London-Amsterdam is an important short-haul business and tourist route. Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS) airport is served by 6 of London’s main airports – Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), City (LCY), Luton (LTN), Southend (SEN) and Stansted (STN).
Amsterdam, the capital of Netherlands is a fairly short hop from London. The 230 mile flight will often take around 45 minutes flying time although schedules are normally for 1 hour 10 minutes.
Airlines serving London-Amsterdam:
British Airways – The Oneworld carrier has up to 18x daily flights during the week from London to Amsterdam – 8x from LHR, 6x from LCY and 4x from LGW. The Heathrow flights are operated using Airbus A319/A320s. The Gatwick flights use Boeing 737s whilst the City flights use BA Cityflyer’s Embraer E170/E190s. Note, there are less Amsterdam services from City airport running at weekends.
Standard economy (Euro Traveller) fares start at around £100 return – with the Gatwick flights generally being the cheapest. Business class (Club Europe) fares start at about £260 return though special offers can be a bit cheaper. BA lounges are available at LHR, LGW and AMS.
For those with BA/Iberia Avios points to burn, London-Amsterdam return can be done as a Reward Flight Saver (RFS) for 9,000 Avios plus £30 or €35. To qualify for the RFS you must have earned at least 1 Avios point in the previous 12 months.
Flights depart from Terminal 5 at Heathrow, North Terminal at Gatwick and the D gates (non-Schengen) at Schiphol.
KLM/KLM Cityhopper – The Skyteam airline operates 10x daily (7x Saturday, 8x Sunday) from London Heathrow to Schiphol using Boeing 737s and Fokker 70s. Economy fares are similar to BA’s and start from £100 return. Business class fares are more expensive – expect to pay a hefty from £375 return. KLM also penalise passengers for booking one-way flights (£300 in economy) so stick to return bookings.
Lounge access for business and elite passengers is at KLM’s Crown Lounge at Amsterdam and the Skyteam lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4 (gate 10).
CityJet – This Air France subsidiary uses Avro RJ85 Avroliners to serve Amsterdam Schiphol from London City airport. There are 8x daily flights during the week, 1x daily on Saturday and 3x daily on Sunday. Economy returns are also priced from the £130 level, whilst a flexible City Premium fare (lounge access offered at Schiphol) is offered for £510 return.
Note that Star Alliance no longer have any non-stop flights between London and Amsterdam. bmi (British Midland) pulled out of the route in 2010 and that airline has since been absorbed into British Airways.
Easyjet – The “no frills” airline flies from Gatwick (5x daily), Luton (4x daily), Southend (2x daily) and Stansted (3x daily). If booking in advance, base fares start at around £55 return – but if you need to add 20kg checked luggage, want an assigned seat and pay by credit card the total will be around £90 return.
One positive aspect to Easyjet is they will allow you (subject to availability) to get on an earlier flight on the day for free – try doing that with BA or KLM and they will probably charge you for a new fully flexible ticket.
Easyjet flights at Amsterdam arrive and depart from the low-cost H pier. The Gatwick flights operate from the North Terminal.
Train Alternative: High speed international rail to Amsterdam is an option with a combination of the Eurostar which goes from London St Pancras station to Brussels Zuid/Midi and then taking either a Thalys or FYRA train on to Amsterdam. This journey takes about 4 1/2 hours – you do need to go through security and border controls when departing with the Eurostar.
Journey times will be reduced when direct London-Amsterdam train services start in 2015.
Please also see our related articles:
Amsterdam Schiphol – Airport Guide
Amsterdam Schiphol – Lounges
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Hotels
Article UPDATED as of January 2013.
