Cheap flights from London to Birmingham

January is the cheapest month to fly this route, and it is the one to watch if your dates are flexible. Prices are tracked from September through June, so the autumn and winter months are the ones worth comparing side by side. Weekday departures are usually quieter than Friday evenings and Sunday nights, when the business crowd and weekend travellers overlap. Avoid the Christmas and New Year window, half-term and Easter if you can, because school holidays push fares up on every domestic and connecting itinerary. Booking a few weeks ahead helps, but on a connecting route the fare often depends on the hub you change at rather than on how early you book.

No carrier flies London to Birmingham nonstop, so every itinerary is a connecting one, and the airline list mixes full-service and low-cost names. British Airways and BA CityFlyer, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France and LOT Polish Airlines sell through fares with a change at a hub, keeping the connection on one ticket. Vueling Airlines and Aer Lingus sit at the low-cost end, where fares are usually a base ticket plus extras. Loganair Limited and Aurigny Air Services are smaller regional carriers, and Accesrail books rail legs alongside flights. Compare what each fare includes before you pick, because a cheaper headline ticket can cost more once bags and seats are added.

Birmingham is served by a single airport, so there is no guessing about which one you land at; the only variable is where you change planes on the way. Trains, coaches and taxis are the usual ways into the centre once you land. If the whole journey is on one ticket, a missed connection is the airline's problem to fix; if you booked the legs separately, it is yours. Allow extra time on the return, and check which London airport you fly out of, because your arrival and departure airports may not be the same one.

Currency

GBP (£)

Power sockets

Type G · 230 V

Language

English

Emergency number

112, 999

Calling code

+44

Internet domain

.uk

Population of Birmingham

1.1 M (2017)

Time zone

UTC+01 (Europe/London)

Country facts: Wikidata

• Check which London airport your ticket actually leaves from, since the city has several and they are not interchangeable.
• Look at whether both legs sit on one booking, because a self-transfer means you carry the risk of a missed connection.
• Read the baggage rules for each leg, since allowances can differ between the carriers on your itinerary.
• Confirm which travel document the airline asks for on a domestic flight, and carry the same one you booked with.
• Compare the months on the price calendar and treat January as your benchmark for a low fare.
• Leave a comfortable gap at the connecting airport, since a tight change on separate tickets leaves you no room.