Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
PLANNING
YOUR TRIP
by Nick Dalton, Deborah Stone & Donald Strachan
GETTING THERE
By Plane
England's main airport is
London
Heathrow
(LHR; www.heathrow
airport.com), 17 miles west of the city and boasting five hectic, bustling
terminals (Terminals 1 to 5, although Terminal 2 is closed until 2014).
This is the U.K. hub of most major airlines, including British Airways,
Virgin Atlantic, Qantas, and the North American carriers.
London
Gat-
wick
(LGW; www.gatwickairport.com) is the city's second major airport,
with two terminals (North and South), 31 miles south of central London
in the Sussex countryside. As with Heathrow, you can fly direct or with a
connection to or from pretty much anywhere.
Increasingly, however, passengers are arriving at London's smaller air-
ports—particularly as budget airlines have proliferated, and even come to
dominate short-haul domestic and international routes.
London
Stansted
(STN; www.stanstedairport.com), 37 miles northeast of the
city, is the gateway to a vast array of short-haul destinations in the U.K.,
continental Europe, and parts of the Middle East. It's also a hub for major
budget operator Ryanair.
London Luton
(LTN; www.london-luton.
co.uk), anchoring a similarly diverse short-haul network, lies 34 miles
northwest of London. Ryanair and easyJet are two of the main users.
London City
(LCY; www.londoncityairport.com), the only commercial
airport actually in London itself, is used mainly by business travelers from
nearby Docklands and the City, but does have some key intercity links—
notably with regular direct flights to New York, Paris, Edinburgh, and
Madrid. British Airways and Cityjet are the two major airlines at London
City.
To find out which airlines travel to London, see “Airlines, Hotels, & Car
Rental,” p. 765.
England has a number of regional airports, some with direct flights
from the U.S., and all with connections from London, the main ones
being
Manchester
(MAN) and
Birmingham
(BHX). In Wales,
Cardiff
(CWL) is the main airport, although there is also one in
Swansea
(SWS).
GETTING INTO LONDON
Heathrow Airport
A journey to the heart of London via the Tube on the Piccadilly Line takes
45 to 50 minutes and costs between £2.70 and £5—it's cheapest if you
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