The flight itself should take about an hour, but with the trip to and from the airports, the luggage and passport controls and the need to arrive before the plane takes off, I would say the travel time between two offices in Amsterdam and London will be at least two hours if not three.
Plenty of people in London have pushing two hour commutes anyway, and City Airport is so quick they don't bother with priority queues. I've stepped out of a Taxi at City and been sitting down in the plane in under 15 minutes, although I wouldn't count on it. If you miss one and have to wait for the next plane the bar does pretty good Eggs Benedict.
That's not my life anymore and I don't actually know the Schiphol end myself, but that's what it's like.
I remember back in 2016 when I woke up after a party, at 2 PM, and my flight was at 3:00. It was going to be my first time flying out of the City, so I immediately assumed I wouldn't even be able to check in my luggage on time. Then I remembered it was a last-minute business airport after all, so checked the check-in cut-off times on BA website and couldn't believe my eyes: 20 minutes before the flight. Managed to pack, get a cab from Dalston, get to the airport, check-in and still had time for a quick "breakfast". The smoothest experience ever, barring the hangover. And the views are astonishing!
I've lived/worked between Amsterdam and London for years.
Eurostar is my clear preference if you can get a straight through train without changing in Brussels. Departs St Pancras at 5:11pm. Travel Standard Premier so you get dinner at your seat at 5:15pm. 4h trip, no changes. Arrive at Ams Central Station at 10:20pm. Arrive at home/hotel by 10:40pm. Slower, but extremely comfortable. And you can work productively all the way.
For travelling in the morning, the 7:25am flight from LCY is good. The smaller airport is much quicker to get through than LHR or LGW.
For the return trip from Amsterdam to London, you do lose a lot of time at Schiphol airport. Flying into LCY makes up for it though, especially if you work in Canary Wharf. I'd typically take 20 mins from plane landing to sitting at my desk.
Can confirm. I used to fly from City to Schiphol on a regular basis, the reality is a 2-3 hour journey on each end once you factor in travel to the airport (even from Docklands), hanging about, security (and this was before 9/11), late flights, and then just getting out of Schiphol into a taxi to start your journey to the financial centre. Amsterdam being "just an hour away" is a complete myth, much like any other flying for business in Europe.
