Heathrow ExpressReviews 

Just bad and expensive, totally unreliable on the weekend, better to take Elizabeth line

Terrible service and follow up care. We booked in advance for cheaper seats. When we arrived after a 24 hour flight from Australia the service was not running. We were discouraged from waiting for service to recommence (due to an anticipated long wait time) and assured by on ground staff that we could apply for a full refund online. We had to pay again to catch 3 trains to Paddington, the trip took over an hour. When we went to apply online for a refund as promised, we were told we could only get a 25% refund as our tickets were advance. Whilst I appreciate we could not cancel, it is unfair to withhold a full refund when their service was not operational. I have lodged a complaint and I am still disputing this outcome.

The train works well but very little clear signage. Really poor directions, after the initial signage. So, I asked for directions to Heathrow Express and "customer service" guy said "down there to train". I asked "so this is for Heathrow express?" and he snapped at me and replied "i heard you the first time!". I told him how rude he was! I mean pardon me for wanting information from a customer service guide!

If you're lucky, this is the fastest way to get to Heathrow. If there's something wrong with train tracks like today (burst pipe), they offer no communication and no help. I even downloaded their shitty app and of course it didn't tell me their service is not working, I haven't received any email either. We got to Paddington and their staff told us to take the Elizabeth line to Hayes or take a taxi all the way. And of course they'll only refund their ticket, not the taxi. A proper airport express would offer a guarantee and pay for the taxi or have replacement busses ready so people don't have to scramble for 100£ Uber. Thankfully their contract is about to expire in 2028 and I hope it won't be extended. Good riddance!

Why does anyone use the Heathrow Express? You can go to Paddington on the Elizabeth Line and it takes about 15 minutes longer and is less than half the price. I was coming home from Vienna, I followed the poorly marked signs to the Elizabeth Line. A train came in almost immediately. I was on the platform for the Elizabeth Line. It turned out to be the Heathrow Express. The difference between the trains should be made abundently clear and it is not. So I arrived at Paddington, I explained I had got on the wrong train. Purely by accident. I was given the choice of tapping out with my debit card or going back to Heathrow. I asked how much it would be and it was £26.00!!! It was very late but I refused to be scammed like that. At Heathrow, I went back to the platform and asked a TFL employee where the Elizabeth Line platform was. He pointed to a Heathrow Express train waiting there. Honestly this is a scam. I told him that was a Heathrow Express train and he said well that is the platform. If you want to pay over twice the charge for the same service, be my guest.

Unreliable in the extreme for connections to Heathrow per my experiences 6 times per year over a 15 year period. So have a back up plan.
I simply hire rental cars now so that I can avoid the Heathrow Express and indeed the entire rail network.
Every aspect of the rail network is so unreliable and that includes the Heathrow Express. It's either work on the network, signal failure, staff strike, staff absence, unfortunately suicides, derailments, the list goes on and on.

Read the reviews! I had pre-purchased a ticket. Arrived at the platform to be told that the line was not running due to trespasser on track. Express staff told us to get the Elisabeth Line instead and claim a refund. All fine so far, these things happen. Have since claimed a refund, but only received 25% of the amount - the official line from them now is that it was a "delay for an unknown amount of time", not a cancellation. Despite their staff telling us to take another service because they weren't running.

Total rip-off unfortunately made the mistake of booking the wrong direction for a ticket from Heathrow then got mis-sold ticket by a sales advisor telling me I could get a refund for my original ticket, which was totally untrue. summary is ended up costing me £200 for what should've been a £64 journey will never use them again. no empathy whatsoever from them in terms of trying to get any refund, won't ever use them again

How about you buy a ticket, check the departure times the night before, show up to Paddington, and then trains aren’t there because of unscheduled engineering works? With no warning from Heathrow Express. To add insult to the injury of taking a last minute cab to catch a flight, Heathrow Express refuses to refund the ticket.
When Heathrow Express works, it’s great. When it doesn’t, and it refuses to fully refund you for wasting your time and money, it’s not great at all.

I bought my ticket to Heathrow in advance for the attractive price of £10. As I approached the turnstile to take the train, I showed the QR code for the ticket on my smartphone. But the agent watching over the turnstile told me that one of the credit cards in my phone’s digital wallet had instead automatically paid the fare as I went through the turnstile. I showed him my prepaid ticket and he just shrugged and told me I should ask for a refund. The charge for the trip showed up on my credit card statement, so I disputed the charge. I was later told by the card company that the dispute had been resolved, but not in my favor! Moral: beware of being double charged for your trip to Heathrow if you have a ticket bought in advance.

FOR THE PERSONAL ATTENTION OF MS AOIFE CONSIDINE, BUSINESSS LEAD & DIRECTOR, HEATHROW EXPRESS

Hello Ms Considine

I'm not so much surprised as staggered* at the lowest overall customer star rating for your service given my last-but-one experience in November 2025 in general and on the 7th March 2026 in particular. On both occasions your staff went out of their way to assist me, a partially disabled 89-year-old old single passenger; the second, recent, experience literally couldn't have been better had I been royalty; were it possible this time round I'd have awarded your company ten stars. Allow me to expand regarding the latter 'picture':

After being stranded for six expensive days in HCMC, Vietnam, because of the Iranian débâcle, I was forced to fly home via China involving three planes over a total of forty eight hours and two long lay-overs in the middle of the night. The entire journey took sixteen hours in the air and many more hanging about for connections.... To say I was enervated by the time I ultimately arrived at he Heathrow train entry barrier en route to Paddington is a massive understatement. But a couple of truly superb staffers - I only wish I knew their names because I'd give both a more than deserved gold medal - proved worth their combined weight in more gold. The first gentleman, witnessing tears in my eyes at this stage I'm ashamed to report (cumulative stress now beginning to manifest itself), personally escorted me to the train and radioed a destination staff member ahead to meet and help me on alighting complete with an electric buggy to ferry me and my luggage onwards to the distant taxi rank. FURTHERMORE, NOT ONLY DID THAT SECOND GENTLEMAN MEET ME OFF THE TRAIN AT JOURNEY'S END ●BUT AT THE EXACT CARRIAGE DOOR AT WHICH I EXITED● THUS MARLVELOUSLY MINIMISING THE WALKING DIFFICULTIES FROM WHICH I SUFFER.

In summary it's no eggageration to say that both times, this one and last year, I was treated as if l was the sole traveller...

...Wonderful, indelibly memorable encounters.

Sincerely

D P Hughes (Mr)

*it was only after I'd written this review that I realised the universally low star rating related to folks' on-line booking experience. Here again my own episodes in this connection were plain sailng and, note, I WRITE AS SOMEONE WHO ISN'T TECH-SAVVY AT ALL, indeed I'd go as far as to declare that technology is the bane of my life but, using only my smartphone, I had not the slightest problem making my bookng each time....

Two days before I was due back to the UK from Jamaica, I decided to purchase our train tickets back to Paddington from Heathrow Airport on our way back from holiday. Whilst on holiday I went onto the Heathrow Express App which I had downloaded beforehand when I used it the first time before going away, and everything was fine. However this time it didn't appear to be working as effectively whilst I was abroad. So I decided to go on to their website instead. I purchased my tickets, but did not receive any confirmation of the booking by email. I wasn’t too worried, because I assumed that Heathrow Express would have an office at the other end once I had landed, and I would have been able to print my tickets off, once I had proven that I had purchased them. The supervisor at the airport mentioned that they had upgraded the computer system on the same day that I was trying to use their App in Jamaica, and maybe that was why I had problems trying to use it...

What I did not realise at the time is that there is no Customer Service Office at the airport to assist you, therefore I had to re-purchase the tickets from scratch, and then try and sort it out once I got home. As a business Heathrow Express not having any customer service at such a prestigious and crucial airport like Heathrow is extremely poor, and they really need to get with the times.

I contacted Heathrow Express when I got home and spoke to someone who was really helpful, he asked me to send all the relevant documentations and they would sort it out. A couple of days later, he contacted me to say that the company that I had used online was Headout Airport, and that Heathrow Express could not help me with my query. I have no idea how that happened, because I am pretty sure that I was on the Heathrow Express website at the time.

I then spoke to Headout Airport, who was not as friendly. They did confirm that they are apparently linked to Heathrow Express, because I was confused as to how I could have possibly been on their website in the first place, but from what I can gather they are some sort of subsidiary company to Heathrow Express.

Headout Airport refused to refund me for the tickets, because they said that day had already passed, and I should have noticed it at the time.
• Firstly I thought that I was dealing directly with Heathrow Express and they would have been able to find my tickets in the system at the airport on my return.
• Secondly why would I deal with a third rate company that I had never heard of until now, when I have got the real thing.
• Thirdly I paid £54.60 for 2 tickets to what turned out to be Headout Airport. as opposed to £52.00 from Heathrow Express

In a nutshell they have effectively stolen my money, and I will sort it out because I will not allow them to get away with it. But in the meantime, there is a lesson learnt here, I will never try to use any Apps or Websites whilst abroad, I would much prefer just purchasing the tickets when I get back to the UK, instead of spending £106.60 on one way tickets. (Ridiculous)

THE WHOLE THING IS JUST ONE BIG SCAM!

Booked before 90 days to travel..for the cheaper fare...
Tickets appeared in app as outward leg Heathrow - Paddington and Return Paddington - Heathrow.. I live in London and want to travel to Heathrow first..!!
Customer Service not interested as a non refundable ticket and said I entered details wrong.. I Absolutely no mercy..
The websites defaults back to this setting as if your arriving from abroad.
This is a scam the company are well aware of.. Staff are just as rude, unhelpful and not interested..

Avoid this vile company...!!

I’ve traveled on this 3 times recently. Every single time it was running late by 15 minutes or more. Waste of time and money

AT PADDING HEATĤROW EXPRESS JUST NOW. B MAN BUGGY DRIVER REVERSED AND NOT LOOKING BACK, DYIVING FAST AND GAD TO TELL HIM TO STOP. HE SAID HE KNOW HOW TO DRIVE AND AWARE OF PEOPLE BEHIND HIS LONG BUGGY CAR. HE HASN'T GOT EYES ON THE BACK OF HIS HEAD. ARROGANT, FEISTY.

Excellent. Direct 15min fast train from Heathrow to London and back. Buy on the website in advance for only £10.

Never use the Heathrow Express if you are expecting a refund. They do not seem willing to refund you for a journey that you never even took. I filed a complaint about my refund after purchasing Heathrow Express tickets, but my flight was rescheduled to another day, so I didn’t use the tickets. I requested a refund because I bought them through the ticket machine. I have attached a picture of the ticket and even returned to Heathrow again so a staff member could write "void" on it.

It has been over 20 days since I first reached out, and I have called multiple times for updates. I find it unacceptable that a payment due in November has still not arrived and was expected in December, now it's January. They replied explaining I need to send more evidence what more evidence do they want? I am disappointed with the service I have received, and I still have not received my refund. They just do not want to give my money back with bad customer service I would not recommend.

I accidentally purchase tickets.Completely my fault. Trying to contact this awful company was challenging and when I got through to them the complete lack of flexibility was disappointing. I was happy to receive credit against this purchase for future travel but instead it was a one line email stating no. I travel a lot and I'll be taking the Elizabeth line from now on and recommending the same to all colleagues and friends.

They made me change trains twice in a row at Paddington. I was an hour later than planned at LHR. Good thing l do not trust UK transport and travel to airport with time to spare. 150 pounds Cardiff LHR one way . Terrible

Customer online form to claim delay repay for delayed or cancelled train does not work. So I posted a letter with the tickets the old fashioned way and no response. Basically not honouring the conditions of carriage and obligation to provide compensation.