Bournemouth to Heathrow Airport

[Dunderhead]

Hi there,

Curious about this one, as the price of an undiscounted Off-Peak Return via Woking and the RailAir bus is £68.20, which is around £10 more than the same ticket from Bournemouth to London Terminals. I also notice that the equivalent journey with National Express is almost exactly the same price, and takes almost exactly the same amount of time.

Is there any way to meaningfully improve upon this figure?

Cheers

 

[Merseysider]

You could split at East Croydon for a total of £32.60 + £12.80 = £45.40.

That's travelling via Barnham with both fares valid to come back within one month.

 

[joncombe]

Not sure if you're trying to save time, money or both! The National Express from Woking will probably be fastest, depending on how long you have to wait for the bus but it does seem odd it is more expensive. You could look into the cost of Bournemouth to Reading and then the RailAir coach from there?

 

[SpacePhoenix]

What about National Express service 205 which goes from Bournemouth Coach Station (by ASDA) direct to Heathrow? Don't know if the price varies according to which terminal at Heathrow but just a quick look at to Terminals 2 & 3 is listed on the National Express website as starting at £36.10

 

[Dunderhead]

What about National Express service 205 which goes from Bournemouth Coach Station (by ASDA) direct to Heathrow? Don't know if the price varies according to which terminal at Heathrow but just a quick look at to Terminals 2 & 3 is listed on the National Express website as starting at £36.10

Yeah that's the one I was referring to, and that £36 is one-way only, so double it to cover both legs and you end up with about the same price as the rail fare.

The Off-Peak Return from Bournemouth to Gatwick Airport via Barnham is only £28.30, which seems like a steal in comparison...

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

The coach would take a lot longer anyway wouldn't it?

PS: @Merseysider I am extremely jealous of your forum role!

 

[BluePenguin]

I say get the train to Feltham and then the RailAir bus from there for £5. Alternatively buy the via Barnham ticket to London then Oyster card to Heathrow on the Picadilly line. You could also change at Basingstoke and go to Reading, traveling to Hayes and picking up the Heathrow Connect from there

 

[Dunderhead]

The coach would take a lot longer anyway wouldn't it?

I had assumed that the coach to Heathrow would be slower than rail as it often is, but in fact it takes around 2h20m, about the same as the rail+bus journey.

Bournemouth to Gatwick on the other hand is 3h40m by coach on the fastest journeys, which is over an hour longer than it takes by rail.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

You could hop on XC to Reading (£36 return, about an hour and a half) and take the Rail Air Coach service?

 

[Dunderhead]

You could hop on XC to Reading (£36 return, about an hour and a half) and take the Rail Air Coach service?

The Off-Peak Return fare for that is £67.30 and it also takes a bit longer than via Woking.

Having said that, is a "split" possible between the bus fare and the train fare - I had always assumed not and that the RailAir journey had to be bought as part of a train fare? (Edit: Just checked and it seems I can split the two, but the total fare then ends up being £1 more)

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Yes but an advance fare is £36 return adult.

 

[Dunderhead]

Yes but an advance fare is £36 return adult.

That helps a little, but the Off-Peak Return is only £40.30 to begin with, with the RailAir ticket then adding a hefty £26.50 on top of that (although it seems you can get an early bird ticket over 60 days in advance for £15.50, so add that to your £36 and you get £51.50, which is indeed a meaningful improvement over my original figure).

 

[Dunderhead]

I say get the train to Feltham and then the RailAir bus from there for £5. Alternatively buy the via Barnham ticket to London then Oyster card to Heathrow on the Picadilly line. You could also change at Basingstoke and go to Reading, traveling to Hayes and picking up the Heathrow Connect from there

Your first suggestion probably wins this thread. I can do Bournemouth to East Croydon for £32.60 via Barnham, plus two times £2.80 for the contactless fare from East Croydon to Feltham and two times £1.50 for the bus fare, and I end up with £41.20, which shaves over a third off my original figure. Very nice (and yes, it was money I was trying to save, rather than time).

 

[Joe Paxton]

I say get the train to Feltham and then the RailAir bus from there for £5. Alternatively buy the via Barnham ticket to London then Oyster card to Heathrow on the Picadilly line. You could also change at Basingstoke and go to Reading, traveling to Hayes and picking up the Heathrow Connect from there

Woah, no need to pay £5 for that for most people.

I know the London Bus routes from Feltham station to Heathrow - the 490 to terminals 4 and then 5, and the 285 to Heathrow Central Bus Station - are sometimes listed as RailAir links, and I think at least at one time it was possible to buy a through rail ticket for them (is it still theoretically possible?), but you don't need to pay more than £1.50 if you have an Oyster card or a contactless debit or credit card (all UK issued ones should work).

Otherwise, as cash isn't accepted on London Buses these days, £5 can get you a one-day London Bus & Tram Pass for travel on said bus, but I doubt very many are sold from railway station ticket offices and can well imagine actually buying one being a bit of a struggle (a newsagent or convenience shop in Feltham would probably be a better bet!).

 

[Joe Paxton]

Having said that, is a "split" possible between the bus fare and the train fare - I had always assumed not and that the RailAir journey had to be bought as part of a train fare? (Edit: Just checked and it seems I can split the two, but the total fare then ends up being £1 more)

I'm not sure there's ever been such a requirement for the Reading-Heathrow RailAir coach.

A fair few number of people get dropped off (or met) by car at Reading to get on the coach to Heathrow.

 

[SpacePhoenix]

What's your intended date of travel, terminal that you've got to be at, and time that you need to be at the terminal by (assuming that you've got to be at the terminal approx 3 hours before the scheduled departure time)?

 

[Dunderhead]

What's your intended date of travel, terminal that you've got to be at, and time that you need to be at the terminal by (assuming that you've got to be at the terminal approx 3 hours before the scheduled departure time)?

This is hypothetical at the moment as my flight, if I were to book it, would be further in the future, but let's say it's Monday 22nd January and I have to be at terminal 5 by 08:50. The return journey should depart Friday 26th January after 22:30. (I realise I've just thrown "off-peak" out of the window there)

 

[Harbouring]

Using those timings it limits the trip via Barnham, last train from Clapham to Soton via there is 2038