What do you do in buses, trains, etc ?

Can anyone recommend a *cheap* car/taxi service from LHR to West Ealing?

i've checked several companies mentioned in this thread and am being quoted 40GBP and up which seems rather high. 4-5 years ago I paid 16GBP (which probably was a bargain; unfortunately I don't remember the company's name).

Thanks!:)

Try calling A4 based in Slough I use them and they are pretty reasonable and tend to be on time. Note they don't wait at the airport so you need to call them when you land but usually within 15 mins they arrive. When I used to travel domestiC, HBO - I never really waited that long at all. But if it will be busy then maybe go for a waiting service.

FWIW, the Heathrow Connect train service does serve West Ealing direct from the airport.

Uber reckon £20-27 from T5. The Kabbee app (very useful!) has a number of quotes from £20 up to double that for executive cars.

Where do they meet you - is it at the drop-off zone (illegitimately though everyone does it!) ?

Surprised not to see Atlas Cars mentioned here. Good, sizeable west london firm. From my SW6 house to T5 is £28, and back is 32-35, sometimes a bit more if 'on peak'. They have an app as well.

They will tell when you call most of the time I meet the drivers at the bottom of the car park - there is a drive through bit for hire cars they use. Occasionally I have just told them to meet me at the drop-off as I tended to arrive late night Thurs and it was quiet.

£40 sounds like someone is having you on!

I've booked through Kabbee in the past and got ~£17-18 to Acton. Operator tends to flip flop between "GB Airport Cars" and "Roadrunners GB Ltd".

Probably best to just check Kabbee itself. Cheeky, but am I allowed to offer a discount/referral code by PM?

Sure.:) Though I won't promise I'll use it if I can find a better deal.:p

Yeah, I was rather surprised, too. I checked half a dozen companies mentioned in this thread and most quotes I received were in the 35GBP-40GBP range (the highest was 75GBP.:eek:)

As it turns out, I'll be staying at an airport hotel a few miles away from LHR and am really just looking for a cheap option (obviously semi-legal, semi-safe would be preferred).

BA Transfer - word of warning
 

I've used BA Transfer a few times in the past year and am compelled to warn others about them, based on my recent experiences. (Note, they are nothing to do with British Airways).

I had issues with all four of my last car bookings. For three of them, they were late. Bit irritating they were late to the extent I needed to call and chase, every time. And each time met with the response the driver was literally 'one minute away' when they were nowhere of the sort. At my last-but-one LHR pickup they were very late. They were nowhere near LHR when they should have been. Why bother taking pre-bookings if you can't deal with them?

For my last booking, it all failed. I booked in advance for a LHR pickup, and having learnt from last time, I phoned them as soon as my flight landed to ensure someone was on their way. All was good, so I was told.

However, when I got to arrivals, no-one was waiting. I phoned again and this time they said that no executive car was available (as I'd booked) but a normal car would be with me in a few minutes. Irritating again (and they could have told me this when I phoned them on landing), but still, I'd get home. However, we ended up waiting around 45 minutes before we were picked up. And without putting too finer point on it, the driver who did collect us smelled badly of body odour (and I mean badly).

BA Transfer confirmed that day they'd refund me the difference in price. But nothing happened. I've had to chase multiple times and only now, weeks later, has my partial refund been processed. No added compensation for the messing around, delays and driver issues, but never mind - I really couldn't care.

I won't be using them again. What's the point of booking a car with this bunch of jokers when all it does is add stress and hassle? No thanks.

I have found similar problems with their Heathrow pick-ups. I think the drivers wait off site in order to avoid the parking charges. Their pickups at my office have been fine, but the returns are a nightmare.
I did try using Uber from Heathrow but the fare was awful when the driver hit (accidently or deliberately) ever traffic jam on the way home.
At the moment I am stumped for who to use from Heathrow home! :confused:

Well, I previously used Addison Lee. Never any issues with LHR pickups - always there with their board by the meeting point. The reason I stopped using them was the cost.

I guess you get what you pay for... ;)

I had similar problems getting pick-ups from my local taxi company. Not particularly that they were waiting offsite for cheapness, but rather that they were used to picking up a family of 5 off a long trip, with a shedload of luggage. I always got "Oh, you're there already? I'm just coming through Watford." - no matter how many times you tell them...

There are some companies local to Heathrow that do a better job, but the fares are unjustifiably high - £110+ instead of the local £70ish.

How much time Bloomsbury to LHR on a Saturday morning
 

How much time should we allow to travel from Bloomsbury Street to LHR using Taxi or private car , first Saturday in June?
Any recommendations for a private car company?
Thanks in advance

Roughly speaking, an hour. It depends on exactly when in the morning because if you're talking 7am then the roads through the centre of town will be clear and you'll be there likely 45-50 minutes. However, if it's after about 9am, and definitely after 10am, the roads will be busier and it will be an hour.. possibly a few minutes more depending on traffic. I've taken a car to LHR through central London many, many times (starting about a mile north-east from where you will be) and it's never taken more than 1h 15m.

As for which firm, getting an Uber would be my recommendation. However, if you want to pre-book then Addison Lee are ultra-reliable, albeit a bit more expensive.

By the way, you have other options but I'm assuming you already know about those, e.g. taking the tube from nearby Holborn which will take you direct to LHR, although the journey is long. Or a car to Paddington station where you can get the Heathrow Express train. For minimum hassle though, getting a car all the way is good.

I second Addison Lee, especially if you want to pre-book. Historically their prices were quite expensive to and from the airport, but I've noticed they've been lower for a while. I'm not sure if it's because I'm a silver member of their loyalty programme.

I think it's more to do with the onslaught of Uber

Thanks for the info.;)
We will be at the end of a three week cruise/ leisure trip so too much luggage and stuff to move , tote, keep up with to consider the train!
We will need more than a small vehicle , any thoughts on Uber size cars vs. Addison Lee?
Any experiences with Virgin upper wing? Our flight is 11:45, planning to arrive LHR by 10:00.

How much is Addison Lee from LHR to Central London these days? I have indeed much better experiences with them than with the cheaper BA Transfer.

However, cost is indeed the big difference. Sad also that Uber stopped their fixed rates from LHR into town...

Last time I paid £44 from SE1. You can get an exact quote via their app or website.

Only just spotted this. Addison Lee might be better in that case with one of their 'normal' i.e. non-green cars, as they are people carriers. That said, so are UberXL cars, so if you choose one of those and not an UberX, you should be fine with luggage. I'm assuming you have more than two normal sized suitcases but not a truck load!

The Virgin Upper Class wing by all accounts is a great experience. You could take a look at the Virgin thread on here for more info on the overall experience: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/virgi...ying-club-506/

So, did a quick read through the thread here. Family of four arriving into LHR late morning flying Virgin Upper Class into LHR around 10:00. Thinking we will stop at the Arrivals lounge for a refresh and quick breakfast before heading into the city. Staying near the London Eye.

We will have 3 pieces of large checked luggage and a few carryons/backpacks. I am looking for a car service to book to start our vacation off on the right foot vs. messing with the Express. Would Addison Lee be the best for us (two adults and two small children), given the situation that I have described? If so, how much should I budget for the transportation?

Thanks in advance!

Considering their pricing my vary by time and day, I would suggest you download the Addison Lee app, or go on their website, and get a quote for your date and time.

Yep as mentioned Add Lee now uses surge pricing like Uber. If you know anyone with Add Lee as there company car service get them to book and pay them makes a huge diff - e.g. from London to my house via app (not connected to work account) was about £100, when I remembered and changed the booking to my work account was about £65.

For Addy Lee you may get better prices through an aggregator like Karhoo these days. But it's a pretty crap app overall.

I tend to get better prices directly.

I've been using Karhoo for a few weeks, thanks to multiple promo codes, but so far the experience hasn't been great. I'm only using it because I'm not paying for rides!

Anyone have experience using JustAirports for transportation into Central London from LHR?

Just downloaded the Addison lee app ahead of our flight to LHR tomorrow, intending to use a "£10 off first booking" code.

When booking a LHR T5 pickup, should I estimate when we should get through to arrivals? I've heard T5 immigration has been crazy recently, and don't want to end up on the hook for waiting charges...

I guess the alternative could be to get Heathrow Connect to Paddington and use the 4 X £5 discount (we don't have far to go from there, not sure if they have a min charge but I think we've only got a mile or so, and could potentially use the other three while we are in town).

Hope to be landside by 11ish (coming in on BA98). Sounds like traffic in to town is still bad even then, so maybe H/Connect might not be such a bad idea..? Think the wife and kid may just want to be in a car, though,

Where are you aiming for? Little point taking a train (any train) to Paddington if you're staying in a totally different part of the city.

We're staying at a friends in NW1 - Between Warwick Ave and Lords.

We've not used JustAirports in from LHR (we always seem to arrive at times that make taking a car into London not a good proposition), but we routinely use it from Central London to LHR and they're just fine. Always on time, but the cars are nothing special.

Any pro or con on Blackberry Cars from Heathrow to London ??

Will a pre-booked car service driver wait inside at arrivals or will they be queued outside the terminal ??

I just used them last week in the other direction: London hotel to LHR.

I didn't like that they use Paypal for advance payment. I used my credit card and it was a terrible exchange rate - Paypal does the conversion and charges a fee rather than the charge just hitting my card statement in GBP. If I used them again, I'd pay cash.

PayPal allows you to choose which currency you want to pay in. At least they used to.

There was no option - if there had been, I'd have indicated GBP. The email confirmation had this, in small print at the bottom:

Used A4 again recently - like their service they use the car park not the departures point so that is good. But does add onto the cost.

I used BA Transfer this past weekend for an 8:50A pickup at LHR and a 5:00AM pickup in the city for my return to LHR on Sunday. No issues at all on either end. They were on time as requested (even with a last minute time change) and I have no complaints. I'll likely consider using them again when I'm on London again next summer.

Headed to Grosvenor House Hotel soon with wife & 6 month old son. Arriving ~10AM on a Monday morning. We'll likely stop at the arrivals lounge to clean up a bit before heading to the hotel. Looking at HEX it's £44.00. Addison Lee is £50.60 for the large car. As we will have 2 large suitcases + a stroller and carseat, I'm thinking its not worth trying to take HEX and then a cab to the hotel.

How much longer will the car service be compared to HEX?

If you're going to get a train, then why not consider the Tube to Hyde Park Corner then a cab up Park Lane? This is much cheaper although slower and you need to negotiate the escalator at Hyde Park Corner Station.

When compared to getting a car directly from the airport to hotel I suspect that the HEX/cab option will be less convenient with a similar price, albeit slightly quicker.