Hello,

I'll be taking a day transatlantic flight to Heathrow, arriving at 10.40 p.m. I'm staying at the Hilton Paddington, so I'm especially well situated to take the Heathrow Express train. I have to worry about the possibility of the flight being late and missing the last train at 11.47. Maybe thinking about the contingencies will keep the problem from happening. I don't like the thought of taking a taxi of this price.

So, if I miss it there’s The Heathrow Connect train at 00.06, a slower train to Paddington, which should be o.k.. After that, www.journeyplanner.org shows bus connections often involving three buses. I think I would instead take the N9 bus, maybe to Kensington High St. and take a taxi. If I did this, the question would be how I buy a ticket for the bus if I only have ATM cash. When I see questions on the board about getting currency in advance, I often think to myself that I have leftover euros for Italy, but I’m arriving in London at this hour on a Saturday and not giving any thought to getting pounds in advance at the bad rates likely available; I have that much confidence in ATMs Even if I did get this money, it wouldn’t include change for the bus. So would the airport bureau de change, a category known to charge exorbitantly for everything, be nice enough to make change for a banknote? Or do I need to change a few dollars at their bad rate and insist that it include £1.50 (right?) In change. I also have an inquiry out that if relatives of my boss who will be going to England in the meantime come back with pounds, I’ll buy them at a fair rate. I suppose I should also consider a reality check about being in the street with luggage after midnight, and just resign myself to taking a cab from the airport.

If you are resigned to taking a taxi, you could consider prebooking a car service. They are generally cheaper than taking a cab. I've used a few of them and if i find some names, I'll post them. They will check flight arrival times and generally have someone waiting for you with a sign at the point where you exit the luggage area.

I have taken the late-night American Airlines Chicago-London flight many times. The bad news is that it has been late, the good news is the lines at passport control are very short. If you don't have time to make the express train and if you can afford it, you might want to take a taxi -- I paid about 40-45 pounds in March. I do have the names of some car services -- they charge about 10 pounds less, but tack on a car park fee to pick you up. Just post if you want the numbers. The night buses will take forever -- better to get a good night's sleep!

Could you alter your reservation and stay at one of the airport hotels for the first night? All have shuttle van pick-up and you could then travel into town the mext morning. I do this when arriving after 9 pm in any city. saves a lot of worry. The airport Hilton is attached to terminal 4.

Thanks. I have a Hilton award stay that requires four nights at the Paddington. I'm counting on things going right so I can take the Express or Connect train, so I don't really want to book a car service. As I say, maybe thinking about it will help assure that I'm not late, and I'll probably resign myself to taking a taxi if I'm seriously late.