Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
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Sho nuff!
This show (the Tech Guy) is my favorite of all the podcasts
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Johnny Jet mentioned that flightconnections.com had shown him a London airport he hadn’t heard of before, London Southend (SEN). This is a former regional airport that has been recently rebuilt and modernised in the London Airports group, and provides low-cost links to other European and UK destinations. Because there may not be a lot of information about it in the US, here is a link that gives the essentials:
That site also gives useful information about the other London airports.
Another link, with the destinations covered, on the airport’s own web site:
And Southend is nowhere near London, just like how Luton and Stansted aren’t.
Yeah, but I’m not sure that matters so much. Travel into the city by train is only about 10 minutes longer for budget travellers than from Heathrow. It’s true the latter airport has an extra express rail service that only takes 15-20 minutes to the centre, but the turn-up-and-go prices are aimed at business travellers.
London’s populated area spreads far enough out that airports are inevitably pretty distant from the centre.
The only exception is London City which managed to get enough land when the disused docks district was being redeveloped and can route flights over the river estuary to avoid noise complaints. But that one is business-focussed and has a short runway which limits what aircraft can use it.
For the budget conscious traveller, it’s worth checking whether travelling to one of the smaller London airports could make a big saving if going on to a regional or European destination. Connections from Heathrow will usually be more expensive than any of the other airports, so it’s convenience vs price.
I just think if it takes an hour by train to get into central London it’s a bit disingenuous to call it a London airport. Well, I guess London is the name that sells…
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It’s the price issue more than anything. Travel an hour for a cheap flight, or half an hour for a more expensive one. And for Londoners, it also depends on where they live. As few people live in the centre, Heathrow is most convenient for the western suburbs, Luton > NW, Stanstead > NE, Southend > E. Anyone living in the eastern suburbs can get to Southend more easily than Heathrow, although that may be different when the new Crossrail service eventually opens.
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