I'm planning on taking a short hop once I get into LHR, and I'm wondering which cheapie airline folks would recommend. Also, should I want to shuttle from Heathrow to Gatwick, Luton, or Stanton, how much time should I allow?

Thanks.

Err, of course I meant "Stansted" back there, not "Stanton" ...

British Airways and bmi fly LHR-EDI. bmi has "tiny fares" that can be pretty inexpensive. www.flybmi.com

A transfer to the other airports add cost and a lot of time. Should be avoided if possible. Reasonable time for a LHR-STN or LHR-LGW transfer is <b>5 hours</b> between flights, perhaps a little less for Luton.

All 5 of the London airports offer flights to Edinburgh but changing airports is something you should do only if you have no choice or far too much time.

easyJet flies from Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. You can take a train out of Liverpool St Stn in central London to Stansted. Luton is the furtherst away.
Ryanair does not fly between London and Edinburgh.
Not worth checking the budget airlines unless you ARE coming through London, as opposed to flying directly from LHR. Then your choices are BA or bmi.

I always use bmi.