London Stansted, STN

Stansted airport is usually the cheapest London airport to fly from, as it is the airport that most of the budget airlines fly from. I use it regularly. I used to avoid the early and late arrivals, assuming that getting to and from the airport would be too difficult, however I've found that it's quite achievable. It's definitely worth trying out a few 1p 6.30am flights!

I can offer the following tips for using Stansted efficiently:

Getting to and from the airport:
Virtually all my flights leave before 8am and arrive after 11pm, as these are the cheapest. This can make transport difficult, as I don't have a car. There are 3 options for early/late arrivals and departures.

Terravision
I personally use Terravision Coaches and heartily recommend them. They leave from London Victoria and go direct to the airport without stopping. It takes 1hour 15 minutes off-peak . I couldn't say how long it takes in peak hours, or any time after 7am or before 10pm, as I have never used them then, but I assume it takes a fair while longer. The route goes through central London along the Embankment and out through Canary Wharf to Stratford (which is, incidentally, quite a scenic route for tourists), so I imagine the traffic can be pretty horrendous. They cost £8.50 each way and run once or twice an hour, and you can either book in advance on-line or pay in person at the stop. I recommend buying online, because you get priority seating. You should let the person selling tickets on the bus know you have pre-booked, because otherwise they will not ask if anyone has tickets and when it's busy you run the risk of the bus filling up before you get on. Their website is www.terravision.it. They also provide coach services at some Italian airports served by the budget airlines flying out of Stansted (Rome, Milan, Florence, & Pisa).

National Express
National Express run from London Victoria and make several stops throughout London via Golders Green. They also operate a service from Stratford. National Express are slightly more expensive than Terravision (between £8 and £10 depending on where you get on), and slower, because they stop more often. They also run more often. Again, you can book online or pay on the bus. The only reason I personally no longer use them is because the Terravision Coach is more convenient for me. Tickets and timetables can be found on their website at http://www.nationalexpress.com/destinati​ons/airports/stansted/index.cfm

Stansted Express
Stansted Express now run a coach throughout the night and on days when the train doesn't run. It runs every half hour from Liverpool Street, although it does not stop at Tottenham Hale the way the train does. I believe the fare is the same as for the train, which is £24 return, although if you are using the coach both ways you can get a special ticket for £15 onboard the bus, which is not valid on the train. Tickets and timetables can be found on their website at http://www.stanstedexpress.co.uk/, although they do not have an e-ticket service the way the other two companies do, nor will they send you paper tickets. The only way you can prebook tickets is to collect the tickets on the day from the special machines at Liverpool Street or the airport. NB for some strange reason you cannot pick up tickets from Tottenham Hale. I think if you use a booking engine like the Trainline.com you can have tickets posted to you if you book far enough in advance.

Due to the horrendous nature of London traffic, if the trains are running I take the trains, even though it is more expensive (catching the tube to Tottenham Hale and transferring to the Stansted Express works out the fastest for me). The Stansted Express departs from Liverpool Street every 15 mintues during the day and every half hour during the evenings. Journey time from Liverpool Street is 45 minutes, or 34 minutes from Tottenham Hale. Fares are £14.50 single /£24 return.

There are also trains to destinations other than London - I assume you can get details from journey planner websites like www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Leaving the airport by coach or train is simple - the train station is directly underneath the airport itself, and the coach station is directly outside. So it is only 5 minutes from picking up your luggage to your chosen form of transport.

Beware - particularly just after the trains stop running in the evening - there can be long queues for the coaches. If you have a ticket let the person managing the queue know you have one, as you will probably be allowed to jump the queue and get straight on the coach. Many people don't realise the trains don't run all night and wind up wandering around looking for the right bus.

At the airport
Departures
Early morning arrivals at the airport can be surprisingly hectic. I always try and check in 2 hours before departure, so as to leave plenty of time for transport disasters, plus having a low number on your boarding card means you get to board first and a chance at those covetted emergency exit seats with the extra leg room. However, be fully prepared to queue to check in, and then queue even longer to get through security. Even when they have every scanner operating (and there are a lot), it can take over an hour to get through security. It can then take up to 15-20 minutes to get to your gate, depending upon how far away it is. On several occasions I have arrived at the airport 2 hours before departure, to find myself running to the gate to make the boarding time. It's something you need to be prepared for because if you're not it can be quite stressful. Don't assume that because you have a 7am flight that the airport will be quiet! Stansted is most definitely not an airport where you can simply arrive 40 minutes before your flight.

On the plus side, there is a 24 hour cafe before security, so if you do arrive before you can check in, or if you're facing a long queue, you can send a member of your party off for caffeine and munchies to sustain you. It's hidden on the far left hand corner of the airport as you enter, near the domestic flight arrivals gate. The other shops before security are at the far right hand side as you enter, near the arrivals for international flights.

After security there are several cafes that are usually open by the time you get through the security checks and the usual shops. The layout of the airport is quite simple - for some gates you need to use a monorail to get to.

I have never had a flight delayed out of Stansted. In fact, because it's all low cost airlines, my theory is it runs more efficiently beccause everyone's profit margins depend upon quick turn around times. Contrast Heathrow - the last time I flew out of Heathrow the plane was delayed for an hour and a half because all 4 de-icers were empty, because no one had filled them the night before.

Arrivals
If, like me, you are unfortunate enough not to have an EU passport, be prepared to queue for a long time at immigration control. I now keep a stack of arrivals cards with my passport (as the budget airlines often don't have any) which I fill out on the plane to save a few minutes. One benefit of Stansted is that most of the flights are arriving from Europe, so you are unlikely to arrive between long-haul flights where there is a greater chance of refugees and people without papers etc.

Luggage - I usually only have carry on luggage, however on my last flight I had checked in luggage. No one's luggage from any flight arriving at that time (there were at least 6 flights) was being processed. It took over an hour before the luggage started hitting the carousels. I don't know if this is a regular thing or not. I wasn't at all impressed with the service - they continually apologised for the delay but did not once explain why there was a delay, nor how long it was likely to last, which is incredibly infuriating, particularly at 12.30am!

Stansted can get a bad rap - but you have to keep in mind that 5 star service comes with 5 star prices. I'm more than happy with the level of service given the cost of flights.