Following on from my previous thread, it seems an all zones travelcard from
Gatwick (return), even if it does say "FCC only", as it'll be valid on all
overground trains within the Greater London area, so as long as they change
for an FCC (ex-Thameslink - same ****, different name) train at East Croydon
then their tickets should be valid absolutely fine.

They could, of course, get confused (easily done, being Aussie tourists) and
forget to change, and stay on the Victoria train all the way to Gatwick. If
they did do this (providing it wasn't the Gatwick Express, and stopped at
East Croydon). Would there be much chance of them getting a fine for doing
this? I'm thinking the chances are no-one would notice as the ticket
machines at Gatwick wouldn't be able to tell what train they came in on,
leaving the only potential for a fine being if a ticket inspector noticed
they weren't on an FCC train between East Croydon and Gatwick, but
presumably they can excercise a bit of discretion in these matters?

But anyway, it looks like the cheap tickets (£16.60 for 2 adults, 1 kid,
with family railcard - all zones travelcard return from Gatwick) should do
the job fine for the journey from Heathrow to Gatwick via Barons Court,
Victoria, and changing at East Croydon.

Just a couple of questions though:

1. Will the lack of the tickets having been through any ticket machine
before getting on the tube replacement bus at T4 (or tube at Hatton Cross)
cause any problems (as effectively they're using it as a single ticket)?
(Sorry if someone did answer this before!)

2. Will changing from a Southern tran to a FCC train at East Croydon involve
much in the way of stairs?

Cheers,

Peter
--
"For want of the price of tea and a slice, the old man died."