London to Pearson & the airports · 2026-09-21 · 8-minute read
Billy Bishop airport from London, Ontario is a 200-kilometre run of about two and a quarter hours - the 401 east, the 427 south and the Gardiner Expressway to the foot of Bathurst Street on Toronto's waterfront - at a LondonLimo.net planning figure of $330-380 plus HST for a business sedan and $380-430 for an executive SUV. Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) is on the island across the Western Gap, reached by a pedestrian tunnel or a ninety-second ferry from the mainland at Eireann Quay, and it is Porter's home with Air Canada alongside: Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, the Maritimes, Boston, New York, Chicago, Washington and the US east on turboprops and small jets. For a London traveller it is worth the fifteen minutes past Pearson when the flight is Porter's, the destination is in the east, or a downtown Toronto meeting is on the way; the Billy Bishop page has the terminal, and this article the run and the cases.
Where the airport is, and how the run ends
The 401 east to the 427, south to the Gardiner, east along the waterfront and off at Bathurst Street to Eireann Quay, where the mainland terminal building holds the check-in for some flights, the tunnel's elevators and the ferry dock; the chauffeur drops at the quay's curb and the passenger takes the tunnel's escalators and moving walkways under the Western Gap to the island terminal in six minutes, or the ferry in two. The Toronto destination page covers the waterfront and the downtown for a meeting on the way.
| From London to YTZ | Distance | Time | Sedan | Executive SUV | Sprinter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown, Old North, Old South | 200 km | 2 h 15 | $330-380 | $380-430 | $590-690 |
| Byron, Westmount, Lambeth | 210 km | 2 h 25 | $340-390 | $390-440 | $600-700 |
| Compare: London to Pearson | 190 km | 2 h | $295-345 | $345-395 | $545-645 |
LondonLimo.net planning ranges before HST, one way.
What flies from Billy Bishop
Porter's network from its home base - Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, Halifax, Moncton, St. John's, Thunder Bay, Boston, New York's Newark, Chicago's Midway, Washington's Dulles and the seasonal Florida points - and Air Canada's Ottawa and Montreal shuttles; the airport's site has the map. The aircraft are Dash 8 turboprops and small jets, the flights are short, and the terminal is quiet; a passenger is through security in ten minutes and at the gate in five more.
When Billy Bishop beats Pearson for a London traveller
When the flight is Porter's to Ottawa, Montreal or the Maritimes and Pearson's alternative connects or costs more; when the traveller has a downtown Toronto meeting on the way and the Toronto day is booked by the hour with the airport at the end; when the destination is Boston, Newark or Midway and the small airport's speed matters more than the fifteen minutes; and when the traveller simply prefers a terminal where the walk from the curb to the gate is ten minutes. Pearson wins for everything else, and the airports comparison article has the table.
The timing rule
Ninety minutes before a domestic flight and two hours before a US one at the island terminal, plus ten minutes for the tunnel, plus the two-and-a-quarter-hour run, plus the Gardiner's traffic and a winter margin: a 9 a.m. Porter flight to Ottawa is a 4:50 a.m. pickup from downtown London and 4:30 in January. The Gardiner is the run's variable - clear at 6 a.m., solid at 4 p.m. - and the chauffeur reads it from London.
The pickup on the return
The chauffeur meets an arrival on the mainland side of the tunnel at Eireann Quay, where the tunnel's escalators and the ferry deliver passengers to the quay's hall, with a name board and the flight tracked; the car is at the quay's curb. A US arrival clears CBSA at the island terminal before the tunnel. The airport pickup guide has the procedure and the Billy Bishop page the quay.
The downtown Toronto day with the flight at the end
A London executive with a 10 a.m. meeting on Bay Street and a 4 p.m. Porter flight to Montreal books the day by the hour - the pickup at 7 a.m., the meeting, lunch, and Eireann Quay at 2:30 - and the Toronto page and the hourly page price it; the chauffeur waits in the city and the car is the office between meetings.
Winter: the 401 and the Gardiner
The 401's snow belt at Woodstock and Cambridge is the same as the Pearson run's; the Gardiner in a Toronto snowstorm is a crawl; the desk leaves earlier by rule, and the winter article has the discipline. The tunnel and the ferry run in all weather; the turboprops are delayed by de-icing like any aircraft.
Three Billy Bishop runs, as they went
An executive to Ottawa, Tuesday, Porter at 8 a.m. A sedan from Old North at 3:50 a.m.; Eireann Quay at 6:05; the tunnel, security and the gate by 6:30; the Gardiner was empty.
A lawyer with a Bay Street meeting and a 5 p.m. flight to Montreal. By the hour from 7 a.m.; the meeting at 10; lunch; the quay at 3:30; the Gardiner at 3 p.m. was the reason for the early drop.
A student home from Halifax, Sunday 9:20 p.m. Met at the quay's hall; the Gardiner and the 401 empty; Western's residence at 11:45.
Booking it
Enter Billy Bishop airport on the reservation engine with the flight number, and the fixed rate from any London address appears; the Billy Bishop page has the quay and the tunnel, and the rates page the figures.
Three questions the desk is asked about Billy Bishop
Is the tunnel accessible with bags and a stroller? Yes - elevators at both ends, moving walkways, and a six-minute walk; the ferry is the alternative and takes a wheelchair without difficulty. Does the Gardiner make the run unpredictable? At 4 p.m. on a weekday, yes, by half an hour; the desk sets the pickup for the hour and the chauffeur reads the Gardiner from London. Can we drop at the island terminal directly? No - vehicles do not cross to the island; the quay is the drop, and the airport's site has the tunnel's map.
Eireann Quay, in detail
The quay's mainland building at the foot of Bathurst Street holds the tunnel's entrance with its elevators, some airlines' check-in, a small hall where arriving passengers emerge from the tunnel and the ferry, and a curb outside where the chauffeur drops and meets; the Billy Bishop page has the quay and the Toronto page the waterfront around it.
The Toronto day with the flight at the end, worked through
A 7 a.m. pickup in Old North; Bay Street at 9:15; the meeting until noon; lunch in Yorkville at 12:30; a second meeting at 2; Eireann Quay at 3:30 for a 5 p.m. Porter flight to Montreal; the chauffeur waited through the day and the car was the office between meetings; by the hour at $95-115 for a sedan, and the hourly page explains the day's arithmetic against two fixed rates.
The Porter network, for the London traveller
Ottawa and Montreal several times a day; Quebec City, Halifax, Moncton, St. John's, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie; Boston, Newark, Chicago Midway, Washington Dulles; and Florida in winter; the aircraft are Dash 8-400 turboprops on most routes and small jets on some, the flights are short and the terminal is quick. Air Canada's Ottawa and Montreal shuttles share the island. The airport's site has the current map.
The fare, and what it includes
A planning figure of $330-380 for a sedan, $380-430 for an SUV and $590-690 for a Sprinter, one way, with the chauffeur's time both ways, fuel, the 407 if used, the Gardiner's tolls where any apply, the meet at the quay, the wait and the gratuity inside; the rates page has every class, and the cost guide the same logic for Pearson.
Booking checklist for a Billy Bishop run
The flight number; the London address; the passengers and the bags; a downtown meeting on the way, with its address and time; the return flight; the account or the card; and a phone number for the texts. The reservation engine takes Billy Bishop airport as an address.
The winter return through the tunnel
A Porter arrival from Halifax in January emerges from the tunnel's escalators into the quay's hall, the chauffeur is at the hall's rail with a board, the car is at the curb with the cabin warm, and the Gardiner and the 401 are driven at the road's speed; the winter article has the season and the Pearson to London article the same return from the larger airport.
A worked example: an executive to Ottawa and back in a day
A 3:50 a.m. sedan from Old North to Eireann Quay for Porter's 8 a.m. to Ottawa; a day of meetings; Porter's 6 p.m. back, landing at 7:10; the chauffeur at the quay's hall at 7:20; Old North at 9:45. Two fixed rates on the corporate account, and the day's alternative - Pearson's Air Canada flights with the 401 run - would have been forty minutes longer at each end for a fare the travel desk found higher that week.
The run's stages, briefly
The 401 to the 427, an hour and fifty; the 427 south to the Gardiner, ten; the Gardiner east to Bathurst Street, ten to forty by the hour; Eireann Quay, two. The Toronto page has the waterfront and the hour-by-hour article the 401's stages.
The City of Toronto's waterfront, and the drop
Bathurst Street's foot is a busy corner with the streetcar loop, the ferry dock and the quay's curb, and the chauffeur knows the drop-off bay; a passenger with a stroller or a wheelchair is dropped at the quay's door and the tunnel's elevator is inside. The Billy Bishop page has the quay's layout.
The desk's rule of thumb for Billy Bishop
Porter to Ottawa, Montreal, the Maritimes and the US east from the island when the fare and the hour beat Pearson's; Pearson for everything else; the island when a downtown Toronto meeting is on the way; and the travel desk to price both. A Billy Bishop booking on the reservation engine drops at Eireann Quay and the airport pickup guide has the return meet; the rates page has the fare beside Pearson's, and the fifteen minutes past the 427 are the whole difference in the run.
Booking it, in one line
The reservation engine prices Billy Bishop from any London address with the drop at Eireann Quay and the meet at the quay's hall on the return; the desk adds the downtown meeting and the travel desk the Porter fare.
The Sprinter to the island
A delegation flying Porter to Ottawa together books the Sprinter at $590-690 for fourteen - $42-49 a head - dropped at Eireann Quay with the bags on trolleys for the tunnel; the group transportation page covers the manifest and the island terminal takes a group of fourteen without difficulty.
