Emirates Air Line

Amazing place. Recommended, amazing view, super friendly staff. On a weekend you might have to wait a bit.

I have been on the airline a good few times on my trips to London in good weather and bad and in diffrent lighting conditions.
It’s a spectacular view but also its a really convenient mode of transport when attending events at the Excel. I bought myself a 10 journey ticket to ensure that I got the best value for money at £1.70 a trip.
Well worth a trip even as a one off just to see the view.

As far as touristy things to do in London, this gives the bang for the buck. With an oyster card it’s only £3.5 (£1 extra otherwise). Though the view is different from the London Eye and it’s rather out of the way, the experience is pretty cool as the cable cars zoom up and down.
A few tips:
If you’re a local or have the pleasure of picking when to come, arrive during the downtime and there will be no queue. We went today and the staff was giving each group its own cable car so we didn’t have to share it with anyone.
If you arrive after 7pm, the ride slows down significantly so you can digest the night time view.

Emirates Air Line is definitely worth checking out! If you’re afraid of heights *cough cough* or get motion sickness *cough cough* please don’t let that stop you… Once you enter the carts, all of those ‘feels’ goes away. I would recommend a return trip, as there is not much to do around Royal Victoria or Excel area, unless there is a special convention going on. Very awesome experience with great views!

Was haben Koblenz und London gemeinsam? Antwort: Eine Seilbahn, die für ein Großereignis errichtet wurde und der es seither an regelmäßigen Nutzern mangelt.
Was kann Koblenz von London lernen? Nun, für die Themse-​Überquerung hat man sich von einem zahlungskräftigen Sponsor, der zugleich Namensgeber sein durfte, den Alltagsbetrieb für 10 Jahre garantieren lassen… — was sich insbesondere in jüngerer Zeit als umso cleverere Maßnahme erweist, seit die Pendler von der wetterabhängigen Gondel auf die neue Bahnlinie umgestiegen sind und sich auch das Wachstum im angrenzenden Gewerbegebiet eher in Grenzen hält.
Das Erlebnis !? Ist der schiere Wahnsinn !! Mit der normalen Oyster Card der Verkehrsbetriebe bezahlt der Reisende quasi «im Vorübergehen» und genießt nach minimalem Schlangestehen einen Flug der besonderen Art: Die Anlage ist auf dem neuesten Stand und die Fahrt ist selbst bei Überqueren der Seilträger mehr ein Gleiten, denn das von älteren Modellen bekannte Ruckeln und Holpern.
Für Leute mit Höhenangst ist die Fahrt geradezu ideal zur Überwindung derselben… — mir ging’s danach gleich besser. ;-)
Aus über 60m Höhe genießt der sanft im Wind gewogene Reisende den Ausblick auf die Thames Barrier und schaut überlegen «von oben herab» den Jets beim Landen auf dem City Airport zu.
Mit acht bis zehn Pfund für die Rückfahrkarten vielleicht nicht gerade ein Schnäppchen; aber wie heißt es so schön: Gemeinsam Genießen — unbezahlbar !!

The Emirates Air Line has to be one of London’s best kept secrets. How ‘secret’ can a £60m cable car that played a part in London’s 2012 Olympic games be? Well, surprisingly so. Probably for various reasons: the fact that it’s miles out to the east, and the fact that it doesn’t really go anywhere. North Greenwich may have some attractions, but hop on the Air Line there and prepare to stifle your confusion when you descend into the wind-​swept nothingness that is Royal Victoria. One can understand thus why the initial interest of adventurous Londoners or tourists might quickly morph into ‘can’t be bothered’.
It’s still worth the trek though. Unlike the London Eye, it’s cheap, the views are excellent and I’ve never had to queue. It’s also, clearly, a unique way of travelling and viewing London’s cityscape. And although one’s grand trip will likely end in a hasty march to Royal Victoria’s DLR station for spiriting away to more promising environments, its North Greenwich base lends itself very well to seeing London from another unusual and unfairly forgotten transport method: the Thames Clippers, which adds to the intrepidness of such a jaunt still further.

So I experienced the emirates airline over the weekend and I think it’s worthwhile for a 3.50 one way trip! We had been visiting my cousin in Royal Victoria and decided to take it back over to North Greenwich. It was a sunny day, and the view of the o2, canary wharf and some of london was good. The Royal Victoria side was really quite an ugly view (sorry, it’s true). It literally drops you right beside the o2 stadium which is handy for onward travel/​cinema etc. Didn’t much like the screaming teenagers telling us we were going to die for the duration of the trip, but that’s no fault of the cable car himself :)

You all look like tiny little ants! I shall crush you with my boot! But I can’t because I’m on the Emirates airline.

I think this ride is definitely worth the visit. The view of going over the Thames on a cable car, well you can only imagine, is beautiful!
OK, for you tol hop on one end and arrive on the other is about 3 minutes, but it will be 3 very enjoyable minutes of your life. You will be able to see the horizon along the river, the 02 Arena, and Greenwich Park and neighborhood. If you came in for the ride itself, to have fun and enjoy a nice view it is enough time and well it is also much cheaper than the London Eye and the Shard.
I came here about two times, and both during dusk! There was no line, no waiting and because it drops you off right at the tube (or the DLR on the other side), coming in and out is easy peasy.
If you have an Oyster card, use it. The fare is even cheaper but you must be using in Pay-​As-​You-​Go, if it is a travel card (monthly, or weekly) is not going to accept it.

We had a lovely time (well, 4 minutes) crossing over the Thames with the Emirates Air Line. I actually much prefer this attraction to the London Eye: it’s cheaper, you have nice views, you aren’t trapped in a slow-​moving gondola at a slow speed and there’s pretty much no waiting (now that the Olympics is finished).
I suggest using the Emirates Air Line as a means of transportation when you’re already out an about touring around Canary Wharf. Do combine it with a visit of the O2, a ride on the DLR and a visit to the nearby Crystal (an exhibition of the city of the future).
Make sure to bring your Oyster Card as this will give you speedy access. Nearby public transports are North Greenwich on the O2 or Royal Victoria on the DLR.

I’m scared of heights but didn’t want to disappoint my nephew who came to London and this was one of his must see attractions. Eventually after 30 mins umming and ahhing thought I’d take the plunge. With an oyster card its quite cheap at £3.40 each way. No queue [it was chucking it down] and in a car in under 2 minutes.
I was dreading it more and more and threatened to jump out before the door closed, but then we slowly slid up the cable. The ride is mega smooth. Even at the top of the columns where you’d think there would be a jolt it was smooth. The views weren’t great, it was overcast and the windows covered in rain but it was exhilirating and a great you could see quite far and all around. I’d say I actually ‘enjoyed’ it and would go again, but it does go from somewhere to nowhere.

I think when Boris actually unveiled it last year, I laughed, but that might be because he makes me laugh anyways. He calls it a stunning piece of engineering, it just looks like they’ve just renovated old ski cable cars and done them up pretty. Also, it doesn’t really get you anywhere, uh, useful. The Millenium dome, is not really anything special, and neither is excel, unless you’re specifically going there for a gig, or trade show respectively. Sure, stunning views of the dome, but that’s about it, and then you got the clinical looking isle of dogs area, which really isn’t interesting.
That being said, I appreciat the air ‘line’ pun and it did help me get straight on a main tube line quicker than the dlr. albeit super pricey.

First of all, the name made me laugh a little. Nice.
I had heard of the legendary cable car ever since I moved to London, having it just been built right before then. But I never got there in the summer and then it was too damn cold and bleary to have a fun time across the river.
First nice day, though, and I was off.
You get to the station (it’s impossible to miss, just watch the cars flying in from the sky and follow them) and see the massive queue. Oh yes, you queue. But don’t be put off, it moved very fast. We were in the front in less than 10 minutes, and there were a lot of people ahead of us.
It costs £3.50 to ride and you can use your Oyster card if you’ve got the money. If not, you can top off or buy a ticket at the automatic machines.
Do the queue thing and then get up to the front of the line. You’re ushered into a cable car — a giant metal and glass ball hanging from a wire. Hope you’re not afraid of heights. You sit in there with about five other people (maybe more or less if there are babies and pram along with you) and off you go!
The whole ride takes about five minutes and it is amazing. 360 degrees of windows so you can see all around and the views are amazing: down the river, into Greenwich (depending on which way you’re going I guess), the O2 and so much more. When it ended, I was generally sad.
There’s also a digital map in each car letting you know how far along the track you are… a little strange since it’s a straight line and I could literally see the start and end point out the window during the entire ride, but hey, it’s a bite of technology. Who doesn’t like it?
When you get to the end station, the car actually never stops moving, it just goes very slowly when it comes to the station. So hop off and hope you enjoyed the ride.

This was cool! I am scared of heights, but as long as I didn’t look down I found that I was cool. I was lucky enough to go on a very clear day, so had a good view. And went with my young nieces who loved every minute.

I thought the idea of this was terrible: money that could go to boosting other, much more needed transportation. But, after riding it, I only wish they’d expand this throughout the city. Quiet, fast, and amazing views.
The only reason I didn’t give it five stars is the cost. For only a five minute ride to the Excel Centre, £6+ is a bit steep. It’s similar to the Clipper, but at least that gets you all the way to London Eye from Woolwich. Even a student one-​day travelcard is £5.60.
Nice ride if you are finding you have a free day.

Emirates Air line (The Thames cable car as its known.!) Was the best way to use my oyster card for the first time.
Recently open this summer was open to the public bringing north & south together with Crossing the Thames to connect Greenwich Peninsula and the Royal Docks in just five minutes.
I savoured very moment of this unique and cheap travel experience in London.
On a great clear day can you see for miles!!!

Cost to You: £3.60 with an Oyster card and a few mins queuing
Cost to Emirates: £36 million (less than ¹⁄₇^th of a new Airbus)
Cost to TFL, Boris and the EU (also know as Tax): £24 million
Five minutes of fun to liven up a dull part of London: YES
Viable means of commuting: NO-​ONE COMMUTES BETWEEN O2 AND EXCEL
Shall we build one to entirely replace the Northern Line: HELL YES

London has changed a lot in the last five years, mostly for the better, in preparation for this year’s Summer Olympic Games. The newest addition in the list of changes is the Emirates Air Line, a cable car that connects O2 on the south of the river to the Excel exhibition centre to the north.
It is connected seamlessly to the London transportation network. The pay as you go Oyster cards work at the gates, which makes travel very convenient. I am not sure whether travel cards are accepted or not. There was a long queue at the ticket counter when i visited on the first Saturday that it was open … i didn’t really understand why. This route will almost certainly be used a lot during the Olympics, but given that the price, at £3.20 one-​way, is more than double the tube fare between those points, i am not sure how many people will make a return visit.
The ride is short … only five minutes long. But during this little while, the car rises up to a height of 295 feet above the Thames. This provides breathtaking views of East London and the Canary Wharf skyline.
At least at the very beginning of its life, the operation was quick and efficient, with directions to the two end-​points easily available from both the North Greenwich and Royal Victoria stations (i was lost initially as BBC incorrectly reported that one end of the cable car was near Custom House station). Lets hope that this lasts.
On the whole its a novel addition to London’s transportation network and to the east London skyline. Whether it will prove itself to be financially viable without the millions provided by Emirates remains to be seen.

I went on this yesterday with my friend and we were both really impressed, and if it wasn’t for the negative points (see below) this review would’ve been a five star!
We knew from the website and other people that had gone on the cable car last weekend that you could use the Pay As You Go function on your Oyster (bit annoying for us Season Ticket Holders though so that’s a downside) so we cleverly topped up at Royal Victoria Docks DLR stop, which was where we got off and it was only a few minutes walk to the Emirates Air Line from there and well sign posted — and just follow the crowds!
On arrival, we were greeted by a couple of huge queues which were very confusing and inefficiently run and one staff member trying to explain to the tourist infront of us where to go /​which queue to join and what to do, we were not sure which of the two we felt more sorry for!
The queue we were in moved along pretty quickly, after around 25 minutes I would hazard a guess at, and for a Saturday afternoon we thought this was pretty good and we were soon in our cable car, along with another girl and her bicycle which was a tad annoying as she put it on the side which would’ve been better to have sat on to get the best view and it took up all the space! I guess bicycles (her two friends were in the next car with theirs too!) are allowed as the cable car has been built primarily for commuters but it is a bit annoying.
The views from the cars were stunning, we saw the City skyline, breathtaking views of Canary Wharf and the O2, the Olympic Park, The Shard and even as far as the Crystal Palace mast.
Beware as the journey takes under 5 minutes, probably around 4 or so, so don’t expect anything long but I think it’s worth it and I thought the cost was pretty good too.
I would highly recommend going on the cable car, it’s always fantastic to see London from so many different views and angles.

Incredible fun and cheap to boot !