BA new carryon sizes and through check luggge

Last time I passed through Heathrow I only had carry-on luggage. I was traveling from Berlin to Dublin with a plane change at Heathrow. Schengen country to the UK to another Schengen country. I had to go through immigration to the UK, security (metal detector and x-ray for carry-on baggage) and then to an large waiting area until about 45 minutes before the flight when they posted which gate the connecting was at. Plenty of time to get there.

Remember Heathrow is in the UK which is not a Schengen country. So you are going to immigrate to the UK and then immigrate to a Schengen country when you get to France.

Assuming that you have bought one ticket ...
a) Your luggage will be checked through
b) You will not exit the secure area. You will go through a security check again. You will stay airside and follow the "flight connections" sign. The Heathrow website has a guide that will show you the steps:
http://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections
c) Are you sure your connection is only one hour? Assuming you are changing terminals, you need more than an hour. One hour is not enough time at Heathrow.

I am not sure what you mean by "the previous U.S. sized carry-ons." I'd plan on making sure that you have a carry-on that meets BA requirements. In my experience, BA is fairly strict about carry on size.

One more thing ... While the U.K. is not a party to Schengen, you will NOT have to go through immigration in the U.K. if you are traveling from the U.S. to France.

The reason that Edwin had to go through immigration in the U.K. is because he was traveling to to Ireland via the U.K. and Ireland and the U.K. are part of a Common Travel Area. Ireland is not a member of Schengen.

1) if you're on a single itinerary, your baggage should check through to your final destination because these are partner airlines. If it's two separate bookings, you'll have to go through immigration, pick up your bags, re-check and go through security. American lands at terminal 3 and it looks like your BA flight goes out of terminal 5. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, one hour is way too tight. It allows for no hiccups.

One hour is below the minimum time for this connection according to IATA (90 minutes), so I don't see how you will be able to buy it on a single ticket. One hour is possible only on flights within the same terminal.

BA had the problem of people bringing on two full-sized bags rather than the stated one plus a handbag/laptop bag. So the latter is now defined as having a maximum size of 40cm x 30cm x 15cm (16in x 12in x 6in). The main bag remains at 56cm x 45cm x 25cm (22in x 18in x 10in) - bigger than that it should go in the hold. The main bag is for stowing overhead, the smaller for in front of your seat and gets a yellow tag and is immune from being gate checked.

I gave in and re-booked with a much longer layover. Thanx to everyone who replied.

You made a wise decision. Nothing like running through an airport to see the gate close as you arrive. Been there, done that. Not pleasant in the least.

BJ,

I can't answer your specific questions, but just wanted to mention that things seem to have improved at Heathrow over the last year or two. My last departure from there went very efficiently, even though they flagged one of my bags for more scrutiny.

I read an interesting item recently regarding LHR.....

"At London Heathrow's Terminal 2, passengers can get boarding passes and drop bags at any kiosk, no matter which airline they're flying, going from curb to immigration in just 70 seconds on average, even at busy times."

If the new system works that well, things are looking up!

Where are you going after arrival at Basel EuroAirport? Part of the terminal is in France and part in Switzerland. When I was through there in September, I don't recall which country stamped my Passport?

Colmar. Several days there before moving west.