Gatwick to Heathrow
 

I bet this question has been asked a 1000 times. Well, here goes again. How much time do I need to transfer from Gatwick to Heathrow? I'm flying from Pisa to Gatwick, arriving 2:00 p.m. I can catch connecting flight from Heathrow at 17:30 p.m. Is this enough time. (I assume that my luggage will be checked through from Pisa.)

They Are two diffrent Airports about 15-20 miles apart .I can't see hour you luggage will be checked thru you have to claim it and re check it At Heathrow

I forgot to mention that I will be taking a taxi from Gatwick to Heathrow.
Could any one advise the cost?
Is it really through that you can't check your bags through from Pisa to New York. I'll be on BA all the way.

The SpeedLink bus is by far the best way to go between the airports.

There are shuttle buses between the 2 airports.

http://www.speedlink.co.uk/speedlink_page.html
Speedlink costs 17gbp & leaves more frequently

www.nationalexpress.com
National Express costs 15gbp

The trip SHOULD take just over an hour but this part of the motorway is always congested & can take much longer (3-4 hrs at worst). By taking a taxi (which would be by the meter I have no isea how much-maybe 40gbp) you would avoid any waiitng time for the bus & possibly a taxi could take local or service roads if the traffic got too bad.

My experience this past December was that BA will not transfer your luggage from 1 airport to the another (for security reasons since 9/11). You must claim it & transfer yourself. You should get your Heathrow boarding pass in Pisa though so when you get to Heathrow you only have to stand in the luggage line which moves faster than the line to get boarding passes AND check luggage.

Bottom line- the connection you're considering could be very tight. I would suggest leaving yourself more time.

The distance is 40 miles, about double what Italiano estimated. A prebooked car service (mini cab)would cost about £60; a metered taxi even more.

While McLaurie scenario is scary, I think that the buses that make the journey dozens of times a day would also know their way around traffic tie-ups.

I had a 4 hour and 15 minute connection time in May and missed my flight. You have to claim your bags and check in again at Heathrow. I took a speedlink bus. I might have made better time in a taxi but I don't know for sure.

As the previous posters who know from experience have said, it's important to allow plenty of time for this transfer. For what it's worth, an article in Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Newsletter said that five hours is the minimum "safe" time--and six is better.

You definitely will NOT be able to check your bags through. You will have to wait for your luggage, go through immigration, catch the Speedlink bus (just as fast and 1/4 the price of a taxi), check in at LHR and go through security.

3.5 hours will not be enough time. Some international carriers are requiring 3 hours advance check-in at LHR - but 2 is usually sufficient.

So I would recommend an absolute minimum of 4.5 hours to make that connection - and only if I was on a full fare changeable type ticket. 6 hours would be better.

This discussion raises the question: how can airlines claim to have service from, say, New York to Pisa, when the London connection requires a 4-6 hour Heathrow-to-Gatwick transfer/check-in?

Bottom line--unless you can get a connecting flight at the same London airport, consider another routing or make it a two-day connection (staying in London overnight).