Help with connection times at Heathrow

[Dave Noble]

with separate tickets there is no safe MCT. Your initial flight could be delayed by 24 hours or more (does happen sometimes) and you are still not protected.

Exx_actly; that is a risk that is borne should it be decided to book separate itineraries. There are some safe itineraries that can be made with little risk; if you are doing a same plane turnaround to the starting point of a new itinerary, there's little risk of missing the connection

 

[JohnK]

Agree. Same tickets 2 hour connection is risky (especially if different terminals involved). Separate tickets is asking for trouble, especially if don't have fast-track access at FCC or immigration (ie not arriving in first or business).

Will be arriving and departing BA Club Europe but do not want to give away too many details at present.

But really depends on time of day arriving, which terminal and what departing terminal. It is possible to connect in an hour - at the best times.

Would more than likely be arriving between the 10:00am-2:00pm time slot and then continuing to next destination. It is only meant to be cheap status runs but do not want it to turn sour.

Are we not covered if we have international connections on seperate tickets at an airport and we have met the MCT?

No big deal I can leave 4 hours to next flight just means I will have less time in OSL, ARN and CPH!

 

[JohnK]

I was concentrating on itineraries like OSL-LHR, LHR-ARN on seperate tickets. The next day it would be something like ARN-LHR, LHR-CPH.

And then finally it would be something like CPH-LHR connecting back to the OneWorld ticket!

 

[Dave Noble]

Are we not covered if we have international connections on seperate tickets at an airport and we have met the MCT?

No. As NM clearly pointed out, on separate itineraries, there is no such thing as a connection between them. If you miss a connection, the airline *might* assist, but they have absolutely no requirement to do so and may well just require that you buy a new ticket

Dave

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

MCT defines what the airline is willing to take responsibility for on a single ticket. On separate tickets they have no requirement to take any responsibility, although they may choose to do so (depending on circumstance, fare, status, reason for misconnect, etc).

 

[Evan]

I have just had 2 connections through LHR Terminal 1 / Terminal 4
Both times were completely different, one the plane landed late, other people missed connections even before the huge security lines, then the other time security i just walked right up and through (No shoes off this time either)

Thats the way it works sometimes i guess.

E

 

[JohnK]

MCT defines what the airline is willing to take responsibility for on a single ticket.

You are probably right but I thought MCT covered separate tickets as well for things like interlining baggage. I know that at SIN airport QF to AY the MCT is one hour.

On separate tickets they have no requirement to take any responsibility, although they may choose to do so (depending on circumstance, fare, status, reason for misconnect, etc).

Now you have me worried. So BA has no responsibility to honour a ticket when they are at fault for a missed connection?

I need to think this through a little more carefully. As there are 6-8 flights a day I need to make sure that I am on the first flight departing in the morning and choose a much later flight departing LHR in the afternoon.

 

[JohnK]

I have just had 2 connections through LHR Terminal 1 / Terminal 4
Both times were completely different, one the plane landed late, other people missed connections even before the huge security lines, then the other time security i just walked right up and through (No shoes off this time either)

I need to learn how my potential flights operate out of Heathrow. Are they like the USA where there is no such thing as a transit? Do I have to clear customs and security for every connection even out of the same terminal? Why not allow passengers to stay airside, like SIN, and pass through security before going to the gate?

 

[NM]

You are probably right but I thought MCT covered separate tickets as well for things like interlining baggage. I know that at SIN airport QF to AY the MCT is one hour.

As has been pointed out several times in this thread, MCT only relates to connecting flights. After all, the C in MCT stands for "Connecting". And if you have separate tickets, then you don't have a connection.

Now you have me worried. So BA has no responsibility to honour a ticket when they are at fault for a missed connection?

This is correct. Even though you may have a flight with the same airline that has caused you to be late, there is no protection if they are separate tickets. However, that does not mean they will not try to look after you. It just means that there is no requirement for them to do so.

 

[JohnK]

As has been pointed out several times in this thread, MCT only relates to connecting flights. After all, the C in MCT stands for "Connecting". And if you have separate tickets, then you don't have a connection.

How silly of me. I must remember for my April trip that I don't have a connection in SIN from a QF flight to an AY flight.

Hmmm, I wonder if they will still tag my bags through to BKK even though I don't have a connection in SIN.

 

[NM]

How silly of me. I must remember for my April trip that I don't have a connection in SIN from a QF flight to an AY flight.

Hmmm, I wonder if they will still tag my bags through to BKK even though I don't have a connection in SIN.

If it is two separate tickets, then from a ticketing perspective you do not have a connection - you have two trips.

However, as a favour to you, it is likely that the check-in agent for the first flight will tag your bags to the destination of your second trip. But you are not protected if the first flight is late and you miss the second trip. The airlines may choose to assist you, but there is no requirement for them to do so.

 

[Evan]

I need to learn how my potential flights operate out of Heathrow. Are they like the USA where there is no such thing as a transit? Do I have to clear customs and security for every connection even out of the same terminal? Why not allow passengers to stay airside, like SIN, and pass through security before going to the gate?

John,

I wish i could answer that but i tell you it even depends on what part of the terminal you are in sometimes you have extra security to clear near the gate, after already clearing security out of the last terminal and into the next one.

Generally to leave one flight and join another in the same terminal you must get from one level to the other and from what i could see this involves a security check.

It seems to depend what mood people are in because one day they were super strict, shoes off (first time for the usual casual shoes i wear on planes) and even checking the size (weight in grams) of deorderant, it even was a small can, checked twice in one security through point ! other times just waved through with not even a glance at such things.

For me i am happy with 3 hours transit i think in most cases, if you late they can and do rush you through thankfully. Thats assuming i had to change terminals, i have only ever been tot he BA and QF terminals of 1 and 4, never seen 2 or 3.

Evan

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

I need to learn how my potential flights operate out of Heathrow. Are they like the USA where there is no such thing as a transit? Do I have to clear customs and security for every connection even out of the same terminal? Why not allow passengers to stay airside, like SIN, and pass through security before going to the gate?

You can stay airside although must pass through security between arrivals and departures, even if staying in the same terminal. Passing immigration only if entering UK or Ireland flight (IIRC). If bags not tagged through to final destination then will need to clear immigration, wait an age for bags to appear (hoping that they do - LHR has one of the worst lost bags records of any airport), go through customs, change terminals if necessary and re-check in.

If changing terminals between flights, and assuming you are allowed to enter UK (ie no visa issues) and have fast track, then some times of day it can be quicker to go through immigration and transfer between terminals landside than to use the flight connection center (nowdays there is a queue to get yelled at about security rules, before you are even allowed to join the FCC queues, which reduces the worth of FCC fast-track.

In working out transfer times, remember many flights (especially BA) use remote stands - even on 747s. This can add considerable time - eg the busses might not be ready when you arrive and then they only send one for a full widebody. Even without a remote stand, I've had flights at LHR where spend up to an hour waiting for a gate to become vacant.

LHR really is an unpleasant airport to transit through. I wish Air NZ returned to continental Europe.

 

[JohnK]

If bags not tagged through to final destination then will need to clear immigration, wait an age for bags to appear (hoping that they do - LHR has one of the worst lost bags records of any airport), go through customs, change terminals if necessary and re-check in.

I will assume that travelling something like ARN-LHR-CPH that I will be a ble to ckeck luggage all the way through to CPH.

LHR really is an unpleasant airport to transit through. I wish Air NZ returned to continental Europe.

I know it is not easy to predict but would you say that 4 hours would be sufficient transit time, assuming don't have to leave terminal?

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

I will assume that travelling something like ARN-LHR-CPH that I will be a ble to ckeck luggage all the way through to CPH.


I know it is not easy to predict but would you say that 4 hours would be sufficient transit time, assuming don't have to leave terminal?

Assuming it is all on BA then yes can be checked through. (BA are notorious for not interlining with many airlines.)

4 hours should be okay in normal circumstances. Of course no guarantees - fog, snow, strikes, bomb threat, etc would all make virtually any connection difficult to make.

 

[NM]

Assuming it is all on BA then yes can be checked through. (BA are notorious for not interlining with many airlines.)

BA generally have issues with interlining to different airlines when you have two separate tickets. They do not want to take responsibility for the baggage delivery beyond what you have paid BA to perform.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

BA generally have issues with interlining to different airlines when you have two separate tickets. They do not want to take responsibility for the baggage delivery beyond what you have paid BA to perform.

Fortunately most other airlines don't see it that way.

OTOH, maybe if BA took more responsibility they in turn would have more pressure to help sort out the LHR baggage chaos.

 

[JohnK]

Assuming it is all on BA then yes can be checked through. (BA are notorious for not interlining with many airlines.)

So far most flights are BA->BA except for the last one which may be BA->IB.

I will need to take special care on the BA->IB connection on 2 separate tickets!

 

[NM]

OTOH, maybe if BA took more responsibility they in turn would have more pressure to help sort out the LHR baggage chaos.

LHR is to baggage, what my washing machine is to socks :shock: .

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

LHR is to baggage, what my washing machine is to socks :shock: .

You have a mountain of unclaimed socks that get sent to Italy?