This Ordinary Life

I regularly travel for both work and pleasure. London is a great travel hub and you are spoilt for choice with 5 airports to choose from. As I live in West London, for my last work trip to Scotland I decided to travel from Heathrow. Work was paying and therefore I focused more on convenience than the cheapest deal...

I was running late and jumped into a cab to Paddington. Being a cyclist gives you excellent geographic knowledge of a city and, after about 30 seconds, I knew that the driver was taking me for a ride. Sadly, I didn't open my mouth until it was too late and we were stuck in traffic (lesson learnt: speak up for yourself or accept the consequences). Not only was my journey more expensive than it should have been (Black Cab drivers in London normally know all the shortcuts), it got me to the station later than expected and forced to take the Heathrow Express.

Now for those of you not from London, the Heathrow Express is a modern wonder for several reasons. Firstly, it cuts down the journey from the Paddington to Heathrow from 45-60 min to 15-20 min. Secondly, it is probably the most expensive rail trip you can find anywhere in the world at £15 ($30) per journey. This compares with about £5 to get from Manhattan to JFK, £4 to get from Central Chicago to O'hare, £3 for the Shanghai Maglev and £6 to get from Syndey to Kingsford Int'l Airport. You used to be able to use a discount code to buy cheaper tickets on-line, but they clamped down on this. Nonetheless it is worth checking the Net if any new ones arise.

Frugal Tip - Get on a First Class Carriage, pick up a copy of the FT and then walk through to Standard Class.

The rest of my flight followed in traditional fashion... there was an airplane traffic jam at the airport making us take off 30 minutes late, my meeting got moved from Glasgow to Edinburgh meaning I had to take a bus/train/walk for 2 extra hours and a good family friend who has been diagnosed with chronic cancer kept my spirits up with some great stories.

Actually, the return leg of this journey is where I discovered something positive about traveling to and from Heathrow, the Heathrow Connect. This is the second-class citizen means of getting to and from the airport, but you do it in no less style and for less than half the price of the Express. The trains leave the airport from the same place as the Express at half the frequency (every 30 min), but the funny thing is that they come into Paddington on a dark platform at the corner of the station. There's no signage and I think most people don't even realise it's there. All in all, it is a pleasant journey free of the annoying media barrage you are forced to endure on the Express, it's clean and there's always a seat.

The moral of the story is: When traveling to Heathrow, plan ahead and take the Heathrow Connect. It'll get you there quicker, more comfortably and cheaper than a cab, the Tube and the Express.