One of the ways you can transfer between London Heathrow Airport and central London is by Heathrow Express. This train offers the fastest connection from the airport to the city centre, taking just 15 minutes to or from Paddington Station.

It is the time saving alternative to the London Underground or tube which takes much longer at 45 minutes or more. Services operate four times per hour so the most you will wait is 15 minutes for a train. There is a price difference between this and the Tube as you will see.

Booking and Fares

You can book your tickets online in advance or at the train station. Tickets are not specific to a particular service which takes any worry about missing your train out of the equation. Anytime return tickets in Express Class cost £37 while a one way will cost £25. Off peak one way tickets are £22. A reader commented below on the fact you can get fares as cheap as £5.50 one way. The further in advance you book, the cheaper it seems to be (I checked!), so booking far ahead leads to quite tasty savings.


Choosing to travel in Business First will cost £32 one way or £55 return. By contrast, the Tube one way is £6 paying cash, or £5.10 with Oyster or using contactless. It is even lower at £3.10 outside of the peak period of Monday to Friday 06:30 to 09:30. Either way it is substantially cheaper overall.

Earn Airline Miles

Earning miles is possible on Heathrow Express. As a member of the British Airways Executive Club, you can book through the Avios link and earn 10 Avios per pound spent which is quite nice.

Members of Heathrow Rewards can also earn points for travel on the service. You can then either use the points or transfer them to partner schemes.

Express Class On Board

Most of the train is devoted to Express Class carriages. These feature seats in a two by two arrangement, with luggage storage facilities located nearby in easy to see areas.


The colour scheme is predominantly purple with flashes of yellow and grey. Purple mood lighting underneath the seats completes what is a striking look.


Leg room is quite fine without being exceedingly generous and this is fine for a 15 minute journey. Each seat has access to a cup holder and there is also a seat pocket for storing items. I would avoid this as you could forget something in a post flight haze.


All in all the Express Class cabin is perfectly comfortable for the journey from the airport to Paddington. Almost everyone chooses to travel in this class.

Heathrow Express Business First

In the very front of the train is the Business First cabin. This exclusive cabin offers far more space than Express Class with seats arranged in as single seats down each side of the carriage. As a result, the aisle is also very wide.


Some seats are good for people travelling alone and others are pairs facing each other separated by a table. There are places to charge your devices and Wireless Internet is provided free of charge. Notably, charging and WiFi is also provided for Express Class passengers.

Overall Thoughts

Heathrow Express is the fastest way from London Heathrow Airport to Paddington station in Central London. As there is a price premium for speed, it is generally aimed at those who need to be in town as fast as possible or those who prefer much more comfort than the London Underground.

I think it would be best for people who have a lot of luggage as the Tube is terrible with a lot of bags. Also, the free WiFi and device charging points are a godsend when travelling so these elevate the service above the underground as well.

What do you think of the Heathrow Express? Regular user or think it’s overpriced and not worth it? Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave your comments and questions below.

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