Thrifty air travellers are able to skip a new hike in fares on train routes to Heathrow Airport.
Off-peak fares on trains and the Tube linking central London with Heathrow airport have suddenly been scrapped as of Sunday.
Commuters taking the new Elizabeth line through the central zone to London's busiest airport will be charged £12.80, up from £10.80, while those on the Piccadilly line will pay £5.50, up from £3.50.
However, several online blogs have now found a cheaper alternative for budget-conscious travellers.
In order to sidestep the 57% fare increase on the Piccadilly Line all you have to do is take a few extra minutes and plan out your route.
When travelling from central London on the dark blue line, get off at Hatton Cross - one stop before Heathrow - and tap out at the barriers.
Then tap back in and catch the next tube to the West London travel hub.
The same trick can be used on the Elizabeth Line by hopping off at Hayes and Harlington Station, tapping out and then in again, and boarding the next train.
Doing so can save £3 compared to a non-stop trip to the airport.
Transport blogger Diamond Geezer revealed the trick and described such "penny pinching" as increasingly a necessity now that we "we no longer live in normal times.".
According to the Crossrail website, Elizabeth Line services from Paddington, in central London, to Heathrow Airport will 'run every 30 minutes', with journeys taking roughly 35 minutes each way.
By way of comparison, taking the Piccadilly line from Piccadilly Circus to Heathrow Terminal 1, 2 and 3 takes 47 minutes.
Fares on the Heathrow Express, which is the UK’s most expensive railway per mile, are unaffected.
The standard single fare, bought online, is £25 – though advance purchase tickets are available for as little as £5.50.
As of yesterday the fee for an Oyster card will also increase for the first time since 2011, from £5 to £7, TfL has said.
The increases are expected to generate an additional £27 million per year and support TfL's target to achieve "financially sustainable operations" by April 2023, according to the operator.
The rise in prices means that Heathrow is more in line with other London airports in terms of the cost to travel there.
Due to the cut price fare of the Piccadilly Line during off-peak hours, the West London airport has long been one of the cheapest and easiest to get to in the UK.
Transport for London (TfL) said the removal of off-peak discounts is a result of conditions imposed by the Department for Transport - led by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps - as part of a £1.2 billion funding package agreed last week.
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