Driver aged 21+
The main driver must be at least 21. For our Premium class and Vans, the minimum age is 25.
One-way, done properly
Choose a London pickup, drive to your airport at your own pace, drop the keys and walk to your gate. No depot queues, no return journey, and — unlike the big rental names — no one-way fee. Here is exactly how it works, and why it costs less.
No one-way fee
Free cancellation up to 24h
24/7 roadside
Four simple steps
From your front door to your gate
Booking a one-way car with Waylaid takes a couple of minutes. The hard part — repositioning the car afterwards — is the bit we have designed away. Here is the whole journey.
1
Choose your route
Pick up from any of our 10 London hubs — Holborn, King's Cross, Shoreditch, Canary Wharf, Victoria, Stratford, Hammersmith, Battersea, Croydon or Wembley — and choose your destination airport: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City or Southend. We show your fixed one-way price up front.
2
Pick your car & time
Choose the class that suits the trip — a nippy City car for two with cabin bags, a 7-seater MPV for the whole family, or a Premium saloon for a client run. Set your pickup date and time, add any extra drivers, and confirm. It is yours for the journey.
3
Drive one-way, your pace
Collect the keys at your London hub and go. It is a whole car, so the schedule is yours — stop for coffee, run an errand, swing by the office or pick someone up on the way. Unlimited mileage on one-way hires means no nervous glances at the odometer.
4
Drop the keys & go
Pull in at the airport desk, hand over the keys and walk straight to your gate — no return leg, no parking faff, no shuttle bus from a far-flung depot. We take it from there and re-rent it to an arriving traveller. You are already checking in.
The economics
Why we can ditch the one-way fee
Conventional rental firms lose money when you drop a car somewhere new — so they charge you a punitive surcharge. Waylaid is built the other way round, and the saving comes straight back to you.
When you leave a hire car at a different location, the rental company has to get it back to where it is needed. That means paying a driver to make the empty return trip — a costly "deadhead" repositioning run of fuel, time and wages. Rivals recover that with one-way fees, typically £50–£150 on top of the hire.
Waylaid specialises in the one direction our fleet already needs to go: from across London into the airports, where rental demand is highest. You drive the route our cars need to travel anyway — so we skip the most expensive part of a one-way hire, and hand you the saving.
- No repositioning cost passed on — you make the move rivals pay drivers to make, so there is nothing to surcharge.
- Double utilisation — the car earns on your outbound leg, then is re-rented straight away to arriving airport travellers.
- Convenience-premium pricing — far below rivals' one-way fees, often less than a one-way taxi, for a whole car and your own schedule.
- B2B volume keeps it predictable — corporate travel, relocation and fleet deals smooth demand and keep rates stable.
In plain English: you drive the route our fleet already needs to go, so we skip the costly repositioning rivals charge you for — and hand you the saving.
The repositioning, reversed
Rivals pay to move cars back. We let you move them forward — to exactly where the next traveller wants one.
Your London hub
Your airport
One paid leg in, the direction we want. No empty leg back. That deleted cost is your saving.
£0
One-way fee
£3.2m
Saved vs rivals' fees
47,000+
One-way journeys
What's included
One fair price, with the essentials built in
No drip-pricing, no surprises at the desk. Every Waylaid one-way hire comes with the things that actually matter — and the headline omission is the one-way fee itself.
Always part of the price
- Insurance — collision damage waiver (CDW) and theft protection, excess reducible.
- Unlimited mileage on every one-way hire — drive the route that suits you.
- The airport drop — leaving the car at the airport desk is included, not extra.
- No one-way fee — the surcharge rivals add (£50–£150) is simply £0 here.
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before pickup — plans change, that's fine.
- 24/7 roadside assistance on every hire, every day of the year.
- Additional drivers welcome — add named drivers free of charge.
- Clean, recent vehicles — a modern fleet, 38% electric or hybrid.
No hidden extras
What you won't be charged for
We price the whole job up front. The line that usually stings on a one-way booking — the surcharge for dropping the car somewhere new — doesn't exist with us.
£0
One-way fee
38%
Electric or hybrid fleet
4.8/5
From 2,400+ reviews
6
London airports served
Before you book
What you'll need to drive with us
Sensible, standard requirements — no surprises at the desk. Have these ready and collection takes a couple of minutes.
Licence held 12+ months
A full driving licence, valid in the UK and held for at least 12 months. Bring it to collection.
ID + a card in your name
Photo ID and a payment card in the driver's name for the booking and refundable deposit.
Extra drivers, free
Sharing the drive? Add additional drivers to the booking at no charge — just bring their licence too.
Tip: not sure your car class fits the age rule, or driving on a non-UK licence? Check the details on our FAQ page or talk to our team before you book — we're happy to confirm.
How it stacks up
Waylaid vs a taxi vs a rival one-way hire
Indicative London-to-airport prices for a hatchback. A taxi is one trip with no car at the other end; a rival one-way hire adds a hefty surcharge. Waylaid undercuts both — a whole car, all your luggage, your own schedule, no one-way fee.
| Route (hatchback, from) | London taxi / minicab | Rival one-way (hire + fee) | Waylaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| London → Heathrow (LHR) | ~£60 | £135 | £29 |
| London → Gatwick (LGW) | ~£105 | £185 | £39 |
| London → Stansted (STN) | ~£100 | £175 | £39 |
| London → Luton (LTN) | ~£90 | £165 | £35 |
| London → London City (LCY) | ~£55 | £110 | £25 |
| London → Southend (SEN) | ~£115 | £195 | £45 |
Figures are indicative and for comparison only. Rivals typically add a one-way surcharge of £50–£150 on top of the base hire; Waylaid's price already includes the one-way move, insurance and unlimited mileage, with no one-way fee. See live prices on the pricing page.
Common questions
A few quick answers
The things travellers ask most before their first one-way hire. Plenty more on the full FAQ.
Yes — genuinely £0. Because you drive the car in the direction our fleet already needs to go (from London into the airport), we skip the costly repositioning that forces rivals to charge a £50–£150 one-way surcharge. The price you see already includes the one-way move, insurance and unlimited mileage.
At the Waylaid desk at your destination airport — Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City or Southend. Airport desks are open 5am–11pm. You hand over the keys and walk to departures; there's no shuttle from a distant depot and no return journey to make. Exact desk locations are confirmed in your booking and on the locations page.
Absolutely — it's your car for the hire. Stop for coffee, run an errand, drop someone at the office or take a detour. One-way hires come with unlimited mileage, so there's no penalty for the route you choose, as long as you reach the airport desk by your drop-off time.
You can cancel free of charge up to 24 hours before pickup. Need to amend dates, times or vehicle class? Manage it from your booking or give us a call on 020 3984 2200 — and if anything goes wrong on the road, 24/7 roadside assistance is included on every hire.
Ready to skip the one-way fee?
Pick your London pickup and your airport, choose a car, and get a fixed one-way quote in seconds — insurance and the airport drop included.