Where is Stansted and, more to the point, how far away from LHR is it? We are thinking of flying VA into LON from LAX and using Ryan Air to fly to and from Spain because of the insanely low fares. Does anyone know the min. amount of time we would need to make that "connection"? And how would we get to and from?

It's a long way, up around the northen rim of the M25 from Heathrow. There's a connecting bus. Because of our schedule, we spent a night at LHR then hired a car service to take us to STN, which cost around £85. I believe the standard black cab rate is £10-15 more. I would use 3-5 hours as a minimum connection time.

Virgin's symbol is VS by the way, and have a look at BMI's prices for connections from LHR before you commit to Ryanair. When you add up the cost of a transfer, the possibility that your flight to Spain is in the morning and therefore you have to overnight somewhere, plus the costs of transfers (and the possibility that Ryanair uses a secondary airport in Spain that might cost more to access)... well, you get the picture. Also make sure you see what Ryanair's baggage allowances are (ouch) and be sure to see the <i>taxes.</i> Something about free lunches...

Thank you Gardyloo, I think I see the light. I just noticed a post about Ryan AIr luggage limit. So... Any info on getting to/from LHR to Gatwick? All the cheap flights seem to be anywhere BUT LHR.

<b>http://www.nationalexpress.com/destinations/airports.cfm?t=air</b>

Stansted's not a terrible airport to fly out of, but I wouldn't want to make a connection from LHR there. We took the train from Liverpool Street, pretty easy. Warning: boarding is a complete free-for-all cattle-call.

As Gardyloo says, Ryanair's Spanish airports are likely to be pretty far from where you want to end up as well.

If you're trying to get to Spain, and you're just trying to transfer, why go to London at all? I'd work backwards from your destination and find a transfer point that way. Maybe you can pick up Ryanair or Easyjet in some other city accessible from LAX.