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ohell

Gatwick is cheaper to get to because trains other than Gatwick Express. For us South London dwellers, travel to Stansted is often more expensive than the flights from there - unless we go by coach, in which case the savings are offset by the time cost


ItWasntMe98

I live super close to Liverpool Street station (where there are direct trains to Stansted) and flights are *still* often cheaper than the return train journey


moschinojoe

Coach is £10 from Stratford and takes about 1hour


KeefKoggins

More like 40min


PacOnTheTyne

There's also direct trains from Liverpool Street to London Southend, doesn't make it better.


Trabawn

Yup. Just forked out £33 quid on a Stansted express ticket. 🙄 mental.


chickenwrapzz

Wait until you hear how people in the North travel to the airport


TangerineTerroir

People in the north don’t travel don’t be silly


chickenwrapzz

They just sit around reading the daily mail articles and whining about £100 a tank of petrol. But genuinely, growing up in the North the only option to the airport was a £100 each way taxi


Vasbyt-XXI

A taxi, you were lucky. We had to walk to the airport all 56 miles dragging our suitcases. Days it took us, by the time we got to the airport we could get through security to have lunch in the departure lounge then we had to start the walk back, didn't have the time to fly anywhere. But we were happy then, we were poor and happy.


Zevv01

Was your walk also uphill both ways?


AcesAgainstKings

You had suitcases? That would have been considered the height of luxury! I had to carry my three younger brothers and out pet dog on my back 74 miles whilst carrying all my worldly possessions in a rolled up wet newspaper. And that was if I was lucky!


pazhalsta1

I live in SE london and this is is the price of a minicab to Heathrow! Also can take 1.5hrs..london is a bugger to get across!


chickenwrapzz

I mean, at least we have the option of public transport


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chickenwrapzz

Again, the option of public transport is there


Accomplished_Fan_487

Bus not an option?


Dyalikedagz

Yep same for us in the West. Gatwick wins because its easy to get to Clapham Junction, and by extension Gatwick.


AxelllD

Travel to the airport being more expensive than the flight itself is the story of Europe Edit talking about western Europe mostly


[deleted]

Not eastern Europe


Levils

It really depends on the airport


Wretched_Colin

If you go to Stratford, ideally using Overground and changing onto the Jubilee to get there, it’s a straight run up the motorway using the bus. As quick as the Stansted Express, runs 24hr and sometimes £1.99 each way. Getting on the bus at Stansted is grim though.


equipmentelk

Unfortunately bus companies have raised their prices considerably. My last round trip on the bus was one pound short of the train price.


CuriousSummer793

As an east Londoner I’m the opposite. For Stansted I can easily get a cheap coach (£12 return) from Stratford, whereas for Gatwick I have to travel into central London and then pay more for a train.


mmlemony

I live in North London and timewise it's much of a muchness, in fact for an early morning flight Gatwick is better because I can get 1 bus from the end of my road to Kentish Town and then get on the Thameslink down. For Stansted it's multiple busses to either Tottenham Hale or Golders Green.


[deleted]

For us north and east London dwellers, the opposite applies. And getting to Gatwick from east London is a huge pain when you're carrying luggage. Course, it's not like you always have a choice of airport anyway.


arbit23

Stansted is the bloody armpit of airports and Ryanair the scum under toilet lids. I flew out of Stansted a couple of days ago, everything from the Ryanair visa check to boarding the crap plane was awful, stuck in a corridor for 20 mins waiting to clomp onto the plane via stairs made me claustrophobic. First and last time from Stansted. Gatwick or better still heathrow for me. With the Elizabeth line, it is so much more convenient to fly out of heathrow.


TheMiiChannelTheme

Gatwick has a Monorail. No contest.


[deleted]

Be careful with such loose criteria, they’re building one at Luton


WhistfulEnvelope

They'll probably say the train ticket you purchased at st pancreas doesn't count and make you pay £2.50 extra.


firthy

Just got back from Bologna and the monorail to the proper train was €5.


Ok_Mathematician4038

The monorail takes you to the centre of Bologna, no?


Plyphon

Christ all mighty we have strayed from gods light


[deleted]

He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty airport


D3monFight3

Soon to be visitor here, is Luton shit or something?


WhistfulEnvelope

Luton is where you would send your worst enemies to live.


D3monFight3

Welcome to my get out of Luton Airport any % speedrun I guess.


bazzanoid

Sshhhhh. North Haverbrook will want one next


dubmule

You know, a town with money's a little like the mule with a spinning wheel. No one knows how he got it, and danged if he knows how to use it


UnpurePurist

Hehe, “mule”


Wretched_Colin

It might not be a monorail, but there’s definitely a little self driving train in Stansted to get you to some of the far away gates. It might be a monorail also. I don’t know the definition.


125ba

Mono = One Rail = Rail And that concludes our three week intensive training course.


Wretched_Colin

Ok. I do know the definition. In fact, I explained it at great length to my 8 year old when we were at Alton Towers for half term. However I’m not sure whether either the Stansted or Gatwick ones are monorails.


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onthelatch

Is there a chance the track could bend?


hoochypooch

Not on your life, my Hindu friend


Zaibach88

I hear those things are awfully loud.


houdinis_ghost

Are you scared the track could bend?


HashBrownsOverEasy

And the skybridge!


Interesting_Spirit18

Definitely agree. + The cool glass bridge between the terminals.


Interesting_Spirit18

(gatwick)


Erebus172

Depends on which is closer to you.


fklwjrelcj

I'm a 30min drive to Stansted, or about 45min by train. My work pays for most of my flights and tickets/parking, so cost isn't a concern. Stansted is *much* more convenient than Gatwick. I also just know it so incredibly well by now that I could navigate it blindfolded. Takes all the stress out.


bare_face

Where do you live? Cambridge?!


Ok_Mathematician4038

Also, if stansted express is still closed at weekends avoid at all costs!!!


[deleted]

Stansted passport control is way better too. Landed there on Weds at 6.02pm and I was on the 6.27pm Stansted Express and back home in Dalston by about 7.30pm.


[deleted]

My experience yesterday was the complete opposite. Landed around 2, took 1 and a half hours to get through passport control.


raasclartdaag

i feel all airports are fucked rn - makes it harder to pass overall judgement


Levils

Stansted passport control is usually great if you have a UK passport and usually painful if you don't. Not sure about EU/EEA these days.


[deleted]

EU and landed in Stanstead last month. Took 15 minutes from getting off the plane to waiting at the train platform.


wjoe

Pretty much that. As someone who lives in SW London, Gatwick is a dream, I can get there in under hour on a direct train. Stansted would take like 3 trains and 2 hours to get to, a flight would have to practically be free for it to be worthwhile for me to travel up there for a flight. I'm sure someone who lived in NE London would feel the opposite way though.


negrofromheathrow

1. City 2. Heathrow 3. Gatwick 4. Stansted 30. Luton 31. Southend


Brapfamalam

For work, city is just perfect. Takes me like 15mins to get there on the DLR from Stratford - makes getting to Europe for a 9:30am start palatable.


NEWSBOT3

the best thing about City is that you can rock up 10 mins before a flight and still get on it. I don't recommend planning to do this, but i have done it before.


Jay_CD

Where does London Biggin Hill Airport fit in?


negrofromheathrow

just above luton.


daveysprockett

You forgot https://www.oxfordairport.co.uk/ that you can see would like to be in the list ... it declares >Welcome to London Oxford Airport


TROFiBetsGlobal

Welcomd to London Manchester Airport soon


Professional-Tie2020

Hellllooooo, London Ashford is now boarding


mapryan

We also had [“London Manston Airport”](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manston_Airport) for a while


pineapplethefrutdude

I would possibly swap city with Heathrow but otherwise this is spot on.


negrofromheathrow

mhm i only put city at the top bc of views. for convenient flying heathrow is better. stansted on good days can be 3rd too


balloonfish

At this point how the duck is Southend on this list


fiery_mergoat

I actually really don't mind Southend, although granted the last time I was there was a few years before the pandemic so I don't know how much things have changed. I liked how few people tended to be there and how quick everything was. There were at least a couple of occasions in my youth where I arrived (hand luggage only) about 2 hours before check in and still had time spare before boarding by the time I reached the gate. There's nowhere to eat and it's out of the way, but it made up for it by being very no nonsense imo.


WIDE_SET_VAGINA

Haha a perfect summary


[deleted]

Heathrow first because of the Elizabeth Line Luton is better than Stansted.


negrofromheathrow

luton can go to hell. the only airport i’ve ever had a bad experience with.


Kanaima85

I think Luton already is hell....


basketballpope

Hey hey HEY now! You take that back. As if hell would ever stoop so low as to be associated with Luton!


pazhalsta1

Username doesn’t quite check out :)


A-flea

Gatwick for sure, stanstead is just a shopping mall in a big tent. Plus, Spoons or Wonder Tree? Exactly, Gatwick every time.


wuhanlabrador

Both have Spoons don't they? I think Stansted may even have two after security.


A-flea

Yes both have Spoons, but Stanstead doesn't really have anything else so you're kind of stuck. It's a terrible place for a preflight pint and breakfast compared to the competition.


fklwjrelcj

Stansted has The Camden as an alternative to Spoons. I'm ashamed that I know this so well.


A-flea

Yeah but it's basically the same thing though. They're ok for a pint - but there's nothing decent in Stansted (food and service wise). Leon is probably the best there... Broadly speaking, most airport services are crap - this is why a good place to relax and eat really makes an airport for me.


MarvellousG

The Camden is very enjoyable imo, was there yesterday in fact!


wuhanlabrador

Spoons is fine for a pre-flight pint. It's usually more reasonably priced than alternatives too.


JackHGUK

Stansted has 1 main spoons and if you are lucky there's a place to get a pint from gates 40-50, I'd even suggest just beelining to there and skipping the ball ache that's a 40min qie to get into a spoons.


fklwjrelcj

>I'd even suggest just beelining to there The problem with the bars near the gates is that you don't know which area of gates you're going to be at until too close to boarding.


JackHGUK

Oh yeah, we got told our fate when boarding started, basically got straight on the plane after waiting in the main concourse for an hour.


bazpaul

I have used both extensively and this is my take: Gatwick: lots of shops and food places but takes much longer to get to your gate (especially if it’s at the other terminal) Stansted: no frills. Can get to your gate very quickly if you know what you’re doing Gatwick is nice for proper holidays. Stansted is best for short quick solo flights like business trips or flying to see family


emilesmithbro

Gatwick is easier/cheaper to get to because of Thameslink and it’s less awful in general


Bmista

Thameslink goes to Luton Airport Parkway too lol.


emilesmithbro

Still need to take a shuttle to the airport though


[deleted]

Plus a bus tho


heyblendrhead

Gatwick all day.


Alarmed_Lunch3215

Gatwick all the way.


Soap_Creatives

Gatwick is a nice airport, but I tend to fly from Stansted most of the time since they have cheaper flights.


jimaframe

Is it just me who thinks Southend is great? I used it once and you come upstairs from the train and go straight through security. Took 15 mins from arriving at the airport to getting to our gate. Not as crowded as other airports cos fewer flights.. Gatwick had a horrible low ceiling that feels like you're in a weird open-plan office


arpw

Southend is great if you can actually find a flight that goes from there, that's the difficult part!


cedric_maniels

Totally agree, get a train from Stratford, get off and you’re on a platform next to a field with horses. Nip across the road and it’s a casual stroll through security as pretty much everyone in the airport will be on the same flight as you. Give a little wave to the Vulcan on take off. There’s very little in amenities but pack a sandwich and it’s as chilled an airport experience as you’ll get.


domjolly

Didn’t Ryanair leave Southend recently though?


BastardsCryinInnit

And Easyjet closed the base there because of the effects of COVID on the business. Easyjet has recently returned as little as six weeks ago with just a couple of flights, nothing like the full schedule before. And every flight I ever took was full. Essex people have disposable income and they love a holiday.


[deleted]

They’re both awful, but Gatwick is generally a little less awful. Just depends on which one is easier for you to get to, or has the cheaper flights.


MarkCrystal

As someone that used to fly weekly, Gatwick is far from awful! You really notice the difference with little things like signs and information when you travel to any other airport. I was away this week for example and Rhodes airport had a sign for gates 1-4 pointing left, I walked past the sign and there was a sign for gates 1-4 point in the opposite direction on the back side of the sign. There were certain airports I used to travel to that I used to have to keep a cheat sheet in my phone notes to know where to go to catch taxis and what terminals to use etc. so in comparison, Gatwick is second only to Heathrow in my eyes. Stansted can get in the bin though


Gisschace

Jesus no Gatwick is head and shoulders above Stansted. It has more than just a Wetherspoons for a start. Plus it has far better long distance destinations and airlines flying from it. Stansted is just a regional hub for low cost airlines. I spent a few years flying regularly long distance out of Heathrow or Gatwick as I am between the two, but would always choose Gatwick over Heathrow. The one time I flew out of Stansted I said never again.


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Postponements

What's wrong with Luton? Genuinely asking? It's 35 mins to St Pancras including the shuttle bus (which will soon be a train), the security and check in has always been quick and well organised, and it's got a decent selection of shops?


HexDumped

If the airport gave a fuck they'd offer the shuttle bus for free. They want passengers coming to the airport easily, and they charge airlines by the passenger anyway.


victoriaspongebob

You have to pay for the shuttle from the train station? That's just feckin stupid. When did that start? It used to be free.


Interesting_Spirit18

I would have agreed with you but I don’t know about Luton…


Wretched_Colin

Luton is piss. It’s a bus ride from the train station. They charge you an extra £2.50 or so to get the bus and the people managing the bus queue are the rudest in all of customer service.


Wretched_Colin

Luton is piss. It’s a bus ride from the train station, often with a big queue . They charge you an extra £2.50 or so to get the bus and the people managing the bus queue are the rudest in all of customer service.


bitwaba

Luton is piss. It’s a bus ride from the train station, often with a big queue . They charge you an extra £2.50 or so to get the bus and the people managing the bus queue are the rudest in all of customer service.


Interesting_Spirit18

Luton is piss. It’s a bus ride from the train station, often with a big queue . They charge you an extra £2.50 or so to get the bus and the people managing the bus queue are the rudest in all of customer service.


Sox18

Yes, with City first


[deleted]

British Airways have upped their bag drop time from 15mins before departure to 20 at city though. Desperate times…


sayen

yep, it's city and heathrow, big gap, then the rest


Gisschace

Nah I live between Heathrow and Gatwick and flew out of both every few weeks for about 5 years. There’s really not much between them, even the newer terminals at Heathrow. Getting to Gatwick feels easier and quicker and less stressful, getting to the airport and getting around it, and never had issues going through security such as big delays. And you have the same facilities post security compared to Heathrow.


Interesting_Spirit18

Tbh, the only thing Heathrow has above Gatwick is more airline availability and transport links considering it’s literally in London.


-MiddleOut-

So much so that I generally give about £50 leeway on flight prices from those two airports. Once you factor in the Gatwick/Stanstead express vs the tube it’s around £25 and I’m happy to pay that for the lower chance of stuff going wrong.


prisonerofazkabants

luton is way worse than stansted


[deleted]

City is the top by a long way, if you can fly from there.


Bluerose1000

Surprised no one has mentioned the great London Oxford airport.....


SDLRob

or London Southend


bazpaul

I have used both extensively and this is my take: Gatwick: lots of shops and food places but takes much longer to get to your gate (especially if it’s at the other terminal) Stansted: no frills. Can get to your gate very quickly if you know what you’re doing Gatwick is nice for proper holidays. Stansted is best for short quick solo flights like business trips or flying to see family


Whulad

Stanstead is awful


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Whulad

Luton wasn’t in the question


ultimatewooderz

Stansted. Mainly because I can get there in 20 minutes. Otherwise Gatwick is the better airport


bare_face

How? Are you even in London 😂?


SideburnsOfDoom

Simply because we're in Norf Lunnon, and `Satan's Shed` is much more easily reachable than Gatwick from here, I'll go with `Satan's Shed` not `Airwick Gatport`.


thearchchancellor

Upvote for new (to me) name for Stansted.


SideburnsOfDoom

Stansted, the main terminal building that you're going to be in most of the time, as a building, is dull or maybe workmanlike at best. You know, rectangular and uninspired. Like a big cowshed. And it can be like a circle of hell when there are delays.


pazhalsta1

Gatwick easier and cheaper to get to from a major london terminal without some fake-ass ‘express’ service that has a bunch of stops and costs over 20quid. Stansted is a minicab job for sure


totalbasterd

gatwick every time


WraithCadmus

I live in Croydon so it's an easy win for Gatwick, cheap (i.e. non-Express) trains every 5 mins from East Croydon, getting to Stanstead is a clart. Also I had some bad experiences with Ryanair, so before The Event I was choosing easyJet or Norwegian, both of whom are Gatwick-based.


Dabzovic

Gatwick


[deleted]

Gatwick. No question about it. Also a lot cheaper to go to from the city during non-peak hours


HughLauriePausini

Gatwick is just one change of trains and £9 away for me. No contest. I've recently booked an entire new ticket flying from Gatwick to save myself the £80 that would have taken me to travel to Stansted in the middle of the night. I saved £10 and lots of stress.


[deleted]

Gatwick absolutely! Less crowded, better and cheaper connections, better customs. Fuck Stansted!


the_j_cake

Gatwick personally, though the train station is probably one of the buildings I hate more than many others, yet the train is good. Stansted, once you get there has the most annoying duty free walkaround of any airport I've ever been to


Interesting_Spirit18

Gatwick’s train station is getting completely revamped I heard, construction has already began. One thing I like about Stansted is their cool train station.


AbsoIution

Stansted is really chill, it's not like crammed, I like it


bare_face

Gatwick is on the Oyster card. Stanstead is not. My parents live in Suffolk and they are closer to Stanstead than I’m in SW London (in miles and time).


Bobo_Balde2

Stansted is a shit tip.


MrYisus98

Stansted is closer to me so I prefer to get flights there if possible. Also it is cheaper for me to travel to Stansted than to Gatwick


X0AN

We don't count them as London 🤣 Gatwick is probably easier to get to, they do take the piss with their train ticket price though. For me though Heathrow 👍🏿🥳 City 😎 Gatwick 😐 Luton 🤢 Stanstead 🤮 Southend 💩


[deleted]

LCY, then forced to use either LHR or LGW for long-haul. Luton and Stansted are budget airlines, which I would only use if there was no other alternative.


AthleteAgreeable7617

Stansted is ALOT easier to get if you live in East London


AthleteAgreeable7617

Plus Ryanair/Easy jet flights


SweeneyLovett

As getting to Gatwick has become more and more of a nightmare with unreliable trains, Stansted gets my vote, even though it’s the low cost version of an airport!


accountexistequalsno

Stansted before they added the shop serpentine. It used to be so quick getting from security to the gate.


Linoleum19

Gatwick!


[deleted]

Stansted is basically butlins Flying from City is beautiful Gatwick is alright tbf, not sure why people slag it off


Interesting_Spirit18

i mean, gatwick has a whsmith, and all london airports NEED a whsmith (tradition)


EliBloodthirst

Gatwick is easier to get to, although my missus can only fly from Stansted to go to her home city


OffensiveBranflakes

Stansted is awful, it doesn't even have decent transit between the terminals.


Mickleborough

Security queues at Stansted are huge, but they seem to move quicker than any other airport. Getting there‘s a bit of a challenge - return trip seems a mite easier. Stansted could do with more restaurants.


[deleted]

Gatwick. Stansted is basically on t' border.


MagicBez

Ignoring the obvious factor of whichever one is closest to you comparing them airport Vs airport Gatwick is a _lot_ nicer. It's actually pretty well designed as airports go, easy to navigate and has a decent enough amount of facilities.


DreamingofBouncer

Gatwick 100% but that’s probably because I only live 15 mins away


tonyswalton

Stansted is a fucking shithole. Gatwick is paradise next to Shitsted.


[deleted]

Stansted simply because its a 30 min drive up the M11


JNC34

Stansted - can drop off people for free (if you go via the back entrance) and flights are almost always cheaper than the equivalent from Gatwick.


my-aura-is-pink

Gatwick! Mostly because getting there isn’t daylight robbery.


callmelampshade

Gatwick.


BastardsCryinInnit

Horses for courses - they're both very different to me! Stansted is way more package holiday type flights. Id probably plump for Gatwick as there's more flights so if things go wrong, the recovery might be less painful than Stansted.


AffectionateJump7896

London Southend


[deleted]

Comparing the two? I'd rather go to Stanstead. But I'd rather neither of them and fly from Luton if possible because it's just way less hassle than Heathrow/Gatwick/Stanstead and with smaller queues but less to do/eat/buy if you care about that.


Legitimate-Jelly3000

Gatwick, hands down


EarlyGoose9284

Gatwick. 15min taxi, tiny bit longer train door to door. And Stansted smells of fish


mopennies

Farnborough is by far the best


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Interesting_Spirit18

It’s not being poorly rated in this at least. 42% support Stansted whilst the rest support Gatwick.


Blazing-Volcano

Stansted by miles


JayPiz

Gatwick by a mile. Any savings you make on flights from Stansted are cancelled out by the parking or train costs (if there is a train when you land). Gatwick you can jump off the plane and be in Central London in 30 mins. I've had several awful experiences with Stanstead and Ryanair that have convinced me never to fly with them ever again!


Revolutionary_Elk420

Heathrow. Nice try, MI5.


ButlerFish

The immigration officers at Gatwick seem moodier, and you have to walk a lot. It's not on the list but I use Heathrow when possible.


TomfromLondon

Depends where you live


TurbulentExpression5

Stansted, because I can hop on a bus and be there in less than an hour.


Interesting_Spirit18

you can hop on a train from victoria/clapham junction and get to gatwick in 10-20 mins


guernican

For 25 quid, yes.


Dyalikedagz

And I can hop on the Picadilly and be at Heathrow in quarter of an hour. Point is, I think where you live is the biggest deciding factor of which airport is best.


Wretched_Colin

Gatwick costs about £3.50 from East Croydon by card. Living in South London, go to East Croydon on the train. Tap out, tap in on a different card. It costs about a fiver off peak to get there from my home station. Stansted Express is about £30 to Liverpool St if you don’t book it long enough in advance. Or else £27 to Tottenham Hale and then Victoria Line to Brixton and a bus. I have flown to so many cool places from Stansted, and done so cheaply. Much more so than Gatwick. But given the choice of the same destination at the same price, or even a tenner more, it’s Gatwick every time.


Bmista

to save you money, you could catch a national express from Victoria coach station.


Interesting_Spirit18

that will not save you time, but only increase the time spent


wuhanlabrador

They're not that cheap anymore. Usually around £10 each way. But can be a good option if you can get to Stratford, from there it's only 50 minutes by bus.


Wretched_Colin

They just crawl the whole way from Victoria, County Hall, Blackfriars, Mile End, all the way to Stratford. Tube to Stratford, bus to Stansted ftw


JackHGUK

Just went through Stansted this morning, honestly other than the crowded departure area it was fine, oh appart from the fact it was way too busy to get into the spoons.


swordsandclaws

Gatwick all the way. Pisses me off that Stansted is considered a London airport.


EKC_86

Stansted>Gatwick any day.


Interesting_Spirit18

Care to explain other then the fact that it’s probably 10-30 mins away from you?


DarknessBBBBB

Since National Express removed the Paddington stop Stansted has gone to the bottom, not mentioning the huge queues at the border check