Published 2026-09-21 by the Rushxo team. More guides.
Short answer: a real airport transfer costs more than £45 to run, so a £45 quote is either missing something or is not going to be honoured. Our price is higher than the cheapest number you will find, and it is fixed, complete and quoted before you book. This page shows exactly what goes into it. Related: the cheapest way to the airport over Christmas and New Year.
Take a Heathrow to central London run quoted at £45, a number that still appears in adverts and on comparison sites. Before the driver earns anything the operator has to pay:
| Cost | Typical amount | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Heathrow terminal drop-off or pick-up | £6 to £7 per visit (10-minute limit), more if the driver has to park to meet you | Charged by the airport, not the driver |
| Waiting for a late flight or slow baggage | often 30 to 60 minutes, roughly £10 or more of driver time | Flights are late; cheap quotes assume they are not |
| Empty return leg | £10 to £12 of fuel and time | The car usually goes back without a fare |
| VAT | 20% of the fare for many operators since January 2026 | Now applies to the full fare for most private hire operators |
What is left, about £16 before VAT, has to cover fuel, insurance, the vehicle and the driver's pay for two or three hours of work. It does not add up, which is why the £45 job becomes a £45 job plus "waiting", plus "parking", plus "airport fee" on the day, or simply does not turn up.
Time of day does change what a journey costs to run, and we would rather show it than hide it. Weekday journeys into central London between 07:00 and 10:00, and out of it between 16:00 and 19:00, take up to twice as long and carry a modest uplift; Friday and weekend mornings are busier around the airports and carry a similar one. It is built into the quote on the booking page the moment you enter your date and time, so what you see is final. Off-peak, including the middle of the night, there is no uplift at all. If your flight time is flexible, our guide to London's midweek rush hour shows the cheapest and fastest windows.
Because £45 rarely covers the job. Heathrow's terminal drop-off charge alone is £6 to £7, the driver waits unpaid if your flight is late, and the car often returns empty. A £45 quote usually means a surcharge later, a driver who leaves when the meter of patience runs out, or a firm that will not be around next year. Our price includes all of it, fixed before you book.
The vehicle for your party, meet and greet in the arrivals hall with a name board, flight tracking, 60 minutes of free waiting after your flight lands, airport drop-off and pick-up charges, parking, tolls and the London congestion charge where they apply, and VAT. There is no night, weekend or holiday surcharge and no surge pricing.
Weekday peak hours into and out of central London carry a modest uplift that is already in the quote you see; nothing is added afterwards. There is no night surcharge: a 4am airport run costs the same as a 1pm one.
Per car. A saloon carries up to four passengers with two large cases; larger vehicles are priced for the whole group, so the per-head cost falls as the party grows.
Only if you change the job: a different address, an extra stop, or waiting well beyond the free hour. Traffic, weather, a late flight or a busy night never change the price.
Rushxo runs fixed-price transfers to events and venues, every major airport and cruise terminal, and towns and cities right across London and the South East. Every journey is a fixed price agreed before you book.
O2 Arena · Wembley Stadium · Twickenham Stadium · Emirates Stadium · Ascot Racecourse · Epsom Derby · Download Festival · Brands Hatch
Gatwick Airport · Heathrow Airport · Stansted Airport · Luton Airport · London City Airport · Southend Airport · Cruise transfers
London · Brighton · Canterbury · Chelmsford · Cambridge · Oxford · Guildford
Airport transfers · Events & venues · Event airport transfers
Planning the whole holiday? The Christmas and New Year transfers page covers airport runs on the days with no trains, New Year's Eve pickups around the fireworks closures and party transport, all at fixed fares with no seasonal uplift.