# Transferring bwt London City Airport & Heathrow



## Lucky Larry (Jan 11, 2011)

I've never had to transfer between London city Airport and Heathrow before and would like to know how it is possible and if we have enough time.  

I've got frequent flyer tickets on hold where on the return trip from Germany where we fly from Frankfurt to London City Airport, transfer to Heathrow and then to the USA.  We have 4 hours from landing in London City Airport to clear customs, and scamper over to Heathrow and check in.


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## Janie (Jan 11, 2011)

I don't think you can make it in four hours.  The two are on opposite ends of London.   For the international flight, you'll want to check in at Heathrow at least two hours before your flight.  There is no quick way that I know of to get from LCY to LHR.


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## jodie.scales (Jan 12, 2011)

We've had to transfer between Gatwick and Heathrow many times and with only about 4 hrs.  Once our plane was late and we arrived during rush hour, it was pretty hairy.  We called BA from the bus during the transfer and explained that we were on our way and to NOT give away our seats.  We were told to go immediately to the transfer counter (not wait in line) and identify ourselves.  We had to recheck in our luggage too!  We were onboard with only minutes to spare and a healthy hike in our BP's, but it could work out for you.  Never been to London City Airport, but I'm sure giving an advance 'heads up' might help.  Good luck.


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## Carolinian (Jan 12, 2011)

I have flown in and out of all of London's airports except City - Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, and Heathrow.  I would never use the bus to transfer between them, especially at rush hour, but the train instead since's trains do not get caught in traffic.  Better yet, I do an overnight in London between flights.

A good source for all airport transfer options is www.toandfromtheairport.com


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## helenbarnett1963 (Jan 12, 2011)

jodie gave good advice - check with your airline and discuss it with them.
if you are checked right through on one ticket with one airline it may be do-able.
if not, no way would I only allow 4 hours.
LCY is a nice small airport, but you still need to clear customs, get your bags, allow for delays on your incoming lfight, and get across London...and then deal with the check-in and security at LHR.  Not sure if you would also need to do immigration at LCY....probably will as you are leaving the airport there.

Getting across london may take a couple of hours...or more if you hit rush hour....which lasts several hours!
The LCY and LHR websites will have details of how to get between the airports....train/tube, coach/bus or taxi.
Unless you are comfortable negotiating the London Underground with your luggage I would take a taxi.  Either pick one up at the rank at LCY or pre-book one to meet you.  Either way the driver will know the quckest way to get you there, and you should know the fixed price up-front.


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## Lucky Larry (Jan 12, 2011)

Thanks for all the replies and I need more help.

I tried to stay over in London for a day or two and found that American now charges 10,000 miles for a break of greater than 12 hours.  We don't have the extra 20,000 miles and to buy them is prohibitive.  

As it is we arrive in London City Airport at Noon and our flight leaves from Heathrow at 5:10.  Does 5 hours give us the time to go from London City Airport to Heathrow without punishing ourselves?

My next option is to pay for a flight from Austria or germany to London and take the air miles leg home.

larry


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## Carolinian (Jan 13, 2011)

You might check prices on EasyJet if you are going to buy that leg yourself.

The other problem in doing it the way you indicate is that you might get socked with a high APD or air ticket tax, which is huge in the UK.  By connecting in the UK, from my understanding of it, you avoid most or all of it, but by buying the tickets seperately, it would certainly be imposed on your outbound from London and it is ~$100 per person in coach, or more if you are in Biz.

Can't AA get you a flight back directly from Germany or Austria, perhaps on a partner?  Or try their partner Iberia, through Madrid, or Finnair through Helsinki.  Iberia is one of the few major European airlines I have never flown, but Finnair is a great airline and Helsinki is a great airport.  I would prefer a transit through Helsinki over Heathrow any day!  And Madrid is not a bad airport, either.

When DL gobbled up NW, and it was time to change airlines, I thought about AA, as they have a number of positives, but dealing with Heathrow as their main gateway in Europe, and the UK's APD, I decided that CO was a much better option.


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## ocdb8r (Jan 13, 2011)

Lucky Larry said:


> Thanks for all the replies and I need more help.
> 
> I tried to stay over in London for a day or two and found that American now charges 10,000 miles for a break of greater than 12 hours.  We don't have the extra 20,000 miles and to buy them is prohibitive.
> 
> ...



Larry,

5 hours is plenty of time to transit from LCY to LHR.  LCY is "the bankers" airport and is very small and efficient.  It's nothing like the size of LHR or LGW and many city workers use it becuase it's not only closer to Canary Warf and the city, but it's also much quicker and easier to get in and out of (including immigration).

Here's a whole thread on Flyertalk discussing the various options for transferring between the two:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1142493-transfer-lhr-lcy.html

...just realized that thread is for LHR -> LCY (but I am sure any routes would work in the reverse).  Here's another a bit older doing LCY -> LHR:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-ireland/956764-transfer-london-lcy-lhr.html

The only risk in my opinion is if your AA flight is delayed...but that's a risk with any connection, you're just a bit more pressed for time given you're transferring airports.


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