My husband and I are flying from Houston to LHR, arriving at 11:45am. We have a separate ticket to go from LHR to BRU, departing at 1:40pm. Both flights are BA but we purchased them separately. Both legs arrive/depart from Terminal 5. We are not planning to check any luggage, and will have everything with us.
Is 2 hours going to give us enough time to make the second flight? The LHR website recommends 60 minutes, but I wanted to get confirmation from the pros on the forum.
The LHR website recommends 60 minutes
I think 60 minutes minimum refers to connecting flights http://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections
That doesn't apply if you've arranged your own flights, which is what you have done.
Is 2 hours enough - if everything goes smoothly it might be. Or it might not be. What's your plan if it doesn't? Personally I would allow longer than 2 hours simply because all the cost and hassle would fall on me if the incoming flight is delayed.
There's no right answer (other than not doing this in the first place).
Assuming your inbound flight from Houston is reasonably on time, you should be fine. just follow the purple "flight connections" signs. Younwill jot go through immigration/passport control. It younwill pass through security. You can put your flights into the Heathrow site and see the steps:
http://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections
Even though both flights are gated at T5, that terminal is divided into 5A, B, and C. Depending on the actual gates,, you may have to transfer from one to another---there is a connecting train, and also an underground walkway. if the gate for you BRU flight is not posted when you disembark, you may want to consult the BA transfer desk and ask what you should do.
And make sure you have your boarding pass for the second flight.
you should be fine. just follow the purple "flight connections
This isn't a connection.
Have you talked with BA about linking these two flights into one itinerary? That would guarantee a ride to BRU even if you couldn't make the flight you purchased.
No, it technically not a "connection" but it works. We have done it several times ( although with a longer interval between the flights).
Right, it's technically not a connection. We found a crazy-good deal round trip from Houston to London so that was booked before we started planning the rest of our trip....that's the reason for the separate tickets.
I'll try calling BA to see if they can link them, good idea.
Don't forget that there is 'conformance' to satisfy at T5 which means entering security at the latest by 35 minutes before departure time and getting to the gate 20 minutes before departure time. If you fail one of these you will be automatically offloaded. Not really a problem if you arrive on time, but something to factor in if late.
I would guess it will work. But, we did it once and will never do it again. Our flight was late and we just barely made the other flight. I will have to say, we had to switch to a different terminal which added to the time. The stress wasn't worth it.
If your inbound flight arrives on time, you will be fine. If not and you miss your second flight, you probably will have to buy a new ticket to Brussels.
BA changed their policy last year with regard to separate tickets:
http://www.britishairways.com/assets/pdfs/updates/oneworld-through-check-in.pdf
Not sure if it's something you have to do at the time of purchase, but we had a BA flight in April that we purchased sep from our Air Canada flight. We had to change terminals...we had 3-ish hrs (no checked luggage, so no passport line to wait in) and had plenty of time.
When we bought our BA tickets, I paid an extra fee (I think it was $25 per ticket, but this was way back in Dec, so not 100% sure) that allowed us to make changes to our flight up to an hour before, so if our AC flight had been late, as long as we could get in touch with BA an hour before, we could have changed the flight, I guess with no extra charges. Of course, that's dependent on cell/wifi access. It may be something for you to look in to. I wish I could remember the particulars...
Just a quickie...I was having a private convo with someone who was changing planes at LHR (like we did to AMS) and this was what she said...
"We booked a plane on BA with the Plus so you can change it on the same day as long as it's more than an hour before the flight"
Thanks Nicole, I'll look into that. We've already purchased both tickets, so it'll depend on if we can add that to our ticket after-the-fact.
@Continental - they aren't checking luggage, so don't have to worry about waiting/rechecking...
And with no bags to pick up and re-check, they do not have to go through immigration. Just the Heathrow security.
I am not aware of the BA same-day flight change option mentioned above, but you could look into that. If it applies, there are later flights to BRU that you could change to if your Houston flight is running late.
Although the 'plus' facility comes with the fare with checked bags, so may not be so lucky ...
Hmmm...we didn't check any bags...we were forced to gate check them tho, because 'the plane was quite full'. No...there was plenty of overhead room since we were at the back. Not impressed. At all. Maybe the $25 was for checking a bag, but I bought it more as insurance in case our first flight was late.
BA has two levels of Economy Fare, , Hand Baggage ONLY Which is cheap and the other one which includes a checked bag. I didn't realize it was also a flexible/changeable ticket but that is good if the OP bought that.
If not, BA probably won't let them change it without a change fee---but it would be worth it if that's not too much.
In case anyone else was wondering about BA (British Air) Plus...
Just wanted to post an update - there was...on a diff thread...someone asking about connecting flights at LHR on diff tix. We did a lot of private messages back and forth and finally friended each other on FB.
The tickets they got cost 10GPB more than economy and allowed for a checked bag. Also allowed them to change the flight on the same day (of course if spots are available) with no charge. They booked a flight at 2:40, 7.5 hrs after they were due to arrive. Well, she messaged me this morning to LMK that their flight from SFO actually arrived early and they were able to switch their flight to one at 11:45...they we just getting ready to board. Great option to have if you book a long layover...
July 14 Edit to add - they were flying LHR to AMS, so lots of flights usually thru the day...she said they just went to the check in desk but supposedly you can do it thru the BA app. Someone had told them not to check in for the BA flight beforehand, as it could make it harder to change it...not sure how true that is.
When you follow the signs for flight connections, you will arrive at a location where travelers are split into two groups. The first group are those connecting to a UK domestic flight and the second group is for international connections. Key to quick processing will be to have the boarding pass for the 2nd flight in hand and ready to show. Also, if time gets tight, bring this to the attention of the airport workers managing the line. They will expedite people to the head of the line if necessary to help them catch their flight.
My other hint is to always be moving closer to the gate, even if you don't know the specific gate yet. Heathrow likes to build suspense. First the monitor will tell you which terminal (a,b,or c). Eventually, it tells you the gate number. You can at least move to the correct terminal so when the fairly last minute announcement of the gate is made you are in close proximity.
My final warning has to do with security. I had filled up my water bottle after security at my first airport and forgotten to dump it before going through security at Heathrow. Mistake! They wouldn't let me just throw it out or dump it. I was past the point where they had facilities for that. It was drink it down or go back to the end of the line and start over. 1 liter in one minute....I did it.. Make sure there is nothing in your carryon that will cause it to be flagged for secondary screening as this can add significant time to the security screening process.
Also, if time gets tight, bring this to the attention of the airport workers managing the line. They will expedite people to the head of the line if necessary to help them catch their flight.
Will they still assist if we have separate tickets for our second leg, or do they only offer assistance for true connections?
They may help Katie...we had something (well not similar exactly) requiring that kind of attention when we were flying from Nice to London. At the check in desk, they told us term B, but when we went to look, there was passport control and we hadn't recalled ever having to pass thru passport control before, so we hung out in term A. I'm sure we had, just couldn't recall, as we are used to passport when arriving in Europe, but not flying OUT from an airport once past security - I know there is a good reason why, and we were very stupid that we didn't just go right to B, no one's fault but our own. We even arrived 2 hrs ahead.
When the gate # came up (about 25-30 min before), of course it said B, so we hustled over, and then it dawned on us that we did have to stand in the passport check - and the line was literally halfway down the airport. There had to be 300 people in line - and two people on the desk. We panicked. Got in the line, found an assistant who took us up to try and get us in at the front, told that we couldn't...we are crapping ourselves for being so stupid. And sadly, we weren't the only ones - there were two women and a guy who did the same thing we did. We were kinda huddled together in line and the assistant said they'd be back. About 10 min before the flight was to depart, the took us all up an let us cut in about 15 people back. We got on the plane and what was funny was the pilot apologized for the flight delay on the intercom and mentioned the long wait at the passport check, so they were holding the plane. And we weren't even the last people on the plane, about a half dozen more got on after us.
So the best you could do should the situation arise is find an assistant and hope they can expedite you thru.
No luck adding the BA Plus to your tix?
No luck adding the BA Plus to your tix?
I don't see that option anywhere. There's an option to upgrade my ticket from Economy to Premium (for $423/person!) but that's it.
OK, maybe it you have to choose it when you make your initial ticket purchase.
The people at flight connections only care about your ongoing flight. The two tickets thing will be completely a non issue for passport control/security as long as you have your boarding pass for an onward flight. The two tickets only become an issue if you miss the 2nd flight due to a delay on the first. Then it matters as far as rebooking your flight.
I often make connections at terminal 5. While I prepare for the worst by having a connection time of 2 1/2-3 hours, I find I'm through security and back into the departure section of Terminal 5 within an hour. So unless something goes wrong, you should be fine. And considering it is the less expensive flight you are trying to catch, fewer worries. I wouldn't want to risk this with my international flight being the second flight...nonetheless, you should be fine.
I'd like to add that I'd wait for the gate number before heading toward a, b, or c gates. If you head for the initially indicated gates and then they totally change the gate letter, which they do per my information and, I believe, their announcements warn of this as well, it might take too long to get back to Terminal 5 and then out to the correct gate.
Depending upon how long immigration/security lines are you may or may not make it. If you don't have global entry, I suggest you get it - we were able to do expedited security through LHR with Global Entry so that might save you some time.
We did something similar last June. We bought the initial ticket and then decided to book a second flight to Ireland to keep all the travel in the same day. Sounded good in theory and it worked out fine, but there was some stress as we had checked luggage and a terminal change. It was all booked on BA but the 2nd flight was operated by Aer Lingus. Our caveat was we were towards the front of the plane, but we got off, through immigration, grabbed luggage, changed Terminal, checked in for 2nd flight, and through security, in about an hour. We also took off on schedule, so that helped.
Thanks Patty, that makes me feel a little better. What's on our side is not having to worry about checked bags, not having to change terminals, and we'll have already checked in for our 2nd flight. Fingers crossed everything is on time!
Thanks everyone for the advice, assistance, etc. I really appreciate it!
How exactly does Global Entry, a program offered by the US government to travelers returning to the US from foreign countries, help you going through immigration in London? London Heathrow is not part of the US. They know nothing of Global Entry at that airport. I have had Global Entry forever and have never gotten preferential treatment at Heathrow because I was a member of that.
If you fly business or first on some airlines, they have arranged for you to get a pass to go through the priority lane at Heathrow. Air Canada does that and that is why I prefer flying them into Heathrow over most US based airlines. But this is not related to any US program you belong to and the priority pass is given to everyone on the flight in that class of service. It is true that the UK will offer their equivalent of Global Entry to Global Entry members who fly into UK airports often enough, but that is an extra application process, another interview, and a lot more money than Global Entry costs.
Sasha - this is the BA Plus offerings...
Plus
Plus fares offer a suite of benefits to make your journey simpler and easier. You can take more with you, choose where you sit and make free flight changes on the day of departure.
Plus fares include a generous checked baggage allowance on top of your hand baggage allowance. You can choose your seat for free from 48 hours before you fly, and if your plans change last minute (a meeting ends early, or you want to stay longer) you can change your flight for free on the day of travel, up to one hour before your scheduled departure time. Changes at any other time can be made for a fee + the fare difference. Just make the change via ba.com, the British Airways app or via your travel agent. Conditions apply.
Good to know---thanks!
