Heathrow Express drops as low as £5.50…if you are well-organised!

If you think you are able to plan ahead, then your Heathrow Express (HEX) tickets can be significantly cheaper than their standard astronomical prices. I used to joke that on a price-per-mile basis the concorde was cheaper than HEX, I think it still holds true!

The cheapest on offer is £5.50 one way if you can book 90 days in advance AND use it in the weekend. It is £7.50 in first class which I had never had the urge to try, but may tempt me at that price. The journey time is approximately 15 mins from Paddington Station to Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3, and an extra 7 minutes for Terminal 5. Those wanting Terminal 4 need to change at Terminals 1,2,3.

But of course there is a catch. Previously there was no split between peak and off peak HEX fares. The fares used to be:

90 days advance purchase: Standard Class – £6.99 single, £11.90 return, First Class – £9.99 single, £18.00 return

30 days advance purchase: Standard Class – £10.75 single, £17.50 return, First Class – £14.75 single, £26.50 return

7 days advance purchase:Standard Class – £16.10 single, £26.25 return, First Class – £22.10 single, £39.75 return.

So while the headline benefit maybe that HEX have dropped their cheapest fare, beware that most other tickets have doubled in price, and they have eliminated the possibility to buy return tickets at a slight discount. (Thanks to the parody Twitter account Heathrow DisConnect for pointing this out!)

By comparison the equivalent Oyster Card fare from Zone 6 to Zone 1 is £3.10 for off peak travel – defined as travel outside normal Monday to Friday from 0630 to 0930 working hours. Public holidays are off peak. Peak travel costs £5.10 and cash fares are £6 at any time. Don't forget if your destination is not Paddington Station then you will need to add on the cost of getting there!

Below is a list of the ticket prices as of today, 18th January 2016. You can buy the tickets here:

Ticket	Where can the ticket be purchased?	Ticket Type	Adult (£)	Child (£)
Express Saver	Online/Ticket Machines/Ticket Offices	Single	22.00	0.00
		Return	36.00	0.00
Express Standard*	On-board only	Single	27.00	0.00
		Return	41.00	0.00
Business First	Online/Ticket Machines/Ticket Offices/On-board	Single	30.00	0.00
		Return	54.00	0.00
90 Day Advance Express Saver	Online	Single	12.10	0.00
90 Day Advance Express Saver Weekend	Online	Single	5.50	0.00
90 Day Advance Business First Weekend	Online	Single	7.50	0.00
30 Day Advance Express Saver	Online	Single	14.30	0.00
30 Day Advance Express Saver Weekend	Online	Single	8.80	0.00
30 Day Advance Business First Weekend	Online	Single	12.00	0.00
14 Day Advance Express Saver	Online	Single	16.50	0.00
14 Day Advance Express Saver Weekend	Online	Single	12.10	0.00
14 Day Advance Business First Weekend	Online	Single	16.50	0.00
Express Carnet 6	Online/Ticket Machines/Ticket Offices/MSAs/On-board	Carnet 6	109.80
Business First Carnet 6	Online/Ticket Machines/Ticket Offices/MSAs/On-board	Carnet 6	150.00
Express Carnet 12	Online/Ticket Machines/Ticket Offices/On-board	Carnet 12	198.00
Business First Carnet 12	Online/Ticket Machines/Ticket Offices/On-board	Carnet 12	270.00

Terms and conditions as below:

• 14-day Advance Tickets, 30-day Advance Tickets and 90-day Advance Tickets (together “Advance Tickets”) may only be purchased online  fromwww.heathrowexpress.com.
• Only Express Class single tickets may be purchased as Advance Tickets. In addition, Business First Single Tickets may be purchased as Advance Tickets for travel at weekends only.
• 14-day Advance Tickets must be purchased online at least 14 days in advance of the date of travel.
• 30-day Advance Tickets must be purchased online at least 30 days in advance of the date of travel.
• 90-day Advance Tickets must be purchased online at least 90 days in advance of the date of travel.
• Advance Tickets are only available as e-tickets or m-tickets.
• Advance Tickets are valid for one journey on the outbound travel date booked.
• Advance Tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.
• Advance Tickets cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion, offer, discount or any other train company special offers.
• Heathrow Express reserves the right to make changes to the terms under which Advance Tickets are sold without prior notice and to withdraw the Advance Tickets offer at any time provided that all outstanding purchases are honoured.
• The sale of Advance Tickets is subject to availability.
• Heathrow Rewards points are earned on Advance Tickets at the standard rate. Visithttps://rewards.heathrow.com for further information.
• Children aged 15 or under travel free with an accompanying adult (aged 18 or over) travelling with a valid ticket, including Advance Tickets. When booking adult tickets online, the number of children’s tickets much be selected.
• Advance Tickets purchased cannot be on-sold.