Having never done it, I would like to know if I can achieve this: arriving Gatwick (from Naples) at 1:50 PM, and catching a flight from Heathrow to JFK, leaving Heathrow at 4:35PM. I don't know how long the trip from Gatwick to Heathrow takes, and I'm concerned about getting through customs. What is the trip from Gatwick to Heathrow like?

If you land at 1:50pm, you'd be lucky to get the 2:15 National Express Bus which will take you to Heathrow (next one leaves 2:35). The journey they say is 50 minutes so figure an hour. Even if you have your boarding pass I don't think you can make it through security and on board in a half-hour.

People here recommend 4 hours minimum to change airports. Can you get an earlier Naples flight?

We landed at Gatwick at 6:40 am and arrived at Heathrow at 9:05 am using Speedlink bus. It was an amazingly slow process to clear customs, claim baggage, board the bus, negotiate traffic.

Our bus arrived at Heathrow at 9:05--we still had to move luggage and check in. The airlines had told us to allow at least 3 hours.

Cindy

I'd suggest making another plan. The M25 motorway (London ring road) is one of the heaviest-traveled highways in Europe. If your LGW flight is even slightly late arriving (and air traffic around London is very heavy indeed) you have almost no chance of making your departing flight from LHR.

Are they on the same ticket and is BA the carrier? If not, you may find that your onward carrier will not offer you a later flight if you misconnect, so you'd need to purchase a new ticket.

you are basically talking 2 p.m. to 4:30 -- no way. Is this one ticket or did you book them separately?

1:50 is not anything but the time your plane is scheduled to land -- it is not you in arrivals, it is not collecting your luggage and going through immigration, it is not when you would get on the coach to LHR. You will be lucky to get on the 2:35 bus.

So no, 2.5+ hours is not enough time.

was posting the same time as Gardyloo . . .

Working backwards

4:35pm flight means you need to be at Heathrow by 3:35pm in order to have enough time to find you check-in desk & check-in before it closes.

The latest coach you could take would be 2:05pm which gives you 15 minutes from landing to catch the coach - not possible

IF you are arriving at Gatwick's North Terminal and leaving from Heathrow's T4 then you could get the 2:35pm coach

45 minutes to go through immigration, collect luggage, buy a ticket & find the bus stop - not likely

Thank you all. I guess I gotta make other plans.