If money is no object.... (Heathrow Express)

Member Name: zOOm

Product:	Heathrow Express
Date:	16/06/01 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Regular, Convenient, Very good service

Disadvantages: Expensive, You still have to walk a long way after you get to Heathrow

As a regular traveller I need to make my way to Heathrow quite frequently. I first discovered the Heathrow Express when the company I work for decided to send me on trips.

The service runs from Paddington to Heathrow, all terminals are covered. If you are taking the tube to Paddington, try taking the Circle Line, if you take the Hammersmith line then you´ll need to walk a long way and climb up and down a few stairs while carrying your luggage. (As a side issue, this is one thing I hate about Paddington! They know that most people will be carrying lugage, why not build escalators?)

You can buy your Heathrow Express tickets from automatic ticket machines (these accept all types of credit cards) before you get on board or you can also buy them while on board. However, there is a price difference. If you buy them before getting on, you pay 12 pounds but if you buy them while on board you pay 14! (By the way, this is for standard tickets, first class costs double!) I see this as one very smart way of making money as most people will jump on rather than wait for the next train.

One nice thing though is that kids (anyone under the age of 16) travel for free. So families don´t get charged too much. You can tell this service is mainly aimed at business people as they don´t mind paying.

The service runs every 15 minutes. There is no smoking on board.

Once you are on board you feel like you just stepped into an airplane. The interrior is very clean, the seats are comfortable and there are places to put your luggage. The comfort level is comparable to the Eurostar actually! There are TV´s that display some music video to the tune of some modernised classical music and you also get to watch BBC news (updated throught the day). There is also plenty of information given. It is also a very quite and very smooth ride. There are also "quite" cars, which means you are not allowed to use your mobile phone.

The journey to
your first stop (Terminals 1,2 & 3) takes about 15 minutes. From there it is another 5 minutes to Terminal 4.

This is the bit that I hate, no matter which train service you take into Heathrow you end up walking about 20 minutes just to get to your check-in desk (but I´ll save this complaint for another op coming soon).

Overall, if you don´t mind the price, I totally recommend the service. As well as being convenient, it is a relaxing and time saving journey before or after a flight.

Summary: