Connection between Heathrow & Gatwick
 

A flight I am looking at on a search engine has a connecting time of 3 1/2 hours and I need to go from Heathrow to Gatwick. Does this make sense (especially with time needed to clear customs), or are these airlines screwed up on offering this arrangement? And, do the airlines provide this transportation free of charge if they book you on a flight like this, or am i required to pay for this on my own? Thanks.

If you do a search for "National Express" or Heathrow to Gatwick you
will find a lot of info covering this
situation. But quickly, you need at
least 4 hours 'cause the road between
the airports can be very congested;
and you are obligated to pay your own
way on the Express bus. The Heathrow
Airport website has a link to National
Express bus service with the charges
for that trip.

If you only have carry-on luggage you might be able to make this connection. No guarantees, but just possible.

But if you have to wait for your bags at LHR your chances are slim to none.

At LHR you can normally plan on 10-15 mins to taxi/park at the gate, 20 mins to deplane and walk to arrivals, 15-45 mins to collect luggage, 10-40 mins for customs/immigration, 10-20 min walk to/wait for Gatwick coach, 70-90 mins for the bus ride.

So your very, very best timing with all planets aligned perfecly and no traffic on the M25 would get you to LGW 2.5 hours after landing and then you still need to check in and go through security.

But in the real world it will be more like 3.5 to 4 hours from LHR touchdown to LGW arrival.

British Airways says you need 3 hours to make a connection. And that is about right. Factors which could increase that include: long lines at customs/immigration, baggage delays, landing delays, and traffic jams on the roads between the terminals.

Here's the BA link dealing with this (lousy) connection:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...w/public/en_us

And BA does not pay for your connecting bus ticket (they used to, long ago in the Fairytale Time of Profitable Airlines).

BTW: If you are booking through a single airline, your connections are "protected"...that is, the airline is responsible for making arrangements if you can't make the connection. I'd advise to book directly, not through a 3rd party, for added safety on this front.

One more thought: you can speed up clearing customs/immigration if you are flying business or first class and the airline provides you with a FastTrack pass. A separate line, usually much shorter, for those who can use it.

We are arriving at Heathrow at 4.00
and going on to Gatwick and flying
out the next am.
Would it be feasable to take the tube
to Victoria Station and then the
train.
Would the tube be packed at that time
of day. Thanks

You could do that, although you're right that the tube is likely to be at least somewhat full (I can't say exactly how much so).

You could also take the National Express bus directly from Heathrow to Gatwick: http://www.nationalexpress.com

It really depends where you want to stay during your overnight stay.