Help, Delta changed flight times, need Heathrow Express advice

Argh! I am so dumb, no good deed goes unpunished, argh!

 

 

So, all my careful planning and help from Globaliser, John Bull and Cotswold was for naught. Delta changed our arrival at Heathrow from 6:30 to 8 am something.

 

 

I have already bought tickets for the Heathrow Express train to Paddington in an 8:30 - 9 am time slot - can I use those tickets for later in the day or do I need to get the tickets changed? Also, should I have gotten an email with the tickets? I have the receipt from the Heathrow Express website, and the record on American Express where I paid, but no actual email containing tickets to print out or transfer to my phone!

 

 

I could kick myself, Delta has changed the last 3 flights that we have booked more than 2 months in advance - once by 2 hours. We have a number of things going on later in the summer, and I wanted to get all the planning done for this October trip before those the July-August craziness started, but I started too early.

What kind of ticket did you buy? You basically have peak, off-peak, and advanced options. Advanced is good at any time of the day, including peak. Peak is good all day; only off-peak (your original time slot would most likely be peak) has time restrictions.

 

You should have tickets. I've always bought mine through the app, so I could just add them to my wallet. I'd contact HEX (you did buy them direct?) for help.

I have already bought tickets for the Heathrow Express train to Paddington in an 8:30 - 9 am time slot - can I use those tickets for later in the day or do I need to get the tickets changed? Also, should I have gotten an email with the tickets? I have the receipt from the Heathrow Express website, and the record on American Express where I paid, but no actual email containing tickets to print out or transfer to my phone!

Outbound (including one-way) HEX tickets are valid for one journey on the specified day, so this should be no problem. (If you had originally planned to travel between 0830 and 0900, then as markeb says you clearly wouldn't have bought an off-peak ticket on a day with peak restrictions.)

 

I am a bit puzzled, though, about you having specified a time slot. I've just tried to book on the HEX site and can't find anything that asks for a time slot for travel.

 

I don't use HEX myself, so can't offer any personal experience about the ticketing process. I notice, though, that the website says this:-

 

Booking tickets online

 

Buying Heathrow Express tickets online is quick, convenient and simple – and you’ll get the best available fare. Choose whether you want a printable ticket sent by email or a digital barcode ticket sent to your mobile via text message.

• Email tickets: Simply print the email and hand it to our on-board staff. Booking a return journey? The printout is valid for both legs.
  
• Mobile tickets: You’ll be sent an SMS message containing a link to a barcode which our on-board staff will scan. If it’s a return ticket, the barcode is valid for both legs.

If you have neither, but you have a receipt from the HEX website with the booking reference, then you should probably get in touch with HEX.

I'm fairly sure I had to buy peak time tickets. All I can piece together is that the email with the actual tickets went to my Spam folder. I was out of town on a business trip immediately after ordering the tickets, and I must have thought I had already taken care of printing the tickets, but didn't and now that email has dropped off my Spam.

 

 

I've contacted Heathrow Express via email, sounds like if they will just resend or refund the tickets it will be OK. They were only $15 a piece this far in advance, but I would like my money back.

 

 

I also have to reschedule a tour that we were going to take at noon on the day of arrival because I don't want to be stressed about getting there. Darn it Delta! And I should know better, they've done this to us several times in the past.

I've contacted Heathrow Express via email, sounds like if they will just resend or refund the tickets it will be OK. They were only $15 a piece this far in advance, but I would like my money back.

 

 

If they were $15 (£15?), they're advanced purchase and are good anytime on that day, to include peak travel. You just need them to resend the tickets and you're fine. Where are you staying in London? Are you near Paddington? If you are, keep the tickets! HEX is by far and away the fastest way to central London; it becomes less optimal the further you are from Paddington, especially if you're taking a cab and especially if the cab has to go through the congestion zone (say Paddington to Waterloo/County Hall).

If they were $15 (£15?), they're advanced purchase and are good anytime on that day, to include peak travel. You just need them to resend the tickets and you're fine. Where are you staying in London? Are you near Paddington? If you are, keep the tickets! HEX is by far and away the fastest way to central London; it becomes less optimal the further you are from Paddington, especially if you're taking a cab and especially if the cab has to go through the congestion zone (say Paddington to Waterloo/County Hall).

 

Yeah, that's the other piece of this, we do have to go all the way to Waterloo area, BUT, with the help of the good people on this board and the Tube maps, I think we have a route on the tube mapped out that will be doable even with our luggage, so we have that option vs a cab. And now we won't be in the heart of rush hour, so I'm less concerned about dragging the luggage.;p

 

We also are considering the pricey option of having our luggage sent from heathrow to the hotel, so we could make our noon tour - but I think we will change the tour to a different day and either do train plus tube or cancel the train tickets and take a car and driver to the hotel directly. The point of the train was the speed, (I didn't realize just how far from Heathrow we are staying), we were trying to assure that we had dropped off our luggage and were ready for noon trip.

I told DH this morning that I would much rather change the tour to a somewhat less convenient day, than fret about whether we would make it - the whole point of planning ahead is reducing the fretting!

 

And you are probably right, it was likely 15 pounds, I was squinting at the receipt DH texted me on my Iphone

HEX is by far and away the fastest way to central London; it becomes less optimal the further you are from Paddington, especially if you're taking a cab and especially if the cab has to go through the congestion zone (say Paddington to Waterloo/County Hall).

But this illustrates the problem with HEX. Waterloo and County Hall have more right to be called "central London" than Paddington, yet the time taken to get from Paddington to Waterloo negates much of the apparent time saving by using HEX.

 

This is why I've basically stopped using HEX, even when going to Heathrow from my office near St Paul's (which is, again, more "central London" than Paddington is). I'd only save about 10 minutes if I used HEX, but it would be both more hassle and more expensive than the Tube.

 

But HEX at advance rates is good if you're starting or finishing near Paddington.

Globaliser and I have opposing views on this. I almost always use the HEX if I’m going in to London from LHR, when I am usually heading towards Whitehall/Westminster or further east on the Jubilee. It’s not just the time saved (around 20 minutes on average), it’s just a more comfortable environment, with proper space for luggage and the security of not having people jump on and off near your luggage every few minutes. There is also familiarity, I suppose - if I’m coming up from the Cotswolds, I’ll arrive at Paddington or Marylebone, so the Bakerloo/Jubilee run is something I do a lot. And the cost of that journey, which I frequently do for a day in town on business, is at best around the same as the HEX, at worst significantly more!

 

I do have a Network Railcard, which can be used for a 1/3rd discount on the HEX after 10am and at weekends (you have to buy in person, not from a machine, which don’t have the option yet), so that takes some of the cost pain away, unless off an overnight flight.

 

It’s all a matter of personal choice relating to cost, time and the nature of your Zone 1 connections.

 

 

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Argh! I am so dumb, no good deed goes unpunished, argh!

 

 

So, all my careful planning and help from Globaliser, John Bull and Cotswold was for naught. Delta changed our arrival at Heathrow from 6:30 to 8 am something.

 

 

I have already bought tickets for the Heathrow Express train to Paddington in an 8:30 - 9 am time slot - can I use those tickets for later in the day or do I need to get the tickets changed? Also, should I have gotten an email with the tickets? I have the receipt from the Heathrow Express website, and the record on American Express where I paid, but no actual email containing tickets to print out or transfer to my phone!

 

 

I could kick myself, Delta has changed the last 3 flights that we have booked more than 2 months in advance - once by 2 hours. We have a number of things going on later in the summer, and I wanted to get all the planning done for this October trip before those the July-August craziness started, but I started too early.

I know this isn't helpful, and I'm sorry to butt in. But last summer we had two flights with Delta that got changed for a total of three times. Causing major issues to the traveling we were doing that day that Delta was unaware of. Someone on my current role call just had the same problems. They seem to be offering many flights to get all of the passengers and then cancel some of the flights..they change them and if we're within 90 minutes you would have to pay to cancel that flight. Not to mention many people Just Go With It... Think they have no choice and can't change it. After reading your post I am absolutely positive this is basically a scam. I'm disgusted by that. I hope everything is worked out.

 

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