Transit through Toronto and Heathrow to Venice - luggage question

If it is a single ticket, Seattle to Venice. You will check in luggage in Seattle and pick it up in Venice provided it makes all the connections. For carryon only you will have to get down to one carryon size bag per person.

Unfortunately, it is not a single ticket. Purchased one set from Air Canada and the other from British. So, no matter what, we have to collect the bags at Heathrow?

As others will tell you, go with the carry on. I used to travel with 100 pounds of luggage for a week with a pair of shoes for every outfit. For my first 3 week trip to Europe I went with only a carry on and now that is the only way I will travel. It is such a free feeling and you never have to worry about a lost bag.

As others will tell you, go with the carry on. I used to travel with 100 pounds of luggage for a week with a pair of shoes for every outfit. For my first 3 week trip to Europe I went with only a carry on and now that is the only way I will travel. It is such a free feeling and you never have to worry about a lost bag.

Staying with your question. Your bags will be checked to Heathrow. You will claim your luggage and go through immigrations in Heathrow, then check in with BA, go through security, and your flight to Venice where you again will go through immigrations. Depending on time of day, Heathrow can be a little chaotic so hopefully you plan a decent layover of at least three to four hours.

Frank, Does that mean that if we do carryon only, we avoid getting sent out of the security area at Heathrow? I assume that not having to do security again is a big timesaver. Our layover is 3 hours and 15 minutes and we need to go from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5. We are leaning towards just keeping the bags with us the from Seattle to Venice. Thanks!

NO If I understand your ticketing situation correctly there is no staying behind security. It doesn't make any difference if you fly into Heathrow the hour before or five days before. You need to go to the front of the airport and checkin with BA. You need boarding passes to get through security unless you were able to check in with BA and print boarding pass prior to leaving Tacoma. Keep in mind if you miss the BA flight you may not have much recourse for rebooking. The only advantage to carry on is that you will not have to wait to claim checked luggage. Everything else will be the same.

You will be "re-screened" through security no matter what. (Even if you are transferring BA to BA within Terminal 5). We are doing something similar on our way to Spain, although traveling BA on both legs. We have a 3-hour gap between flights to go from T5 to T3. From everything I have read that is plenty, but we will definitely carry our bags and not check them.

Well, I think I've decided we'll just carry our bags with us and see what happens. Air Canada's carry on weight limit is 22 pounds, which is so far below everyone else's that we might end up checking the bags anyway -- I can pack light, but not under 22 pounds for 3 weeks! Thanks all!

You can if you work on it but I also think it is learned behavior. We consistently hit the 20 lb mark whether it is three days or three months.

You should be able to check-in online for BA 24 hours in advance. I would definitely suggest that you do that before you leave Seattle.

I just checked. Heathrow has changed its policy and you can carry more than one-item through security. They warn that airlines may have more restrictive policies.

While I would love to print the boarding passes here in Tacoma, I wasn't sure I could. If the Seattle departure is 8am and the London to Venice flight is 9:40am, the next day, I would have to try to print the passes at 5am Seattle time, which would be 1pm in London. Would that work? I somehow thought I might get caught in a computer timing snafu if I tried. And it doesn't seem that important unless it saves us having to go back out to the check-in counters at Heathrow. Does anyone know if it does?

Valerie, You should be able to use BA's online check in at 5am Seattle time. If your flight is at 9:40am British Time, you could check in anytime after 1:40am Pacific Time on the prior day. There is an advantage to doing this. You will not have to go to the check-in counter if you already have your boarding passes and do not have any luggage to check. You will not need to go through immigration at LHR. I am assuming that you will need to change terminals (most BA flights are out of T5, but check on LHR website). You will go through another security check. Another advantage is that BA does not let you make advance seat reservations unless you pay a fee. If you want to avoid the fee, you have to wait until check in to choose your seat; checking in the day before would give you more seats to choose from than waiting until you arrive at LHR.

Valerie, Regarding your luggage, I tend to agree with the explanation that Frank provided. If you had booked the entire flight with Air Canada your checked luggage would have followed you to Venice, even if some of your flights were via Star Alliance partner airlines such as Lufthansa, bmi or whoever. That's been the situation on a number of flights I've taken with Air Canada, including last year when I had to change planes in Frankfurt for a flight to Rome (Frankfurt to Rome was via Lufthansa). I checked my Pack at my home airport and picked it up in Rome. Happy travels!

Valerie, Given that your seeking advice from travellers who by and large, espouse the travel light philosophy ( as I do), your last comment presents you with a unique opportunity. While you say you can travel light, but not 22lbs light for 3 weeks, why not view this as an opportunity to "test the waters"? On my last trip to Europe, I packed one carry on bag( Rick's Convertible Carry On...21 lbs fully packed) and that was all I had for 6 weeks in 7 countries( primarily train travel). At the end of my trip, not only did I discover that I had everything I needed for such a long trip, I realized that I actually could have packed lighter! If you take to heart Rick's travel advice, and his packing tips, I would suggest that you may be pleasantly surprised with what you are able to accomplish with a single carry on, and how much you will enjoy your trip. Next week I'm going to Las Vegas for a week, and have already done a trial pack. Believe it or not, everything I need fits into Rick's Appenzell Day Bag, and weighs in at 13.5 lbs. This may sound like it takes the "packing light" philosophy to extremes, but this weight includes, an extra pair of pants, two long sleeve collared shirts, two short sleeve collared shirts, two t-shirts, 3 changes of socks/underwear, jacket, toiletries kit, IPhone, and various miscellaneous items( chargers and things ) That and some laundry detergent for washing, and I could survive no problem for several weeks/months in Europe.
Have a great trip regardless of what you decide!

I would be very surprised if Air Canada does not have a baggage agreement with BA that will allow you to check your bags through to Venice. You could call them to verify that. The fact that you have 2 tickets should make no difference - just show the connecting flight info to the agent at check-in.