We are traveling this April to Europe and as we didn't have all our details ironed out when we booked our initial flights, I am now trying to figure out the best way to make a connection in LHR. Our family is scheduled to arrive at LHR at 6:15 a.m. on BA from Washington. We need to book a connecting flight to Amsterdam. Is it better for ease of connection to book another BA flight or does it not make a difference as it will be a separate ticket? I appreciate any guidance as with kids in tow I want to plan as best as possible.
Thank you!
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7250 posts
Self connecting is self connecting, no matter which airlines you are flying. Although an advantage of connecting to another BA flight is that it will (probably) be in the same terminal. But make sure you have enough time between the flights, Heathrow is a huge airport. And even if both flights are in Terminal 5, that is a huge terminal.
If easy is important it would have been better to book a flight to Amsterdam in the first place. But you can also consider just going in to London and spend the first night there before taking the train to Amsterdam the next day.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8241 posts
Does BA charge for changes? I would check with them first, either making a change to the itinerary, or purchasing a separate ticket and having them link the two itineraries (not sure if those are possible)
Second, will you have checked bags? If so, and you can not link the itineraries, that means leaving the secure area, collecting bags, then checking in to re-check bags, a 2-3 hour ordeal possibly.
If you find a flight that looks interesting, go on the Heathrow website https://www.heathrow.com/ and look for "connections" and enter in the details, it will tell you how much of a pain it is. The big factor is if you can stay "airside" or in the secure zone.
Then, as always, two separate tickets carries risk. If you miss your flight due to delays, you have no ticket.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8976 posts
Friendly reminder you will need an UK ETA to transfer at Heathrow now.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7293 posts
Ensure you leave at least 3 hours to make your connection. T5 to T5 will take an hour while T5 to another terminal takes 1.5 hours, and that’s if you’re on one ticket. On separate tickets you’ll need collect your bags and drop them off again (if I’m not mistaken). That will require even more time.
If your flight is late departing or you need to take a shuttle from the plane to the terminal that will cut into your time. The gate will close 30 minutes or so before departure, so that also needs to be taken into consideration.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17595 posts
See if you can change your BA tickets to add the Amsterdam flight. You can call, or try to do it online. I believe there is a $55 per ticket change fee but it may depend on what type of ticket you purchased (which fare class).
Posted by
OP
4 posts
I am very grateful for all of this information-thank you! We are not checking bags and are booked in Business Class to London, but hoping to book regular Economy to Amsterdam. I will give BA a call to see if we can switch the tickets so we can have as seamless a connection as may be possible (though far from guaranteed). If this doesn't work, I will take into account all of the wonderful info you all provided. Thank you again!
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Sadly we are stuck with our original flights from IAD to LHR as the price has gone up significantly and to change the entire flight is too much. So we will self-connect (I think that is the term I saw) and book a separate flight from London to Amsterdam. We fly in on British Airways and while there are BA flights to AMS, they are a lot more expensive and the times are not as good as the KLM flight options. Does anyone know if we have our boarding pass for the KLM flight if there is a way to say airside in the transfer of terminals (I believe BA is into terminal 5 and KLM out of 4) or would this require immigration and going back through security? We will not be checking bags. We can book a connecting BA flight if that is a lot easier, I just thought I would check as I see lots of different info on these forums. I have not flown through LHR for over 20 years so I appreciate any guidance.
Thank you again!
Posted by
Oxford, United Kingdom
5488 posts
If you read the official Heathrow Airport website it now says that self-connection requires immigration and land side transfers. In practice you should be allowed to do an airside transfer if you only have hand luggage and you are in possession of boarding cards for your onwards flight. You will go through security in T4 whatever - the UK like the USA doesn't take on trust any other country's security.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
34320 posts
BA flights - including yours - will use T5, terminal 5, in the far west of the airport. KLM uses T4, which is completely isolated on the far southeast side of the airport. Self-connections between T5 and T4 are made by free journeys on Heathrow Express or Elizabeth Line from the end of the line to T2/T3, near the old entrance to the airport (there is no longer a T1), and then change to an Elizabeth Line train to the end of the other branch at T4. Each of those legs has a train every 15 minutes.
Here is the official map of those connections. https://www.heathrow.com/content/dam/heathrow/web/common/documents/transport/Heathrow-free-travel-map.pdf