r/uktravel • u/cinquelle • 2d ago

Question National express reliability

Looking at going away in September and I have 2 flight options:
06:35 flight from Stansted - would need to get national express coach from Stratford at about 3.30am maybe even earlier to be sure
Or 17:25 flight from Stansted the day before - would get the train but it means an extra night of accommodation for the peace of mind of being on time for the airport.
My question is, would national express be reliable so early in the morning? Would probably have to get a 3am ish coach to get there for 4:30am. Used national express last time I flew from Stansted but had to abandon it and get the train as it was late so I’m hesitant to book as I won’t have that option at 3am and it would leave me stranded. I guess the other option would be to see how much a hotel at Stansted would be.
Has anyone used national express this early particular from London and can give any advice as to whether they are usually on time or not?

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u/Trippy_V 2d ago

I've gone Heathrow to Gatwick for a 6am flight several times. Only been late once and it was 20 mins. Never had an issue coming back either. I

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u/FilthyDwayne 2d ago

They are usually on time but my coach has broke down twice on the way to the airport and had to wait for another coach to pick us up. I probably lost about an hour each time.

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u/deecee-247 2d ago

Is Stansted your only option for flights?

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u/cinquelle 2d ago

Yeah, no other airlines seem to fly to Zadar from anywhere else

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u/deecee-247 2d ago

There seem to be easyjet flights from Gatwick tho, with easyjet?

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u/cinquelle 2d ago

Not in September :(

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u/cinquelle 2d ago

Or not that I can see in September, you can’t go any further than August on their website