I'd like to buy my tickets but have a dilemma. I'm booking from Honolulu to Prague looking at American, but the last portion is from BA. It's 1500??? If I book just the portion through London through the AA website and the last portion from BA it will cost 1250. Same flights. Here's my concern - the AA flight arrives in LHR at 12:30pm, and the BA flight leaves at 3pm. If I book through AA and BA separately I won't arrive in London with the BA boarding pass. Will 2 1/2 hours be enough time to go through customs and check in for the BA flight? There is a later flight that leaves LHR at 6:40 - I was just trying to avoid the long layover. Thanks for your educated opinions!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
That should be enough time, since you are leaving from the same airport.
Posted by
Nottingham, UK
658 posts
Your flight from the US arrives at teminal 3. Your flight to Prague leaves from terminal 4. You have to take a shuttle bus from T3 to T4. On a bad day it's going to take about 40 minutes to an hour for baggage reclaim and cutoms at T3. It will take at least half an hour ( including waiting time ) for the shuttle bus. It could be a close call. As both AA and BA are part of the 'One World' alliance, I would call them and see if it may be possible to get your bags through checked at Heathrow, that could save time, but this is one occasion where I would definitely advise travelling with carry on luggage only - or take the later flight.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
If you opt for carry-on luggage only to save time, be aware that in the UK there is a strict ONE bag limit. That's not one bag plus a personal item like a purse. It's one bag of any kind--period.
Posted by
SF Bay Area, CA, USA
508 posts
Jill - You can check in online for British Air 24 hours in advance. We were able to do that before we left for the airport in San Francisco because of the 8 hour time difference, but I don't know if you can do that coming from Hawaii. You might be able to do it online during a stopover if there is internet access at the airport. Our Virgin Atlantic flight was late coming into Heathrow and when we got to the BA terminal for the EU flights, it was packed and we had less than an hour. We found an employee and told them our flight from the US was late - they found a manager and took us to the front of the line to check our bags (that was last September when no carryon liquids were allowed). If you don't need to check your bags, you can go directly to the gates with your boarding pass or try using one of the kiosks.
Posted by
OP
Nederland, CO
1426 posts
Thanks everyone for the advice. I was already planning on doing carryon only and have flown BA before so was aware of the 1 bag rule. I've also flown through LHR before so I know what a nightmare it can be. I'm still torn. It sounds like I can probably make it, but to be extra safe maybe I should book the later flight...