Travel a lot for business? Flying in to London for a quick meeting? Read our business travel guide to Heathrow and make the most of your time in and around the airport.
Business Travel Stats
Heathrow Airport serves 28 of the top 29 world destinations based on their GDP ranking and handles nearly 190,000 passengers daily. It is estimated that the airport handles nearly 40 departures per destination weekly and serves 40 percent of all UK business travellers, of which 63 percent are from London.
Since 2009, nearly 1/3 of all passengers going going through Heathrow annually were business travellers. More specifically, the percentage of business travellers in 2009: 33.7% (22.2 million), percentage of business travellers in 2010: 35.3% (23.2 million), percentage of business travellers in 2011: 31% (21.5 million), percentage of business travellers in 2012: 30% (20.7 million) and percentage of business travellers in 2013 remained steady at 30% out of the 72.3 million people that travelled through Heathrow.
Business Services and Incentives
Heathrow is becoming increasingly attractive for passengers as a result of a huge transformation that took place from 2008 to 2011 with the operation of Terminal 5. Additionally, Terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4 have undergone modernisation improvements and remodelling. Especially for business passengers, the new airport facilities include self-service check-in desks, fast bag drops and extra security lanes. The Fast Track priority service is addressed to business passengers, who can save up to 30 minutes walking from the parking area to the airport, check-in area and gate. Regardless of the airline, the Fast Track priority service typically offers dedicated parking, duty free counters and priority check-in and boarding.
Airport Business Lounges
The Servisair Executive Lounge at Terminals 1 and 3 offers high quality services and hospitality for up to three hours in superb facilities. Business travellers who have passed the security control can find a quiet spot to work or relax and enjoy a great variety of complimentary snacks, tea, coffee, soft drinks, and alcohol. Wi-Fi access, phone and fax services are also offered for an extra charge. Additionally, business travellers can keep up with the latest news from newspapers and magazines and watch television. Lounge services need to be booked in advance.
The Plaza Premium Lounge is the first independent European airport lounge, located on level 4 at Terminal 2. Plaza Premium operates from 5:00 to 23:00 and features private rooms for relaxation, wellness Spa and a luxurious shower room, complementary freshly-cooked food and drinks, a tapas bar and a champagne bar with a wide variety of vintage and non-vintage champagnes.
In the stylish facilities of No. 1 Traveller Lounge at Terminal 3, business travellers can enjoy game rooms and cinema, a fully-furnished bar, complementary food and drink, free Wi-Fi, newspapers and magazines, a family room, a super modern spa for massage and nail treatment, showers and single and twin bedrooms. There is a charge for Spa and bedroom access.
Short Term Office Space/Meeting Venues
Business travellers that need short term office space and/or meeting rooms close to the airport have several options. If you’re looking for a larger meeting or conference room you can book one of the hotels listed in the next section. Note that it is recommended to book well in advance.
Informal meetings can be arranged at local restaurants and pubs, the hotels mentioned below all have excellent restaurants that can cater to business lunches.
For smaller meetings and short term office space, the Hilton at T4 rents office space and Hays Business Studios allows you to rent a desk by the hour. We have more short term and flexible office and meeting room rentals near Heathrow listed here.
Business Hotels
Business hotels near Heathrow Terminals can effectively accommodate business travellers and a number also offer facilities for larger meetings and conferences.
Hotels that are linked directly to the Terminals:
* Sofitel London Heathrow at Terminal 5 with awesome conference facilities and 45 meeting rooms.
* Hilton London Heathrow at Terminal 4 with an awesome business and conference centre which also rents office space.
* YOTEL at Terminal 4, a Japanese-inspired capsule hotel with 32 cabins. It is located on the landside so if you are in transit you will need a valid visa or right to enter the UK.
* No. 1 Traveller Lounge at T3 offers twin and single day rooms available from 3 hours upwards.
There are a number of other business friendly hotels within the vicinity of Heathrow Airport including:
* Arora – 4 star hotel offering meeting rooms for 2 to 100 people.
* Sheraton Heathrow Hotel – 4 star hotel with 20 meeting rooms capable of holding from 10 to 200 people.
* Holiday Inn Heathrow – 4 star hotel with 10 meeting / conference rooms.
* Renaissance London Heathrow – 4 star hotel with meeting rooms capable of seating up to 360.
Distance to City Centre
The distance between Heathrow and the centre of London is 32 kilometres.
Transport Options and Costs
There are several ways to travel between Heathrow and Central London.
If you are driving:
Heathrow Airport offers on airport short and long-term parking facilities. Additionally, there is the Meet and Greet Heathrow service, which allows business travellers to drop off their own car at a valet parking.
There are often discounted rates for pre-booking and if you shop around you can usually find cheaper prices for the same car park. You can compare 45 on and off airport car parks at Heathrow at the Airport Parking Shop.
If you are using public transport:
Hotel Hoppa gets you to and from hotels near the airport for 4.50GBP per adult each way. It operates from 04:00 to midnight daily.
Heathrow Express is the fastest train that reaches London downtown in 20 minutes for 21GBP. Trains leave every 15 minutes from 5:00 to 23:45pm.
The Heathrow Connect reaches Central London in 25 minutes for 9.50GBP, connecting Heathrow to Paddington.
The Piccadilly Line reaches Piccadilly Circus in 50 minutes for 5.50GBP using the Tube services, which leave Heathrow every five minutes and operate from 5:10 to 23:45pm on weekdays and Saturday, and from 5:50 to 23:30pm on Sundays.
National Express is Heathrow’s bus service that reaches Victoria Coach Station between 40 minutes and one hour and a half, depending on the traffic, for 6GBP. The service runs from 5:35 to 21:40.
The N9, Heathrow’s night bus, connects Heathrow to Trafalgar Square for 2.40GBP in 75 minutes. The service runs from 23:30 and 5:00 and leaves every 20 minutes from Heathrow.
If you have tips for business passengers travelling to/from/through Heathrow airport please leave a comment.
If you want to find office space close to Heathrow give us a call on 020 3970 9731.