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Reasonable? Flying into Heathrow and then to Nice on the same day.

Hi! We're landing at Heathrow via Icelandair at 11:45 on a Monday in July. We're going to then fly over to Nice and we're considering getting all the travel done on that Monday. I know there can be delays, so would it be a reasonable plan to land and then take a flight out of Heathrow at 17:45 or 20:15 via British Airways? Can someone provide me with some insight on navigating the airport? I am assuming we'd have to collect luggage (yes, we are checking luggage, can't change my mind) exit through customs and then reenter the airport anew. Yes?

I appreciate all your help!

Posted by
11606 posts

Where do you begin this trip? East coast? West coast? That will make a difference considering jet lag.
Yes, keep going to your destination of Nice on the earliest possible flight if you start the trip on US east coast..

Posted by
769 posts

Definitely doable but book it as one journey so it’s a true connection rather than as two separate flights. That gives you protection in case of delays.

Posted by
5 posts

We're coming from Denver. Already booked the flight from Denver to Heathrow - got a smoking hot deal. We're a family of 4 with two teens 17 and 14 (they can sleep anywhere) who have managed very well with domestic red-eye flights.

Posted by
5235 posts

The flight at 17:45 gives you six hours to make connections. That should be enough even if the first leg is late arriving.

Posted by
1232 posts

Icelandair uses Terminal 2 at Heathrow and BA flies to Nice from Terminal 5. For two separate flights you will need to go through immigration, collect your bags and come out of the terminal and take the train or tube to T5 (it's free).

Normal advice would be to leave at least 4 hours for a connection on separate flights so 6 hours should be fine. But bear in mind that should the first flight be seriously delayed such that you miss the second flight you would lose that and need new tickets at the walk-up price.

Posted by
6713 posts

Heathrow's website may help you plan this connection. It says to allow about 90 minutes between T2 and T5. But it probably assumes that you're flying on one ticket, so staying airside the whole time. You'll need more time to collect bags and go through immigration at T2. There's a security screening to enter T5, whether coming from "outside" (as you'll be) or from another terminal on the same ticket. Bottom line, I think the six hours will almost certainly be enough.

I connected between Heathrow terminals last month, it took about an hour. But that was on one ticket with a checked bag on BA.

Posted by
33992 posts

does that price include the flights to and from Nice?

Posted by
5 posts

Not gonna lie... Why do you need to know? I'm new to this forum... Do people usually roast others for the prices they pay? I'm not sure how this plays into our travel plans as the flights are paid for into London and they are non-refundable.

Posted by
8134 posts

@maggiebruski- No, people don't roast each other. People are trying to be helpful, even if it may not quite read that way. Presumably the $800 return Denver to LHR via KEF, then a separate ticket LHR to Nice was cheaper than Denver to Nice through ticket on any other carrier- not that it matters now, if the Transatlantic sector is booked now.

People on here are rightly nervous about interlining on separate tickets given how flights are being swapped and changed around post covid. You have 2 connections to worry about- KEF and LHR. In some ways the question is, if the flight from Denver misses it's connection at KEF, what is the next flight that Icelandair would swap you on to? Would that still give time for your unprotected connection to your 3rd flight to Nice?

Although it would make for a very long overall flight time, my own personal conservatism would put me on the 2015 LHR to Nice.

We are just trying to watch out for you, prevent you from having to make a last minute full fare purchase to Nice + overnight stay in London if the transatlantic goes wrong.

Posted by
33992 posts

no roasting here.

If you had said that yes that $800 per person did include the Nice segment I would have said don't worry because no matter how much a walk up ticket to Nice would cost you would have a great deal. If it is only as far as Heathrow I would be more worried for you.

this isn't the place to get roasted. We take care of people here to the best of our ability. Look back at other posts about similar stories like yours.

Our happiness is in making things easier for you...

after all - the first word in your question title is "Reasonable?"...

Posted by
8134 posts

I've just been looking at what would happen if you missed your KEF connection- Icelandair 'should' put you on a 1035 flight to Copenhagen with a 55 minute connection to an SAS flight, arriving LHR at 1740.
With a following wind, a far bit of luck and a dash you might make the 2015 off that.

The next direct is at 1610 arriving LHR at 2020.

Although it is too late now, for around $150 more from what I can see you could have booked a through ticket Denver to KEF to Copenhagen to Nice arriving at 1710, where all connections were protected- all sectors on Icelandair.

That really isn't criticism, please don't take it that way- it is an observation.

Posted by
3459 posts

You could get roasted if the Forum Rangers think you paid too much!

Personally, I'm too paranoid to fly in and out of LHR on the same day on separate tickets.

Posted by
755 posts

It sounds like maybe your plans changed and you don’t want to visit England after all? Or it was that you found prices you liked on flights to Europe which happened to be London?
In light of the potential problems with a same day connection on separate tickets, I think that I would spend a few days in London and then get a RyanAir or other cheap flight to Nice. Or perhaps Marseille.

Posted by
8913 posts

This is very doable but the key is to also make sure you have travel insurance that would cover the costs of rebooking the British Air Flights if you were to have a delay/cancellation that resulted in you missing those flights. It doesn’t have to be an expensive policy and depending on what credit cards you have, you may already have coverage.

We had a similar scenario going the other direction last fall. Icelandair to Seattle and then a separate ticket on Alaska to Boise for two of our party. We were delayed in Iceland by a day and ended up paying $369 to change those Boise tickets by a day. You do what you have to do……

Upon return, I realized the very inexpensive emergency medical policy I had purchased for those two had trip delay coverage. I filed a claim and was reimbursed for those change fees fairly quickly. All other costs were covered by Icelandair.

I would probably go ahead and travel the entire way, but also know I had coverage, just in case.

Posted by
5 posts

Thanks for all the helpful info, folks. You just never know when people ask you about what you paid, especially since I dove right in with a post... To be fair, we do not have an unlimited budget, but the price of the tickets to Nice is well within our range. We do want to visit England, too, as we've got two weeks for this trip - I think two main locations are pretty manageable. We also have travel insurance. In the end, I think we're going to give it a shot. Thanks for the input!

Posted by
33992 posts

please write a trip report and share your wisdom and experiences after you return (but not >too< long after)......