Eurostar from Brussels airport to London Heathrow airport

I'm not really clear what an airline pass is so I don't understand how getting to LHR solves any problem if a flight out of BRU is cancelled. I would normally think if your flight is cancelled, the fastest way to get back to the U.S. would be to get the next available flight out of BRU or have the airline reroute you through another city. Getting from BRU to LHR by rail will not be cheap on the day of travel nor will it be particularly quick. Eurostar tickets on the day of travel can be quite expensive. However, below are the mechanics of getting from BRU to LHR: 1) Take the train from the BRU airport train station to the Brussels Midi station. Trip is about 20 to 30 minutes. 2) Take the Eurostar from Brussels Midi to London St Pancras. Keep in mind that you need to check-in for Eurostar 30 minutes before departure. Trip is about 2 hours. 3) From London St Pancras, I think the most direct way is to take the tube (Piccadilly line) to Heathrow. This will take about an hour. Other options are taxi and tube to Paddington with a transfer to Heathrow Express. Neither of these is necessarily any faster once you factor in waiting and transfer times.

Thank you Laura. You've provided the most information that I've been able to gather. The airline pass that I referred to is a non-revenue standby ticket. If a flight cancels, you're most likely to be out of luck for the next few flights on that airline at that same airport. Paying customers have to be accomodated so they are rolled to the next available flights and those on passes can be stuck until another day. Best thing to do is go to another airport that has more flights that day and hope that the other non-revs aren't doing the same as you.
If you don't mind, I may come up with a few more questions to ask you. I'm not a seasoned international pass traveler and I need to have a good picture of what to do if things fall apart and I have to go to this plan. Any other details will be appreciated. Thanks.

I agree with the posting that getting from airport to airport by plane will be much faster than a train. Considering check in times....you would need at minimum of seven hours to get from BRU to LHR to make a plane if going to by train. You could do the following: Local train from BRU to Midi Station. Eurostar to St. Pancras London. Tube (Piccadilly LIne) from Kings Cross (next door to St. Pancras) to LHR. (The Eurostar only goes between Brussels Mid and London St. Pancras. To and from the airport is on local trains. However, I would look into a flight between BRU and LHR. Stay airside and you won't have to go through immigration and customs at LHR, just security. What about other ciities? Does your airline also fly into Paris or Amsterdam which are easier than getting to London.? You would buy your Eurostar ticket at Brussels Midi station. Be advised, a last minute ticket is very expensive. Compare last minute full fare Eurostar to last minute flying and then decide which is cheaper. Also remember to factor in the cost of the trains to and from the airport in Brussels and London if you were going by train. I forgot about the amount of luggage you'll have.....that's a lot for one person to handle on their own--especially on the local trains. Another reason to fly.

Since you are a non-rev, ask whoever got you to pass to see what the flight loads are or the airline can help you. Once you know where you stand as to non-rev's you will have a better idea, are you number 24 on the list or number one. Good luck, we do non-rev's all the time and only once did we have to wait another day and lucky for us that was going from US to Europe. Good luck.

Wouldn't the easiest and probably no more expensive be a flight from BRU to LHR and try your luck from there? I mean, you're at the airport and everything.

Susan, if you are nonrev then probably you are limited to one airline. Be prepared; use the airline website and print out a schedule ( or use your netbook or Iphone or Android or Ipad or best friend) and get the departure times in hand for several airports. Also consider Amsterdam as a departure, tho I assume you have reasons for picking London as an alternative? The biggest problem I see is that most flights to the US leave in the morning, and I'm not sure you could get to another airport for same day departure.
Two roller cases will make it difficult to use escalators, btw. Hope you get your first flight!

Thanks everyone. I tried posting a reply several hours ago, but since I don't see it, I'll try again. Non-rev travel can be tricky. You have to approach it like a game. It involves strategy and you hope that you win! Most of the time the goal is just getting on the flight because it's full and if you have a low ranking, like I have, it's challenging. You should always have alternate arrival cities planned. But when a flight is cancelled, it gets exciting. Then you may need to have some departure city options. Last time I had an overseas flight back to the U.S., the flight was cancelled. I spent the day in the airport trying to get on any of the remaining flights that day to the U.S. I spent an extra night there, but was successful in the morning...and felt lucky, but now I will plan for different departures. So, I need this information and now that you've given me input, I have more questions. Several of you have mentioned the cost of the train. I looked at the Eurostar site and $134.00 was the lowest fare for the time and day. Will the price escalate if I purchase the ticket that day? Also, I must check one of the roller cases when flying. If I fly from BRU to LHR instead of taking the train, would I have to leave airside to claim the bag if I change airlines? I've never had to do this so I don't know. Again thanks and any more suggestions or input will be appreciated.
Susan

And yes, I could fly out of CDG.
Susan