Friends, Loganair changed our flight on Thurs. 4 July (!) leaving Stornoway 12:05 arr EDI 1:05, take BA flight for LHR at 1:55. We'll keep luggage with us and not check it.
Is that a decent gamble or should we purchase back-up train tickets (Two Together probably) in advance? If it the cost savings for advance versus same-day ticket purchase for the direct train is less than, say, 40 pounds, we'd risk it.
Thoughts on the Edinburgh airport layout and a quick transfer? Thanks for your help!
Are you talking about buying a train ticket from Ullapool (since you would have to take the ferry over) to Edinburgh, and then to Heathrow? Or just tickets from Edinburgh to Heathrow? I'm a little confused by what you're asking. Either way, you should know there are no direct trains from Edinburgh to the airport, so you would have go into probably Kings Cross and change there.
Don’t know where Ullapool comes into the equation and there is no train to or from Ullapool.
What would worry me is that this is probably the 4th sector for that plane that day. So if it has accrued any delays earlier in the day for any reason then you might be up a creek. Looking at the equivalent of that flight today on Flight Radar- at one point in the morning it was 45 minutes late for some reason, although that was recovered to 20 late eventually. There is 30 minutes on the ground at Stornoway, so some potential built in recovery time there.
Booked today a mid afternoon Advance train ticket EDI- Kings Cross is £52.30. The problem is that there is no longer a fixed price flexible train ticket- it is called the 70 minute flex. So book for say 3pm, and you can travel on any train between 1.50pm and 4.10pm.
But that fare flexes from around £70 if booked today for 4 July, to around £120 for tomorrow. So even the train is a gamble.
The better train choice would be Avanti Advance Fare on the 1452 or 1652 to London Euston- £35 Advance Fare if booked today, before railcard reductions.
The 1652 train should be a pretty solid bet.
Don’t know where Ullapool comes into the equation and there is no train to or from Ullapool.
If the flight was cancelled it would be ferry Stornoway to Ullapool, then connecting coach Ullapool to Inverness, for the train.
Sorry--not concerned about ferries or Ullapool. We're flying from Stornoway to Edinburgh. Is there a suggestion that the Loganair flight could quite easily be late in arriving? The EDI airport is just the 1 terminal, so hoping to make the connection to BA flight.
"Is there a suggestion that the Loganair flight could quite easily be late in arriving?"
Yes.
I hate to even give you this suggestion because I caused myself a lot of anxiety last August flying Loganair from Aberdeen to Orkney and back from Shetland. Take a look at the FB page for Flight Delays Shetland/Orkney to see what Loganair's scheduling is like. I do realize you are not starting at either of these locations. What Stuart is saying is that for the particular airplane you will be flying on, this will be it's 4th flight of the day and they are not necessarily back and forth from Stornaway to Edinburgh.
I would not even try a quick transfer like you are contemplating even though Edinburgh is a relatively small airport.
If you get train tickets I'd get ones that you can reschedule.
And I'll add something else...make sure you can actually carry on on your flight. My planes were small prop jobs and ALL luggage had to be checked. My small day pack fit under the seat but might not have fit in the overhead.
I'll add that I'd have no problem flying Loganair again, I will just allow flex time before and after the flight to allow for any disruptions.
Maybe ask Loganair if you can switch to the 0815 flight to Inverness, or the 0830 to Glasgow?
There are many BA flights from GLA-LHR daily; also Easyjet has an afternoon flight from INV-LGW.
So GLA looks the better bet. That should also be only the 2nd sector for the aircraft that day.
If you can change the Loganair flight to GLA, then see if you can switch your BA flight to be ex GLA.
If not then either book a new BA flight, or there is all day to organise a train from GLA to Euston- they are at least hourly.
Is this a single ticket?
BA does not show an itinerary with a 50 minute connection for July 4.
Don’t know where Ullapool comes into the equation and there is no train to or from Ullapool.
Because it wasn't clear if she was talking about canceling her flight out of Stornoway and taking a train, which means she would have to take a ferry from Stornoway to Ullapool to get to land travel.
Good to know.
Heed what Pam stated about your baggage. Even though your flight is on a regional jet, Loganair only allows a smaller bag up to 6 kg for carry on.
I have flown Loganair a few times and will do so again next month. However......they can do quick turnarounds if they are running late. But, if you have to check luggage, it's going to be unlikely you'll make it.
Travel friends, thank you all for your advice. I should have been more clear in the beginning that we're talking about the Edinburgh airport, with no decisions involving a train or ferries from Stornoway.
In the end, we paid extra for a later flight from EDI to LHR--there's a flight every hour or so. Pam and others, we will heed the baggage restrictions you described, and that's why it's so appreciated when you share your experience!
