Which London airport is better?

asl

Well-Known Member
Trans-Atlantic pilots, especially those with DAL (since I know your routes have switched recently), have seen routes transferred from Gatwick to Heathrow, so a simple question, which is better to fly into? (both technical flying and operations point of view, and ease of travel into central London standpoint)
 
Trans-Atlantic pilots, especially those with DAL (since I know your routes have switched recently), have seen routes transferred from Gatwick to Heathrow, so a simple question, which is better to fly into? (both technical flying and operations point of view, and ease of travel into central London standpoint)

As a passenger. LHR > Central London is pretty snappy. LGW > Central London, you're going to have to drive quite a distance or take the Gatwick Express downtown, which can be spendy and not very express.

Getting in and out of LHR, as a pilot, is pretty straight-forward. LGW has some departure that more or less will get you violated unless you hit the autopilot immediately and interpret the English's (non) standard English correctly. Pet peeve.

Fares into LHR are much more expensive than LGW I think.
 
LHR as a passenger is a nightmare. Rude staff and all the lines in the world.

I hate less the LGW experience. STN and LTN are both better, but both are less commonly used for transatlantic flights.

LHR is much better connected, but if you are renting a car then I'd try to use the others. Don't drive into Central London.
 
As a passenger. LHR > Central London is pretty snappy. LGW > Central London, you're going to have to drive quite a distance or take the Gatwick Express downtown, which can be spendy and not very express.

Getting in and out of LHR, as a pilot, is pretty straight-forward. LGW has some departure that more or less will get you violated unless you hit the autopilot immediately and interpret the English's (non) standard English correctly. Pet peeve.

Fares into LHR are much more expensive than LGW I think.

Honestly, the Gatwick->Victoria local is a ~40-45 minute ride, and pretty cheap. You'll spend a lot more going for the express, and it really doesn't save much time. Heathrow to London is about the same ride time, IIRC.

I've only operated in and out of Gatwick as a pilot, but the "Behind the arriving A320, line up and wait" is quirky and questionable.

Oh, and I cringe anytime I see LHR pop up on my schedule.
 
..I've only operated in and out of Gatwick as a pilot, but the "Behind the arriving A320, line up and wait" is quirky and questionable....
"Behind the arriving traffic, line up and wait, BEHIND". If you forget the second behind, off with your head!! Duh!
 
"Behind the arriving traffic, line up and wait, BEHIND". If you forget the second behind, off with your head!! Duh!

"No need fo all that Guv! We'll get you all spiffed up in a tick tock!"

2012-misb-poster-cambridge2_queen-english.jpg
 
So the arriving airplane flies over you? lol.

No. They give you your clearance prior to the traffic passing you, but expect you to wait for the traffic to pass before you comply. In the US, they will tell you to hold short until the traffic passes and then give you an additional clearance.
 
No. They give you your clearance prior to the traffic passing you, but expect you to wait for the traffic to pass before you comply. In the US, they will tell you to hold short until the traffic passes and then give you an additional clearance.
That's an incursion waiting to happen, well I'm sure it's already caused some.
 
Honestly, the Gatwick->Victoria local is a ~40-45 minute ride, and pretty cheap. You'll spend a lot more going for the express, and it really doesn't save much time. Heathrow to London is about the same ride time, IIRC.

I've only operated in and out of Gatwick as a pilot, but the "Behind the arriving A320, line up and wait" is quirky and questionable.

Oh, and I cringe anytime I see LHR pop up on my schedule.

Oh god, I got an "after the landing Ethiopian triple, line up and wait #2 behind a Speedbird airbus at 27L at (intersection)"

They're just rolling the dice on that crap until something bad happens.

Or my favorite: "Join the ILS"

"Are we cleared for the ILS?"

"JOIN THE ILS"

And don't screw up their GODFORSAKEN CDA arrivals or you'll get a sternly worded nastygram. So build us an arrival and besides, if the airport is so damned modern, why the hell am I holding at Ockham with regularity?

<--- has been far too much.
 
Oh god, I got an "after the landing Ethiopian triple, line up and wait #2 behind a Speedbird airbus at 27L at (intersection)"

They're just rolling the dice on that crap until something bad happens.

Or my favorite: "Join the ILS"

"Are we cleared for the ILS?"

"JOIN THE ILS"

And don't screw up their GODFORSAKEN CDA arrivals or you'll get a sternly worded nastygram. So build us an arrival and besides, if the airport is so damned modern, why the hell am I holding at Ockham with regularity?

<--- has been far too much.

Is that why the A-330 trumped the 767-400 for ya? :)
 
LHR as a passenger is a nightmare. Rude staff and all the lines in the world.

Yep a real nightmare as a pax, especially if you are in transit. They have ridiculous security checks and passport controls for any transit traffic, you literally waste an hour standing in line and you never left a sterile area since you started your journey.
 
Yep a real nightmare as a pax, especially if you are in transit. They have ridiculous security checks and passport controls for any transit traffic, you literally waste an hour standing in line and you never left a sterile area since you started your journey.

Marginally easier on crews.

First, they treat you like "mom and dad" if you come in too late back when you were in high school. Stand a little too close, ask you nonsensical questions, sniff sniff.

Then they always pick a bag for increased inspection and pull all of your crap out. One guy started tinkering with my iPad and wanted me to 'unlock it'. I thought perhaps he was trying to ensure that it was actually an iPad, but then he starts scrolling through my apps.

It ain't America. HAHAHAHA, you don't have (m)any rights.

Liquids rules for crews, ehh, don't get me started.
 
Yep a real nightmare as a pax, especially if you are in transit. They have ridiculous security checks and passport controls for any transit traffic, you literally waste an hour standing in line and you never left a sterile area since you started your journey.

I've probably been through customs at LHR 75 times - can be hell, can be no big deal. I would often take the transfer bus to terminal 1, clear customs with no line. Stansted is by far the best airport.

The Heathrow Express is super convenient, if you happen to be going someplace near paddington. The extra 20 minutes on the tube is usually no big deal to me, as I typically need a nap anyways. Tiebreaker is typically if I am going someplace on the circle line.

The few times I have flown out of Gatwick, I have wished I was going to LHR instead. A private car service can be an okay deal (you'd need a second mortgage to pay for a black cab from there)
 
I've probably been through customs at LHR 75 times - can be hell, can be no big deal. I would often take the transfer bus to terminal 1, clear customs with no line. Stansted is by far the best airport.

The Heathrow Express is super convenient, if you happen to be going someplace near paddington. The extra 20 minutes on the tube is usually no big deal to me, as I typically need a nap anyways. Tiebreaker is typically if I am going someplace on the circle line.

The few times I have flown out of Gatwick, I have wished I was going to LHR instead. A private car service can be an okay deal (you'd need a second mortgage to pay for a black cab from there)

LHR security for crews is always a big deal. They really really really get off on messing with you.

I'm about he most koombayah, easy-going, mellow guy you'll ever meet but their procedures get... under... my... skin.
 
So the arriving airplane flies over you? lol.
They do this in the Caribbean islands and Venezuela too. A few days ago, an AA plane was told to lineup and wait after I landed. They didn't wait, I "went around for birds". :) I'm not sure the AA crew or tower were aware anything was about to happen or what the go around was really for. The constant Spanish over the radio is "awesome" too. REALLY helps with your SA of other planes! :sarcasm:

They also say the "descend 2000" thing instead of "descend TO 2000" or "descend and maintain 2000". Phraseology that was a factor in a nasty accident in China IIRC. Just gotta do whatever you can to keep your own SA and be a PITA if you have to I suppose. Accidents waiting to happy though, indeed. VZ controllers also sound like this on the radio:

Good times! :D
 
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