Londoners Tighten Their Travel Budget Belts

Londoners Expect to Pay Less For An Airport Trip Than For A Round Of Drinks At Their Christmas Do.

More than a third (38%) of London travellers would expect to spend less than £20 for a journey to or from the airport.

Research by professional driver service Blacklane also highlights:

• 36% of London travellers say cost is the most important consideration when deciding their method of transfer to a London airport
• 62% of women would expect to spend more than £20 on a trip to the airport, compared with 53% of men
  More than twice as many West Londoners (60%) as South Londoners (28%) aren’t planning to pay more than £20 for an airport transfer
• People in London who are planning to fly from a London airport in the next year are more likely to take a minicab or taxi (25%) over being driven by a family friend (22%)

LONDON, December 15 2015 — In the lead up to the chaotic Christmas travel season, consumers are underestimating the cost of trips to and from London airports. New research shows that 38% of Londoners would expect to spend fewer than £20. This means many Londoners imagine they would pay less on for an airport trip than a round of drinks at their Christmas party; and they could even be risking punctuality for not much more than the price of a Panettone.

Global professional driver service Blacklane researched consumer priorities when arranging their travel to and from London airports, (including Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted and Luton). The findings show that 36% are more worried about the cost of their travel to the airport than the length of their journey (23%).

Lower down the priority list included the quality and comfort of the journey (13%), and being driven by a family friend or relative (8%).

With cost as the most important factor for London residents, it is little surprise that of those who are flying from a London airport, 50% plan to use public transport to get them there. However, with scheduled outages on the Heathrow Express and Gatwick Express, Christmas travellers may be paying a higher price in terms of delays, cancellations and perhaps even missed flights.

This £20 budget that many London travellers believe will get them to the airport is often even less than train fares, with a single standard class ticket to Gatwick Airport from underground zone 1-3 costing £32*, and a Heathrow Express standard class single costs approximately £26.50*, before they’ve even factored in the cost of getting to the train station.

Jens Wohltorf, CEO and co-founder of Blacklane, commented: “This research shows that Londoners face a travel cost Catch-22. Saving money with public transport may not be the best travel decision.”

“With planned disruptions to the Heathrow and Gatwick Express trains, Christmas travellers will incur more stress, time and delays. By booking a reliable professional driver service in advance, travellers avoid stress and uncertainty and can enjoy their holiday the moment they step out of the front door.”

*Price correct as of December 2015, purchased on the day of travel
**Price correct as of December 2015, purchased on the day of travel

About the survey:

The survey was conducted by YouGov plc on behalf of Blacklane between 18th and 22nd June 2015.

Methodology: This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered to members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 350,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys. Emails are sent to panellists selected at random from the base sample. The e-mail invites them to take part in a survey and provides a generic survey link. Once a panel member clicks on the link they are sent to the survey that they are most required for, according to the sample definition and quotas. (The sample definition could be “GB adult population” or a subset such as “GB adult females”). Invitations to surveys don’t expire and respondents can be sent to any available survey. The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if not available from the census, from industry accepted data.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,056 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 18th – 19th June 2015. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all London adults (aged 18+).

– YouGov is registered with the Information Commissioner
– YouGov is a member of the British Polling Council

About Blacklane (blacklane.com)

Blacklane conveniently connects passengers with the spare capacities of licensed, regulated and insured professional drivers. Corporate and individual customers can book and schedule rides in over 50 countries around the world. Blacklane guarantees low and all-inclusive fixed rates at the time of the booking with a unique pricing and dispatching algorithm. The company provides a consistently high global standard by combining multi-lingual 24/7 customer care with real-time service control for tens of thousands of quality cars.

Blacklane vs London Taxi Price Comparison:

20 Fenchurch St. to LHR
Blacklane*
£63.60
Taxi**
£75.03
15%

Victoria Station to LGW
Blacklane*
£91.97
Taxi**
£101.18

Paddington Station to LCY
Blacklane*
£49.52
Taxi**
£52.39

London Bridge Station to STN
Blacklane*
£111.16
Taxi**
£126.27

* Source: Blacklane.com Business Class fares
** Source: TaxiFareFinder.com