Heathrow Express Now Offers Free Upgrades for Certain Eligible Passengers

Updated: May 26, 2023, 2:09pm CDT

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How To Upgrade Your Heathrow Express Ticket
What Is the Heathrow Express?
Final Thoughts

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Upgrades are always welcome — especially when they’re free.

Better yet, your journey between London and Heathrow Airport (LHR) may be eligible for an upgrade to Business First with Heathrow Express.

Read on to find out if your airline elite status or eligible flight ticket will get you an upgrade on the Heathrow Express.

How To Upgrade Your Heathrow Express Ticket

If you’re heading to or from Heathrow and have an Express Class (regular economy) ticket, you’ll be eligible for a free upgrade to Business First if you’re a holder of one of the following:

British Airways Gold Guest List status
Star Alliance Gold status
JetBlue Mosaic elite status
JetBlue Mint ticket

Hot Tip:

Interestingly, the only ticket that is eligible for a Heathrow Express upgrade is when flying business class with JetBlue. The New York-based airline now offers 5x daily nonstop services from the U.S. to London: 3 from New York (JFK) and 2 from Boston (BOS).

Upgrading from Express Class to Business First couldn’t be easier.

“Passengers require a valid Express Saver ticket and proof of status such as a valid loyalty card,” explains Mark Eastwood, commercial strategy lead at Heathrow Express.

Heathrow Express’ Business First affords passengers more spacious seats in a less densely packed train car.

Additional amenities include a personal table and power outlet at every seat, as well as free newspapers and magazines — neither of which passengers with Express Class tickets get to enjoy.

All Heathrow Express passengers, no matter the class of travel, have access to fast, free Wi-Fi. They’ll also get ample luggage storage.

Heathrow Express ticket desk at Heathrow — A Heathrow Express ticket counter at Heathrow Airport. Image Credit: Daniel Ross

What Is the Heathrow Express?

The Heathrow Express the only rail service offering nonstop service from London Heathrow to London.

From the airport’s main transport interchange at Terminal 2 and 3, the Heathrow Express whizzes passengers to Paddington Station in just 15 minutes.

Getting to or from the Heathrow Terminal 5 — where the service terminates — takes an additional 6 minutes.

The service is less ideal for passengers using Terminal 4. A (free) transfer using the Tube or the all-new Elizabeth Line is required to connect onto Heathrow Express services.

Hot Tip:

The Heathrow Express offers, without doubt, the fastest connection between London Heathrow and a Central London train station. However, depending on how far in advance you book your ticket as well as your final destination in London, it might be more advantageous to take another mode of transport.

Final Thoughts

Heathrow Express offers upgrades for certain eligible passengers to its Business First class. This is certainly a nice-to-have if you’re planning on a train on your journey to or from Heathrow soon!