Key Post Flying from Dublin to London - the options

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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Don’t forget – you can fly out with one airline and return with another

Heathrow with BMI or Aer Lingus
Picadilly Line brings you directly to popular places like
Picadilly Circus
Leicester Square

Gatwick with Ryanair or Aer Lingus
30 minute train to London Bridge or Blackfriars - £9 each way
Not as crowded as it used to be according to these fans



CityJet, BA or Flybe to London City Airport
Docklands Light Railway is convenient for the Docklands and City area.

But it integrates with the Tube at Bank and Canning Town, so you can go anywhere

The cost of Docklands Light Railway ticket is included in TravelCard train/tube/DLR ticke

Tube map

Ryanair to Stansted
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=991944

Ryanair to Luton
http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=991944http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=686576#post686576

Boat train Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead and train to London
Environmentally Friendly
Few baggage restrictions
 
Last edited:
CityJet to London City Airport

More details in this thread

If you can get a cheap flight to one of the other airports, then this will probably not be of interest to you as it costs around €260. But if you are booking late, the Budget Airlines are often just as expensive.

And if cost is not your priority, then this option is very attractive

CityJet is a pleasure to fly with
Booking is easy - the price they show you is the price you pay - no additional charges
They are not trying to flog you bingo cards throughout the flight
You can check in online or by machine or in person
There is no nonsense such as one bag per person
The staff are very polite and seem to enjoy their job
Smaller planes mean quicker embarking and disembarking

London City Airport is a pleasure to travel through
A small airport without the rush and hassle of Heathrow
Comfortable seats
Very convenient for some parts of London

How to get into London
Docklands Light Railway connects to the Tube at
Canning Town - for the Jubilee Line

Bank Station - for Central; Northern; District;Circle; Waterloo & City

Tips
Book seats 15 A, 15 B, 16 A or 16 B,17A or 17B - they have two seats in the space of three.
If these seats are not available, book ones close by and move into them if the seats are not actually taken. They don't seem to allow booking of seats 17a and 17b for some reason.

Also Avoid Row 5(?) as it has no window so feels very claustrophobic if you're not on the aisle

Go to the front of the train on the Docklands Light Train - there is no driver and you can see the track
 
HI Mpsox

I was getting the information from my own experience and other posts on Askaboutmoney.

Can you write a short note on these for inclusion in the first post?

Thanks
 
Brendan said:
Gatwick with Ryanair or Aer Lingus
30 minute bus to London Bridge or Blackfriars
Not as crowded as it used to be according to these fans
Click to expand...

I presume this should be train Brendan?

From Gatwick:

If you get the train at off peak times (after 930am) you can get a one day Travelcard that you can use to get to and from Gatwick and also on the Tube, DLR, London Overground services free for that day. Handy if just there for the day.

Last time I bought one it was GBP 11.
It can be bought from the ticket machine.
It is train operator specific i.e Southern only, First Capital Connect only, any non Gatwick Express train. You can only use that service so don't buy a Southern ticket and get on an FCC service.
 
London to Standsted
At the moment, 6-8 flights daily with Ryanair with the first out being at 6.35 and the last approx 22.00 (Note flight times seem to vary daily according to Ryanair.ie) so check flights times carefully

You can get the Standted Express into
Tottenham Hale (connection for Victoria Line tube)
Liverpool Street (Central line)

Tottenham Hale is ideal for anyone going watching Arsenal or Spurs and easy connections to the West End. Liverpool Street is ideal for the City and mainline rail to Essex/East London. Note however the Stansted express is expensive, a day return costs approx €30 when booked online. Time to Liverpool St. is 40 mins

Stansted Airport is large, airy and modern but also very large so give youself an extra 10 minutes to get to the gates. Recently I've found Security to be slow, especially on a Sunday evening
 
Brendan said:
CityJet to London City Airport

More details in this thread

If you can get a cheap flight to one of the other airports, then this will probably not be of interest to you as it costs around €260. But if you are booking late, the Budget Airlines are often just as expensive.

And if cost is not your priority, then this option is very attractive

CityJet is a pleasure to fly with
Booking is easy - the price they show you is the price you pay - no additional charges
They are not trying to flog you bingo cards throughout the flight
You can check in online or by machine or in person
There is no nonsense such as one bag per person
The staff are very polite and seem to enjoy their job
Smaller planes mean quicker embarking and disembarking

London City Airport is a pleasure to travel through
A small airport without the rush and hassle of Heathrow
Comfortable seats
Very convenient for some parts of London

How to get into London
Docklands Light Railway connects to the Tube at
Canning Town - for the Picadilly Line

Bank Station - for Central; Northern; District;Circle; Waterloo & City

Tips
Book seats 15 A, 15 B, 16 A or 16 B,17A or 17B - they have two seats in the space of three.
If these seats are not available, book ones close by and move into them if the seats are not actually taken. They don't seem to allow booking of seats 17a and 17b for some reason.

Go to the front of the train on the Docklands Light Train - there is no driver and you can see the track
Click to expand...

Whilst I love flying via City, there have been significant delays in Jan and Feb at security of an evening after 5pm, it has been taking people up to an hour to clear as the queues were so bad. The airport have announced that they were going to close a bar/restaurant to facilitate the installation of extra checking equipment and queues, not sure if that has been installed at this time
 
Brendan said:
CityJet to London City Airport

Tips
Book seats 15 A, 15 B, 16 A or 16 B,17A or 17B - they have two seats in the space of three.
If these seats are not available, book ones close by and move into them if the seats are not actually taken. They don't seem to allow booking of seats 17a and 17b for some reason.
Click to expand...

Also Avoid Row 5(?) as it has no window so feels very claustrophobic if you're not on the aisle
 
Mpsox said:
Whilst I love flying via City, there have been significant delays in Jan and Feb at security of an evening after 5pm, it has been taking people up to an hour to clear as the queues were so bad. The airport have announced that they were going to close a bar/restaurant to facilitate the installation of extra checking equipment and queues, not sure if that has been installed at this time
Click to expand...

I believe this is now sorted - [broken link removed] .. which is great ... one of the fantastic advantages of LCY is the short checkin times and fast passage through the airport and anything that erodes that isn't good .. so good to see they have this improved now.
 
More often than not you will experience delays leaving DUB to LCY in the morning.
Sometimes up to an hour sitting on the plane waiting to get clearance.
 
Brendan said:
CityJet to London City Airport

More details in this thread

If you can get a cheap flight to one of the other airports, then this will probably not be of interest to you as it costs around €260. But if you are booking late, the Budget Airlines are often just as expensive.
Click to expand...

Don't know when you've been booking but I've never paid more than €150 and more often than not just €99??
 
Elitist said:
More often than not you will experience delays leaving DUB to LCY in the morning.
Sometimes up to an hour sitting on the plane waiting to get clearance.
Click to expand...

This is a fair point too - especially in the winter time ... Fog (and more occasionally) snow can cause big delays/closures at LCY

Though many times when this happens, Heathrow and other London airports will be affected too .. but it is fair to say that LCY is affected by weather more often than other airports in London.
 
London City is the closest, it is in Zone 4 on the London Underground map as opposed to Zone 6 for Heathrow.



Heathrow (LHR): 15 minutes to Paddington (London's West End) by the extremely expensive Heathrow Express, 30 minutes to Paddington by Heathrow Connect, 50 minutes to Leicester Square. Heathrow is good if you are heading to somewhere in West London or anywhere along the Picadilly line. Airport charges can be very high and congestion on the airfield can be quite considerable at busy times. Airport can be time-consuming to navigate if you are unfamiliar and depending on the terminal you fly through it can take a bit of time to get to the Tube.

Gatwick (LGW): 30 minutes by the (overpriced) Gatwick Express to Victoria, 35 minutes by the (much cheaper) Southern to Victoria. 35 minutes to London Bridge by First Capital Connect, 40 minutes to City Thameslink by First Capital Connect. Gatwick suits West and South London (though it has an easy access to North London too as the First Capital Connect passes right through the city). The airport is halfway to Brighton but it has good rail access into several main London stations.

City (LCY): 22 minutes by DLR to Bank station. Simplest one to arrive into but it works best if you are in East London, Docklands or the City. Flights can be pricey though! Majority business passengers. DLR is right outside the front door so it is a very simple transfer to public transport

Southend (SEN): 50 minutes by Great Anglia train into London Liverpool Street. Again suits City and the East End. It can be a very cheap option sometimes. If you are considering Stansted or City then I would always look at Southend too. Very small airport and very quick to process through, train station is right outside.

Stansted (STN): 45 minutes (supposedly) by Stansted Express to London Liverpool Street. Again suits City and the East End. I don't like it as much as Southend though, it is a bit of a trek to the train and to the plane! Can be a pain to travel through as it is a Ryanair hub so it can be a tad chaotic if you are travelling at the wrong time

Luton (LTN): 10 minutes by bus to Luton Airport Parkway, 35 minutes to St Pancras by First Capital Connect (just to note, Luton and Gatwick are on the same trains, FCC travels from Brighton to Bedford, takes in both airports and a swathe of city centre stops). Bit of pain having to get a bus to the train station. Best airport for North London though.

Basically when I am flying into London I decide based on where in London I will be going to. While the city has an excellent transport network it can be a pain to navigate with luggage and especially in summer you don't want to be stuck on the Underground for too long! Use www.tfl.gov.uk to work out your transport links and decide from there!
 
British Airways now flies from Dublin to London City Airport.

I checked a few dates the week after next for a same day return and it seems to be about €150 return. I can fly out on the cheapest flights but they don't seem to be available on the return flight.

I am sure it would be cheaper booking further in advance.

Brendan
 
I posted this on another thread about travelling to London a few months back it may be of some use.

In general I try to choose my airport based on where in London I am going to.

Since the original post in 2010, Southend has also become an option. Flights with Aer Lingus operated by Aer Arann (Stobart Air) on ATR42 turbo-props mostly. Slightly longer flight, smaller plane, smaller carry-on allowance and as it is a turbo-prop it is noisier but not uncomfortably so. Seats are arranged two either side of the aisle so you are always either a window or an aisle seat. The interior does feel more cramped and if you are tall you will notice the reduction in head room. Trolley selection is all cold aside from tea/coffee/hot chocolate. Cabin staff are excellent. Airport is small and very easy to navigate and you certainly do not want or need to be there 2 hours beforehand! Train station is outside the front door, 3 or 4 trains an hour to London depending on the time of day, regular Southend Victoria to Liverpool Street service so no premium pricing and it also serves Stratford. You can do plane to train in less than ten minutes if you get your timings right. Generally I would pick it over Stansted as the travel time to the plane from Liverpool Street would actually be less (train journey is at most 10 minutes more than the Stansted Express but the airport is considerably less bothersome to get through)
 
gipimann said:
Flybe also operate on the Dublin - London City route

www.flybe.com
Click to expand...

Yeah and Cityjet have increased their frequency on the route in response to BA and FlyBe starting DUB-LCY flights.

Today for example there were 18 flights ... probably last month when it was only Cityjet operating there would have been maybe 5 or 6

Good news for consumers in the short term .. should make LCY flights very affordable if there's a mini price war here ... though in the long term surely that level of competition on the route isn't sustainable
 
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