Two people book a car to Gatwick on the same morning. One lives in Streatham, inside London; one in Tadworth, further out in Surrey. The Streatham fare is the higher of the two, even though it starts closer to town. Neither price is wrong. Airport transfers are priced by road, not by map distance, and once you know what actually drives the number, the pattern makes sense.
Why the price is set by postcode district
A fixed airport price is worked out per postcode district — SW16, KT20, TW3 — rather than per individual address, because that's the level at which the road journey is genuinely similar for everyone in it. It gives you a price you can see before booking instead of a meter you watch on the day.
It also means the boundary between two districts can produce different prices for houses a few streets apart. That isn't arbitrary: it usually reflects which junction, bridge or arterial road the journey actually uses.
Distance isn't the thing — the route is
What drives the price is how the road network connects your area to that airport:
- Which motorway junction you feed into. Tadworth and Banstead sit on top of M25 junction 8, so Gatwick is a short, uninterrupted run. Somewhere closer as the crow flies, but with no clean motorway access, can easily be a longer drive.
- Whether the route crosses London. Anything that has to cross the centre or the river to reach the airport costs more time, and time is what a driver is selling.
- Which side of the city the airport is on. Heathrow is west, Gatwick south, Luton north, Stansted north-east. A Surrey postcode is close to one of them and a long way from the other three, which is why the same address can show a low Gatwick price and a high Stansted one.
Why the return leg costs more
On almost every fixed list, coming back from the airport is priced higher than going to it. It isn't a surcharge for arrivals — it's a different job:
- The driver tracks your flight and adjusts to the actual landing time.
- They wait while you clear immigration and baggage reclaim, which can be twenty minutes or well over an hour.
- Airport parking or waiting charges apply to the vehicle while that happens.
- A delayed or diverted flight can hold the vehicle for hours it can't work elsewhere.
A departure from your house has none of that: you're standing outside at the agreed time. Our waiting time guide explains what happens between landing and the arrivals hall.
Why the vehicle changes the price
Larger vehicles cost more to buy, run and fuel, and they carry fewer jobs per day. The practical advice is to size by luggage, not just passengers — four adults fit in a saloon, but four adults with four large suitcases don't. Our luggage capacity guide sets out what each class genuinely holds, and our guide to how many people fit in a car covers the seat rules.
What "all-in" means
A fixed airport price of ours includes the journey with no extra added for:
- The airport itself
- Travelling at night
- Extra passengers
- Extra bags
That's the point of a fixed price — the number you see is the number, confirmed when we accept your booking. It's a different model from a metered fare, where the total depends on traffic on the day, and from on-demand app pricing, where the rate itself moves with demand. Our fixed price transfer guide covers the conditions that apply, and our surge pricing article explains the on-demand model it contrasts with.
What sits outside any transfer price, because it's charged by the airport rather than by us, is the drop-off fee most UK airports now levy on vehicles entering the forecourt — see our drop-off charges guide.
How to check your own price
Find your area on our airport transfer pages to see the fixed price for your postcode district by vehicle and direction. If your area isn't on the list, the journey is priced by distance instead — get an estimate with your exact addresses.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Why is my airport transfer price different from my neighbour's? A: Fixed prices are set by postcode district, so an address on the other side of a district boundary can fall into a different band, usually reflecting which road or junction the journey uses.
Q: Why does it cost more to come back from the airport? A: An airport pickup includes flight tracking, waiting while you clear immigration and baggage reclaim, and airport parking or waiting charges. A departure from home has none of those.
Q: Does a fixed airport price include night travel and extra bags? A: Yes. Our fixed airport fares are all-in, with nothing added for the airport, night travel, extra passengers or extra bags.
Q: Why is a bigger vehicle more expensive? A: Larger vehicles cost more to run and carry fewer jobs a day. Choose by luggage as well as passenger count — four people with four large cases need more than a saloon.
Q: Is the airport drop-off fee included? A: That fee is charged by the airport to vehicles using the forecourt, not by us. Our drop-off charges guide explains how it works at each UK airport.
See fixed prices for your postcode or get an estimate for your journey.