London to Paris???

Hmmm, coming in on Virgin and flying out on BA very possibly complicates things. Check out http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm?topic=8295 I would suggest contacting both Virgin and BA to make sure that they will work together in getting your bags checked throught. In general, within Europe, you clear customs where you claim your baggage. So if you don't see your baggage until Paris, that is where you go through customs. But if you have to claim your baggage in London so you can check it back in with BA, you would probably have to clear customs in London. Hopefully, others have more insight. Sorry about my lack of info there. As to the 17:00 flight versus the 19:00 flight, IMO, if everything goes right, the 17:00 flight is OK. But if there are any snafus anywhere, the 17:00 flight is cutting it rather tight. I've seen immigration at Heathrow totally backed up, simply because several 747s have unloaded at once.

I looked at BA's (British Airways) site and saw flights for a sample date of April 15 for 51 pounds or about 100USD. Given today's fuel prices, that's a pretty good price. There's no way I would take the 16:15 flight. That's really tight timing. The 17:00 flight may be okay, provided you have no delays leaving the US. And if you have no delays at immigration in London. One advantage to flying all the way through is that the airline you are flying when you depart the US can forward your baggage to Paris for you.

Also, you mentioned a "return trip to London". Do you already have your airline tickets? If not, it would be much easier to just fly home from CDG.

I do already have flight home from London- free Virgin upper class- well worth some extra hassles to get there. Besides, it gives my wife a change to shop. (I know, it adds more expense to my trip, but...)

If we transfer from Virgin to BA, do I need to go through customs at LHR or will I go through it at CDG?

Do you think the 17:00 flight is cutting it too close? the next one isn't till almost 19:00.

I don't know if Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are codeshare partners. If they are--and your baggage can be checked all the way through to Paris--I still advise you not to plan to catch the 17:00 plane. Virgin Atlantic uses Terminal 3. British Airways uses Terminal 4. They are a fair distance apart and you'll have to take a bus between them. Even if you stay airside, you'll have to go through security. See here: http://tinyurl.com/2b4s7y.

I recommend the Eurostar. Getting to St. Pancras will take about an hour, but IMO doing so doesn't fall into the "painful" category--unless you're loaded down with luggage. Take the Tube (Piccadilly line) all the way for £4.

Plan on up to an hour to clear immigration and claim your luggage and an hour to get to St. Pancras. There is a 30-minute check-in deadline. If you buy a Eurostar ticket that is exchangeable at eurostar.com, you could book a train that leaves three hours after your plane is scheduled to land. (continued)

Thanks, Rick
here is what I found out about termals:
You will be landing at T3 and I truly don't think it wise (in fact I would say it's near to impossible!)to only allow 90 minutes from touchdown there to takeoff from T5 especially as you won't be ticketed through to Paris.

I have also been told that it is easier to get from LHR to the train staition, vs CDG to the center of Paris.

so currantly, I am leaning towards just using the Eurostar

If you buy a cheaper ticket that is non-exchangeable, book a train that leavea a minimum of four hours after your plane is scheduled to land. IMO, arriving in central Paris and not having to go through immigration or claim baggage at CDG plus not having to spend nearly an hour getting to the city is well worth the "hassle" of getting from Heathrow to St. Pancras.

And here's a correction to my previous post. Beginning 27 March, most BA flights will move from Terminal 4 to the new Terminal 5.