London to Edinburgh by helicopter: the long way round by road, a morning by air

London to Edinburgh by helicopter: the figures

London to Edinburgh by helicopter takes about 125 to 155 minutes, against at least 7 hours 57 minutes on the road.

The straight line is 291.9 nautical miles (336 statute miles). The road is 412 miles and 7 hours 57 minutes even when it flows freely, so the helicopter typically saves about 5 hours 37 minutes each way. It is almost 300 nautical miles, which is the edge of what one helicopter does comfortably in a leg, so we confirm in the quote whether the aircraft flies it non-stop or plans a fuel stop.

Is a helicopter the right aircraft for this route?

Sometimes yes, and sometimes a jet is faster door to door. A helicopter lifts off from Battersea or a house lawn and lands where it is needed, which matters when the first meeting is in the city centre. A jet flies faster and farther but uses airports at both ends. We look at the group size, the baggage, the start and end points and the hours available, and recommend the better choice. For a jet quote see Charter-Private-Jet.com.

Charter-A Helicopter is the helicopter charter service of Charter-A Ltd, which has arranged private flights across the UK and Europe since 2011. Big types such as the AW139 have the range and cabin for a leg like this.

Landing at Edinburgh

Edinburgh Airport at Ingliston is open 24 hours for air traffic, customs and immigration, handling and security, and has a business aviation centre. Every aircraft, helicopters included, is cleared in advance with a handling agent on the airfield because parking is limited. We arrange it. See helicopter charter Edinburgh for the airport page, and Glasgow, 36 nautical miles west, for the other half of the central belt.

The Royal Highland Show is held at the showground beside the airport each June; see the Royal Highland Show page. Murrayfield, in the west of the city, is the home of Scottish rugby; see Murrayfield.

A same-day plan

1. Leave London at 06:30, land at Edinburgh between 08:35 and 09:05.
2. A day of meetings in Edinburgh.
3. Leave Edinburgh at 15:30, land at London between 17:35 and 18:05.

That is 4 hours 10 minutes to 5 hours 10 minutes in the air for the round trip. The same trip by car is at least 15 hours 54 minutes of driving, so the helicopter typically gives back about 11 hours 14 minutes across the day. A leg this long means an early start; the round trip is better as two days if the group wants a full working day on the ground. If the flight is cancelled because of the weather, you pay nothing.

Breaking the journey

Few people fly London to Edinburgh in one go for pleasure; the usual brief is a day of meetings, or a chain: London to Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh. See London to Leeds, Leeds to Newcastle and Newcastle to Edinburgh for the legs. Planning stops also reduces the weather risk, because we can wait at a middle airfield if cloud closes in.

Where the figures come from

For London to Edinburgh the straight-line distance is 291.9 nautical miles. At a cruise of 135 knots that is about 130 minutes; we add 8 minutes for start-up, climb and the approach, which gives a block time of about 138 minutes, and we show it as a range, 10 per cent shorter to 12 per cent longer, rounded to the nearest five minutes. The road figure is the free-flowing time from a routing engine, so it is a floor. Real journeys on the day are usually slower. The other routes are on the UK helicopter routes page, and helicopter against car journey times explains the comparison.