I love airports, but don’t necessarily love getting to them. London has six different airports, and two that are notoriously difficult to get to are London Luton and London Stansted Airport, neither of which are actually in London. Luton is a half-hour train ride away from St. Pancras station (a 22-minute ride to Luton Airport Parkway followed by a 4-minute DART train), whereas Stansted is the furthest away, involving a 52-minute train ride to Liverpool Street. Stansted is remarkably close to Cambridge so is popular with residents there, though the same can’t be said if you live in London.
Well, there’s now a new way to get from London to Stansted, which could cut commute times significantly if you live in certain parts of London. While it’s cheaper than the Stansted Express in most cases, particularly if you’re booking roundtrip, the price difference isn’t too different from the Stansted Express if you’re booking one-way or have a railcard.
What is Flibco?
Flibco is a Luxembourgian company that solely manages bus transportation to and from airports. The company focuses on service to low-cost airports that are comparatively far away from the city they serve – for example, they began operations in 2006 serving Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (famously closer to Luxembourg than Frankfurt, making a 2h 10m bus journey between the airport and the city), and connect Milan-Bergamo, Turin-Caselle and Brussels-Charleroi airports to their respective cities as well. The company also runs a couple of inter-city bus journeys from airports – they run from Pisa Airport to the city of Florence, as well as from Charleroi to other destinations throughout Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Luxembourg.
The company prides itself in data-driven, AI-backed operations, which help dictate its timetables and frequencies. I use data and AI a lot in my work, though doubt that they are specifically an industry leader in that category.
On April 1, 2025, Flibco began UK operations, connecting London Stansted and Stratford/Liverpool Street (both in London). They operate as competition to National Express buses, touting a travel time of 40 minutes (as opposed to 50), as well as being cheaper. However, National Express is cheaper if you’re booking roundtrip, or if you have a Coachcard.
Flibco Buses Cost and Booking
By far the most economical way to book Flibco is to book roundtrip. If you’re flying in and out of Stansted, you’ll be able to get a roundtrip ticket for £18.98 (HK$200), compared to £25/HK$263 on the Stansted Express with a railcard or £38/HK$400 without. It consistently costs the same to go to both Stratford and Liverpool Street stations.
Meanwhile, if you’re only booking one-way, the cost is £14 (HK$147), compared to £16.65 (HK$175) on the Stansted Express with a railcard (£25/HK$263 without).
Don’t make the same mistake like I did and book at an airport desk – my ticket cost £16 (HK$168), so it’s cheaper to book online compared to at the airport. So this service is by far cheapest if you know the dates you’re flying into and out of Stansted, and more worth it than the Stansted Express if you don’t have a railcard – likely you if you’re not based in the UK. You also won’t be able to take advantage of the discounted round-trip fares if you’re not flying into the same airport you’re flying out of – for example, if you’re flying out of Stansted, but back into Luton.
My experience using Flibco from Stansted to Stratford
After getting my slightly overpriced bus ticket, the desk agent pointed me to go one floor downstairs, and head outside to catch the bus. The initial signage to head downstairs isn’t very clear, and you just need to find the escalator that heads down to the bus terminal.
Escalator towards Flibco buses at Stansted Airport
Once you get down to the bottom level though, it’s impossible to miss the Flibco bus signage, which will point you all the way towards where the buses are parked.
Flibco buses
My ticket was scanned ahead of my 9:30 PM bus, and my carry-on was placed underneath the belly of the bus.
Flibco bus at Stansted
The buses are quite large with a lot of capacity – the below picture was taken from halfway back, given that the first half of the coach had a few passengers seated. I’d say that my bus had around 10-15 people on.
Flibco bus interior
The seats are comfortable, and had a generous amount of recline.
Flibco bus recline
There were USB-A power ports as well, though (perhaps disappointingly?) no USB-C power ports.
Flibco bus USB power ports
There’s even a tray table that flips down from the front.
Flibco bus tray table
There’s even a footrest too, making this rival some premium economy products (on planes) out there.
Flibco bus bicycle footrest
The bus ride took around 45 minutes to Stratford, and arrived around five minutes late – this was on a 9:30 PM bus with no traffic along the way, so I’d imagine traffic could impact timings a little more during rush hour. It’s unlikely you’ll run into a crazy amount of traffic between Stansted and Stratford on the M11 for most of the day, though obviously traffic will be significantly impacted from Stratford to Liverpool Street.
While the cabin lights were dimmed, it’s worth noting that they kept a Spotify playlist playing pop music (e.g. Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero) throughout the duration of the ride, so you might struggle to get some sleep. Clearly they also hadn’t invested in Spotify Premium either, as you had ads pop up from time to time.
Cabin lights dimmed for landing on Flibco
The bus parked at Stratford just short of the main Tube station entrance by Westfield at around 10:15 PM, around a minute’s walk away. If it’s any worth, the driver doesn’t take your bags out of the baggage hold for you – I did it myself.
Flibco bus at Stratford
I’m based in Canary Wharf, so it was very easy for me to get home from Stratford. I’d actually recommend getting home from Stratford if you’re travelling during rush hour, since traffic can be very congested on the way to Liverpool Street.
Conclusion: Flibco Buses to Stansted
A new option appeared for transporting between London and Stansted Airport last month, and it’s a good and efficient option with comfortable buses. The journey can be significantly cheaper if you plan a roundtrip to and from Stansted, particularly if you don’t live in London, where there’s a cost saving compared to taking the Stansted Express without a railcard.
Have you taken Flibco between Stansted and Stratford/Liverpool Street before? How was your experience?