Originally Posted by
500 above
...An hour by road is quite a long way for the boss to be sitting in a car/limo. That's without any motorway congestion. Even 55 minutes for the crew to get to the centre of Oxford is quite a trek should you need to get back to the aircraft at short notice. Horses for courses, I guess.
It's 15 mins drive into Oxford city centre and 55 mins on a train from OXF to Marylebone station in central London, not into Oxford! Just 5 mins to 10+decent hotels in Woodstock from terminal/FBO for crew.
As a point of note, all depends on where in London the passengers are heading for - it's 30 miles across, east to west and over 20 miles top to bottom - big city! Even London City Airport to London's west end rather than the 'City', can take routinely an hour. If you are an ultra-high-net-worth with a home in Kensington, Notting Hill, Holland Park for example (where an awful lot of London jet owners/users are living), there is nothing in the drive times - 80+ mph all the way to Oxford, or typically under 10 mph to Biggin Hill through urban sprawl and past 30-40 speed or red-light/junction cameras. An hour and a bit at steady motorway speeds is preferred by many to an hour and bit with constant start-stop, congestion, generally unpredictable traffic. M40 fastest motorway in the country and least congested London arterial route.
Add to that rapid turnaround times, minimal ground taxing, minimal processing and swift and easy direct access on/off the airways (at Oxford), no holding, no slots etc. and there's nothing in the overall journey times, front door to front door, compared with most London alternative airports.