Buying National Express airport coach tickets with Ryanair

Update: February 2022

Are you wondering whether to book your airport coach (operated by National Express) with Ryanair, or directly with National Express? In this blog post, I will be talking about pros and cons of Ryanair’s flexible airport coach ticket, how to purchase it and how much it costs.

Prices

When	Our Ryanair flight	Our coach	Single or return	How much (per person)
September 2021	Cologne Germany to London Stansted	Stansted to London Victoria	Single	€13 (roughly £11)
November 2021	London Stansted to/from Krakow Poland	London Victoria to/from Stansted	Return	£16
December 2021	Cologne Germany to London Stansted	Stansted to London Liverpool street	Single	€10.70 (roughly £9)

Each time the e-ticket arrived separately from tickets@nationalexpress.com within a few hours after the flight booking. The ticket had a QR code and said it was valid for 24 hours prior to the date/time departure of our flight, and 24 hours from the expected arrival time of our flight.

When we arrived at Stansted airport, we went straight to the coach stop and only needed to show our e-ticket before getting on the coach. This flexible ticket saved us time and gave us peace of mind.

On the National Express website, Stansted airport buses currently start from around £9 and ‘Change & Go’ add on which gives you similar flexibility is extra £5 per journey.

Below is the original post from 2018 when I bought our coach ticket after we had already booked/paid for the flights with Ryanair. Not sure if the coach prices may now vary before and after the flight booking. (For example, in September 2021, purchasing a carry-on bag with the flight was around £10 each, but was £20 when I checked AFTER the flight was booked.)

Original Post

We usually avoid flying from London Stansted, simply because it’s more expensive and hustle to travel to the airport by coach.

On December 2017, we flew with Ryanair to Toulouse in France for £19.98 return. I started to look for our coach to/from Stansted airport. With National Express, fixed return was £18, but it was too risky, if our return flight got delayed (it did) we would just lose our coach ticket. Just when I was thinking about purchasing the open return ticket for £21, I noticed that you could actually buy National Express airport coach tickets with Ryanair a lot cheaper, for £14.40 return.

I was a bit sceptical at first, but it turned out to be really straightforward and a great deal.

You do not necessarily have to buy the coach tickets together with the flights. I purchased our coach ticket after I had already booked and paid for our flight. I went to Ryanair website’s ‘my booking’ page. The page shows a list of add-ons you can purchase with your flights such as extra bags, car hire, etc… Go to ‘Airport transfers’ and choose National Express, from/to, how many tickets, single or return, etc…

How to buy the National Express airport coach tickets with Ryanair. — We took our coach from London Golders Green

The website will show you the final price and you make a payment. *I recommend using a debit card as there will be a 2% fee for credit cards. Ryanair charges an 80p payment fee, but I think that’s per flight booking as it was not added when I paid for the coach tickets later. After payment, I got a confirmation e-mail from Ryanair immediately and received the e-mail ticket from National Express within an hour.

* There were no payment or credit card fees in my last couple of bookings, but to be sure, please check with Ryanair (February 2022)

In the ticket purchasing process, the page will not indicate any dates or time for your coaches. This is because the ticket can be used anytime within 24 hours before your flight and 24 hours after you arrive back to Stansted. Your e-mail ticket shows your flight details. Our return flight was delayed and this ticket gave us flexibility and peace of mind. Unlike National Express’s open return ticket which does not work as a ticket for your returning journey on its own (apparently you still need to go to the counter and book your seat), this is just easier. After arriving at Stansted, we went straight to the coach stop, showed the driver our ticket print out, and that was it, we were on our way home.

Stansted airport. How to buy the National Express airport coach tickets with Ryanair.

The only thing you need to be mindful about probably is getting to the airport during busy holiday seasons. Whilst this ticket gives you a great flexibility, you have no seat booking. When the coach is full you will have to wait for the next one. So, give yourself plenty of time, or if you’re really worried, maybe consider booking a single ticket directly with National Express, and buying a returning ticket with Ryanair. I’m sure that’s possible.