petrol, carpark (can you get a bus from home) and hotel costs it might be worth doing?

Much prefer Stansted, much smaller airport and much quicker to get through. Avoids M25 if coming from north.

I’d always choose Heathrow if given a choice. I’ve never had a horrible experience at Stansted but I definitely prefer Heathrow and will choose it wherever I can.

We always use Stansted. It's about an hour and a half away.
Last time we flew, we stayed at the hotel next door.
Parking isn't extortionate

Once you factor in fuel, an overnight stay and car parking how much more expensive would it be?

Due to issues in the m25 I'd go Stanstead

There's a Travelodge/premier inn with a walkway in to Heathrow which is super easy for a morning flight.

Sounds like the T4 Premier Inn, a doddle for anything out of that terminal and it’s fairly easy to connect from there to the Central Area Terminals such as T3 or get out to T5.

Stanstead is the absolute worst airport I've ever had the misfortune to go through. Mental busy, stressful, hot, security is overkill and just an overall horrible experience.

Heathrow everytime.

I find Stansted very slow on security and passport control. It's overcrowded and doesn't have enough seating, and is altogether quite stressful compared to other airports.