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HELP! Flying into one airport leaving from another?

Hello,
My husband and I are on a budget and have found a pretty cheap flight from London Gatwick to NYC. We would be connecting from eastern Europe and that flight flies into London LUTON. We would have about 4 hours to make this connection! Has anyone done this? TIPS? Flights in July are just so expensive!!!! Any advise would be great!

Posted by
5470 posts

I'm assuming this is on two tickets. I wouldn't even consider trying it.

You need to go through immigration at Luton. Then you need to take a bus to the train station. It takes more than an hour to get from Luton to Gatwick. Then you will need to get through security at Gatwick.

Could you stay the night in London and fly out the next day? You will blow your budget even more if you miss the transatlantic flight and have to pay a penalty or buy a new ticket.

Posted by
3387 posts

Nope...you can't make that connection. Don't try because you won't make it.
Summer is just going to be expensive...no way around it.
Spend the night (or better yet, make it an excuse to spend a couple of days in London!) and fly out later the next day or a couple of days later.

Posted by
792 posts

I do not know where LUTON is. But I made the connection between Heathrow and Gatwick with a 5 hour layover and time to spare. We took a bus between airports. And the flights were on the same itinerary.

I am assuming from other's replies, the distance between those two airports is greater than the one I had to cover. If you are able to book them on the same itinerary, it might be worth a shot. If the first leg of your trip gets delayed and you miss your connection, they will most likely rebook you at no charge (only IF the first leg of your flight is delayed but probably not if you get lost in the London transportation system). But if you book this on two separate itineraries and you miss your connection, you will eat the price of that flight and have to buy another one.

Posted by
792 posts

I did some research because I was curious. According to the Gatwick website, direct trains leave every 15 minutes from Gatwick and the trip takes 75 minutes. If your flight gets in on time, you could probably make it. But if you are delayed at all, it will be tight.

Posted by
32508 posts

Local knowledge sometimes helps put meat on internet searches and hypothesis.

There's no way I'd gamble on such a losing hand. Maybe it might pay off but much more likely that Nicole will buying very expensive tickets to New York.

Lets look at this as a timeline...

Arrive Luton bang on time with 4 hours to spare. The clock starts...
Luggage? Wait 30 minutes. Assume though, carryon only. Only take 30 minutes to dock the plane (RyanAir or Easyjet?), climb down the stairs off the plane (no jetways) and find immigration and miracle of miracles you're first in line. 15 minutes to walk outside and find and wait for the clunky and barely functional (voice of experience here) bus to the train station. 10 minutes ride on the bus if it has a tailwind. Just missed the previous train? The bus and train, although run by the same company are not synchronized. 10 minutes to wait for the next one, if it is on time.

Lets check the clock: 65 minutes gone, 2:55 to go.

The train from Luton Airport Parkway (the name of the station the bus drops you at) takes 80 minutes in the southerly direction if it is on time and loses no time. Arrive, a little anxiously, at Gatwick North Terminal station with 95 minutes before takeoff. Hang on, is your flight from North Terminal or South Terminal. Let's hope you don't have to take the peoplemover.

Just gotta find the check in counter upstairs and begin the 3 hour process of check-in, luggage drop (wait, we said no hold luggage at Luton - save a few minutes there again) , security, passport control, more security because of a USA bound flight.

By my watch with all the shortcuts possible and all good luck, you are about an hour and a half late.

Just as well you didn't have any luggage.

It is a gamble I wouldn't take.

I don't know of any airline at Luton which would interline with any airline at Gatwick. Maybe there is one...

It is time to find Ed with his speedos. What do you think, Ed?

Posted by
792 posts

Well I would certainly trust Nigel more than me. Play it safe then. You would be very upset if you went through all of this trouble to book a cheap flight and missed your connection. You also didn't mention where in eastern Europe you are going. Silver lining- cities like Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Warsaw are all considerably cheaper than the big cities in Western Europe when it comes to room and board. That is where you can save your money.

Posted by
867 posts

Are you tied into the flight from Eastern Europe (which country?). Have you looked to see if there are flights from whichever country you are coming from to Gatwick - it's a major airport and is served by lots of European airlines.