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Don't some of the airlines try to persuade you to buy a Heathrow Express ticket from them with your booking? That Heathrow Airport rewards programme also has a way to use their points for the train.
That's what I suggested up thread a bit -- that tickets might be included in a larger package and thus the price ends up as just another add-on rather than a large additional purchase. When bought as part of a package deal from a travel agent it could also be cheaper than bought retail.
Also, a RailAir coach return ticket from Reading is £36. That makes the £50 HEx return look less unfavourable, because although I willingly use the local train when going to Gatwick, for Heathrow it's much easier to go direct. Essentially the people who want to use HEx are not necessarily the people that browse this thread.
I have done this before and I can say, much as people love to insist that Heathrow Express is pointless now that “the Elizabeth line takes nine minutes longer tops,” not stopping at Ealing, Southall, Hayes, etc. was very nice after already travelling over 100 miles. It would have just made everything seem way more of a slog, especially when I’d have had to trek downstairs too.
Perhaps HX should be marketed more at long distance travellers from GWR destinations (complete with more good value fares not much extra on an advance to Paddington), with the Elizabeth line targetting those from Central London?
I think the point being made was that wealthy types who fly into Heathrow from the USA, and many other non European countries, won’t be accustomed to using any forms of public transport, other than possibly taxis, in their countries of origin.
The premium/high quality part is, IME, onboard space, power, good quality wifi, no lifts/escalators at Paddington.
I've recently restarted using the HEX as the Elizabeth line is a bit disappointing - slower, often crowded, lack of luggage space as well as being turfed out at Hayes a couple of times. With a Network card it's an acceptable price too.
You have power and Wi-Fi on the Elizabeth Line (albeit very few USB-A ports, but they are there) but the other aspects are reasons why some might prefer the premium service. It's certainly going to be a lot easier to manage luggage, and if you're going from the airport to Paddington to then get a taxi into central London (or maybe the surrounds) from there, it's another reason.
It's obvious passenger numbers would fall, but the question is whether it can manage with the reduced numbers and keep selling people up to first class, which is a huge profit. And, again, for an airport with some very 'rich' destinations and plenty of people paying a lot of money for premium economy, business and first class (albeit first class likely comes with some sort of limousine service) then I doubt any of these people would care about the cost. They'd be likely taking taxis, but some might see the train as quicker and worth paying for.
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This has been forgotten in this thread, but coaches are becoming increasingly popular for travel to London airports by budget travellers. While unlikely to be in direct competition with HeX, it could be, being a convenient, regular service which drops off in many places in London.
From Hertfordshire, I can use a train and tune, train and Elizabeth Line, or train and Heathrow Express. Or I can take the 724 bus that costs £2 and £3 from next year.
I've never taken the bus, but it's by far the cheapest option and pretty reliable and frequent too. It requires zero changes, which is a real bonus, but I don't know how many people from Hertfordshire (or Essex) actually go all the way to the airport on it.
Wow, even first class being cut back now? It's been some years since I flew Virgin Upper Class and it was a pick up from home (and taken back to home) with my bags being checked in for me. I just needed to make it to the lounge and plane in my own time. I thought that's why you paid so much over the odds for it (or in my case, someone else paid over the odds!).
Wow, even first class being cut back now? It's been some years since I flew Virgin Upper Class and it was a pick up from home (and taken back to home) with my bags being checked in for me. I just needed to make it to the lounge and plane in my own time. I thought that's why you paid so much over the odds for it (or in my case, someone else paid over the odds!).
Virgin Upper Class was an outlier even when it did offer the limo (and it’s a business class product, not first). The only airlines at LHR who do offer a limo for first are Emirates and Etihad.
Trying to drag this back on topic BA ran a trial some years ago where some First passengers could have a black cab or Hex ticket paid for them. It didn’t really work out as most people at that end prefer or have their own arrangements.
This has been forgotten in this thread, but coaches are becoming increasingly popular for travel to London airports by budget travellers. While unlikely to be in direct competition with HeX, it could be, being a convenient, regular service which drops off in many places in London.
Indeed - from Bristol we have an hourly service to Heathrow that is almost exactly 2hrs from the city centre. The rail equivalent is a minimum of 2:35hrs, with between two and four changes, and at least double the price ....
Indeed - from Bristol we have an hourly service to Heathrow that is almost exactly 2hrs from the city centre. The rail equivalent is a minimum of 2:35hrs, with between two and four changes, and at least double the price ....
Which is why most people I know who live in GWR territory either drive to Heathrow, get a coach or stay over in an airport hotel and for most of these the Heathrow Express is pretty much irrelevant.
You have power and Wi-Fi on the Elizabeth Line (albeit very few USB-A ports, but they are there) but the other aspects are reasons why some might prefer the premium service. It's certainly going to be a lot easier to manage luggage, and if you're going from the airport to Paddington to then get a taxi into central London (or maybe the surrounds) from there, it's another reason.
It's obvious passenger numbers would fall, but the question is whether it can manage with the reduced numbers and keep selling people up to first class, which is a huge profit. And, again, for an airport with some very 'rich' destinations and plenty of people paying a lot of money for premium economy, business and first class (albeit first class likely comes with some sort of limousine service) then I doubt any of these people would care about the cost. They'd be likely taking taxis, but some might see the train as quicker and worth paying for.
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From Hertfordshire, I can use a train and tune, train and Elizabeth Line, or train and Heathrow Express. Or I can take the 724 bus that costs £2 and £3 from next year.
I've never taken the bus, but it's by far the cheapest option and pretty reliable and frequent too. It requires zero changes, which is a real bonus, but I don't know how many people from Hertfordshire (or Essex) actually go all the way to the airport on it.
Thing is, though, the Elizabeth line glorified tube trains are no way as comfortable as an ordinary train. I travel between Reading and Slough regularly for work and for that journey I've switched from the EL to the Didcot-Paddington GWR service because the tube-style train was not comfortable at all for me as someone with mild disabilities and a sensitivity to motion sickness. (I posted a thread back early on after I found the forum about whether a Basingstoke to Windsor return ticket entitled me to go via Bracknell, because the bus from outside my place of work to join a train at Maidenhead was more attractive than slogging back into Windsor town centre, and Bracknell was also a destination from that stop which seemed to me to avoid the EL. People said no, my ticket wouldn't be valid, but I could just get the fast Didcot train instead if the EL was uncomfortable.)
Purely for my needs and comfort I'd pay for either the RailAir coach (£36 return) or the HEx (if I were coming from London, which I'm not; £50 return) because I really really don't like the EL from a . Given that if I'm on the way to Heathrow at all I've probably paid high three figures/low fours for a trip (my public sector work is all UK based and we're actually not allowed to flights, the add-on is fairly trivial and I might even have bought it at the booking.com checkout.
It's like ...I've stayed at both the Ibis and Novotel in Reading before on work trips (and the night after the Christmas party). But the Ibis is perfectly comfortable and has all the facilities, including a pizza bar...why should anyone want to stay at the upmarket Novotel? If someone wants to go there aren't they being ripped off?! But when you wake up on the morning after the night before in the upmarket Novotel with a hangover the experience is much nicer than the Ibis; the bed is that much deeper and more comfortable, there's room service, there's more of the intangible things that make me happier to be there. And that's what people are paying for when they choose the Novotel over the Ibis or indeed the Travelodge. (And why stop there? You can get a perfectly good night's sleep in a tent in Forbury Gardens...)
Different people have different tolerances and comfort needs and wants. It's really not always about price, which is what people here are missing -- the mindset of the people who actually use the HEx. To argue the toss about the facilities etc is missing the whole point -- you're not the person who is coming in to Heathrow after a red-eye flight and needing to be in central London with more pressure on time and comfort needs than money. The reason choices and options exist is because people are different and have different needs and wants. The EL going out to Heathrow adds options for people, but it isn't necessarily the favoured option for everyone.
Indeed - from Bristol we have an hourly service to Heathrow that is almost exactly 2hrs from the city centre. The rail equivalent is a minimum of 2:35hrs, with between two and four changes, and at least double the price ....
According to my journey planner checks, rail from Bristol Temple Meads is typically 2h10 with one change at Paddington. Trains leave at xx00 and xx30 from Bristol, 1hr35 to Paddington, 20 minute change, 15 minutes to Heathrow.
The options with multiple changes avoiding HEx and Paddington come out at around 2h05 to 2h15.
I'm not sure how you're arriving at a minimum of two changes or a minimum journey time of 2h35.
Purely for my needs and comfort I'd pay for either the RailAir coach (£36 return) or the HEx (if I were coming from London, which I'm not; £50 return) because I really really don't like the EL from a . Given that if I'm on the way to Heathrow at all I've probably paid high three figures/low fours for a trip (my public sector work is all UK based and we're actually not allowed to flights, the add-on is fairly trivial and I might even have bought it at the booking.com checkout.
It's like ...I've stayed at both the Ibis and Novotel in Reading before on work trips (and the night after the Christmas party). But the Ibis is perfectly comfortable and has all the facilities, including a pizza bar...why should anyone want to stay at the upmarket Novotel?
I used the RailAir to/from Reading many times. Nice and comfortable with WiFi, would not have occured to me to get train and then HEX unless there were problems on the roads or it was rush hour.
As for Reading Novotel re Ibis: You get more than 3 clothes hangers, better storage, a good desk and chair, a non-cramped bathroom.
According to my journey planner checks, rail from Bristol Temple Meads is typically 2h10 with one change at Paddington. Trains leave at xx00 and xx30 from Bristol, 1hr35 to Paddington, 20 minute change, 15 minutes to Heathrow.
The options with multiple changes avoiding HEx and Paddington come out at around 2h05 to 2h15.
I'm not sure how you're arriving at a minimum of two changes or a minimum journey time of 2h35.
Probably from a suburban station near Temple Meads. Of course it's an unfair comparison to take the coach journey time from somewhere in the city centre, and compare that to the train journey time from the suburbs.
I suspect a western link into Heathrow would create many more park and ride opportunities. The M4 is very competitive from Bristol/South Wales. Likewise, the M3 may bring many to switch to rail for the last mile, rather than using train to London and the HEX.
If going via rail my preference is Paddington and the HEX, then Reading and the EL. It is a very long time since I used the RailAir coach, but in my head traffic is an issue in Reading (it may very well not be any more).
Probably from a suburban station near Temple Meads. Of course it's an unfair comparison to take the coach journey time from somewhere in the city centre, and compare that to the train journey time from the suburbs.
The coach station is on the opposite side of the city centre to Temple Meads (and not as far out) so depending where you are starting from it's not an unfair comparison.
It's a reasonable comparison. Any Austrian will tell you to use the regular-priced OBB service and not the CAT (City Air Train).
It does leave from a separate platform at the airport, with dedicated stock. It's infrequent in comparison, every 30 minutes, and it constantly describes its arrival station, Wien Mitte, as the "City Centre". It's not, it's outside The Ring, and it's not the main city Hauptbahnhof either. Looking in, it mostly seems to run near-empty, whereas the regular and more frequent OBB services from the adjacent platform are generally well filled.
CAT does not always leave from a separate platform. I was in Vienna at the start of December and the S& arrived about 5 minutes after a CAR departure on the same platform. The S7 took me to a station that was 400m from my hotel or I could have transferred to the U1 U-Bahn and got out directly opposite my hotel entrance. Public transport is cheap and integrated in Vienna and TFL/HEx etc could learn a lot from the swet up I suspect.
I wonder how many people on HEX have a ticket bought for them by their work via a travel agent.
When I last travelled to the US for work (several years ago), I was bought a very expensive peak-time ticket to get to London, an all-zones travelcard to get to Paddington(!) and a HEX ticket to get to Heathrow. The travel agency they used didn't seem to care about costs, nor did my manager when I suggested an alternate itinerary that was only about 30 minutes longer but about £150 cheaper. It wasn't worth their time to faff about with chasing costs. It baffled me, if that was the norm they must have been wasting thousands of pounds a year.
Maybe these days with money being a bit tighter it's all changed.
Thing is, though, the Elizabeth line glorified tube trains are no way as comfortable as an ordinary train. I travel between Reading and Slough regularly for work and for that journey I've switched from the EL to the Didcot-Paddington GWR service because the tube-style train was not comfortable at all for me as someone with mild disabilities and a sensitivity to motion sickness.
The EL trains are lovely if you can get yourself in one of the bays of four seats. They're not if you're stuck in a transverse seat by the doors. Starting back at Heathrow you'll have no bother getting a bay of four, but heading to Heathrow there's a strong chance you won't. Luggage storage is a pain on EL also.
As I've said upthread, my personal price point for HEx is about the £10 on top of EL mark. So if it's the only journey I'm taking in London I'll pay for HEx, but if I'll otherwise hit the Z1-6 cap then I'll take EL.
I wouldn't describe HEx now as luxury though. The 332s were luxury trains, even in standard class the seating was incredibly comfortable. But the 387s now just have the bog-standard ironing board seats that all the other 387s have.
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Some, but I doubt many. Walk-up fares must be the most lucrative for HEx; if they weren't, they wouldn't pay so many staff to flog the tickets in the arrivals halls.
People on here compare the HEx fare to the tube fare rather than comparing the HEx fare to the air fare. If I've just spent £400 on an economy single ticket to New York then, to be quite honest, an extra £25 is neither here nor there.
I used the RailAir to/from Reading many times. Nice and comfortable with WiFi, would not have occured to me to get train and then HEX unless there were problems on the roads or it was rush hour.
As for Reading Novotel re Ibis: You get more than 3 clothes hangers, better storage, a good desk and chair, a non-cramped bathroom.
O/T, but I quite like the House of Fisher apartments in Reading. Reasonably close to the station, comfy, clean, plenty of space, and about the same price as a hotel room...
In defence of coaches to/from Heathrow I would first say that they are far better for those travelling with large/heavy luggage than trains are. In most cases the driver does the heavy bit as well! Railair from Reading also takes you right to/from the central terminals T2 and T3. The HEx station is quite a long way from those and deep underground too. In my experience, traffic delays to/from Reading have become much less of a problem with the M4 becoming a "smart" motorway recently. In Reading there have been small but useful improvements for buses too.
Another sneaky advantage for Railair is that national Railcard discounts apply at all times. So split your tickets and/or book direct with First Bus when travelling in the morning peak.
In defence of coaches to/from Heathrow I would first say that they are far better for those travelling with large/heavy luggage than trains are. In most cases the driver does the heavy bit as well! Railair from Reading also takes you right to/from the central terminals T2 and T3. The HEx station is quite a long way from those and deep underground too. In my experience, traffic delays to/from Reading have become much less of a problem with the M4 becoming a "smart" motorway recently. In Reading there have been small but useful improvements for buses too.
Another sneaky advantage for Railair is that national Railcard discounts apply at all times. So split your tickets and/or book direct with First Bus when travelling in the morning peak.
Ah, the infamous London Road bus lane. The locals love it!
I'd also vote for the Railair coach when heading to LHR to and from Reading. Plus it uses a sneaky bus lane / entrance round the back of the airport complex, so comes off the M4 at Langley rather than getting snarled up at the M4 / M25 junction.
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