LHR transit time: is 2 hrs enough (arrival T1, departure T5) - QF J seating

[legroom]

Friends / Sky Warriors

We are planning for a SYD AMS trip in May 2013.

One of the options under consideration is using QF 1 with its switch-over to BA at LHR.

Its schedule allows for 120 minutes between arrival in T1 and departure from T5 (on a Sunday morning).

My questions for your advice are:

1) Would the checked baggage go through to the BA flight to its final destination (AMS), or they have to clear UK Customs first?

2) Assuming the best scenario (baggage through to BA flight bypassing UK Customs), would 120 minutes be adequate for Immigration and Terminal change (T1 to T5)?

3) And, .... if the checked baggage has to be cleared by UK Customs, would anyone here on AFF recommend this switch of 120 minutes or it is sheer madness to try?

One previous thread http://www.australianfrequentflyer....minimum-time-for-stopover-heathrow-15271.html gave me concerns but that was 2008. Has anything changed - for the better - since then ?

I can always opt for a longer break in between if your views are that 120 minutes are too close for comfort.

Many thanks for your input.

 

[Boris spatsky]

I personally wouldn't risk it. Let's say that your inbound flight is delayed an hour (or even just 30 mins). You would seriously be pushing it to make it - oh, and heathrow has been terrible since the olympics (but i have not been back since).

 

[Skyring]

If all goes well, it should work out.

Having said that, this is Heathrow we're talking about, ultra-busy, not noted for super-efficiency. Incoming flights can be delayed and you go round and round a circuit. A couple of jumbos from Nigeria land just ahead of you and the officials pull out the microscopes to check passports. There's a bingle on the tarmac and the transit buses go the long way. There's a tonne of things to go wrong, and Heathrow can be an absolute cough of a place, especially if you are doing something for the first time (like trying to work out the transfer system).

Your transit, in other words, is out of your control. Something goes wrong and you are going to be chewing on stress with absolutely nothing you can do but vent.

I'm pretty sure, however, that you won't have to face customs and immigration. You stay airside the whole time, unlike (say) LAX, where everybody has to front up to the uniforms, even if your onward flight to Mexico is half an hour away.

You can avoid the stress by having a later flight to AMS. They are pretty regular, so you can dial in an hour or two or three. That gives you fudge factor time, and if all goes well, you can check out the shopping or grab some lounge time if you have access, or just enjoy a leisurely meal in one of the faux English pubs scattered around.

Alternatively, QF is flying to FRA up until October next year, so you could transit there. It will be quicker and cheaper overall, all else being equal.

 

[serfty]

...
I'm pretty sure, however, that you won't have to face customs and immigration. You stay airside the whole time, unlike (say) LAX, where everybody has to front up to the uniforms, even if your onward flight to Mexico is half an hour away.
....

[-]This is incorrect,[/-] to access T5 airside the OP will need to resubmit to transit security.

2 Hours would be uncomfortablly short for me.

In short - 1, the luggage will be check through, you won;t see it until AMS - 2, airside bus then T5 secuity & 3, Madness!

Take the extra hours - I assume you have lounge access, go to T5 and relax with a Galleries shower and breakfast ...

 

[moa999]

Assume you mean arrival T3 not T1 ??

I would also be aware that there may be some schedule rejigging once/if QF gets it approval with EK, although I don't expect it to move too much given the scarcity of London slots.

 

[legroom]

This is incorrect, to access T5 airside the OP will need to resubmit to transit security.

2 Hours would be uncomfortablly short for me.

In short - 1, the luggage will be check through, you won;t see it until AMS - 2, airside bus then T5 secuity & 3, Madness!

Take the extra hours - I assume you have lounge access, go to T5 and relax with a Galleries shower and breakfast ...

As always, serfty's advice is valuable.

I will rejig the stop-over to allow for more time and lounge relaxation.

It would be my 1st trip to LHR so I have no clue about its scale, efficiency etc...

I could sense that 2 hrs is a little on the short side esp. now that I know we have to be security screened again and we all know what that means.

Thanks, guys.

 

[The Rok]

I have a 95 minute connection coming up, T3-T1 and then T1-T3 on the way back.

That's what happens when you book on the spur of the moment because you think you hot two great J fares! Oops.

QF won't change the connection time without charging me $600! Despite there being about 9 BA flights to DUB I could take!

Oh well, 95 minutes should be fun!


Sent from AFF Mobile Edition

 

[Skyring]

This is incorrect, to access T5 airside the OP will need to resubmit to transit security.

Of course. My last transit was T3 only to get to the VIE flight. I'm pretty sure there was security involved, but not customs and immigration.

One point I was flummoxed over: I had no lounge access for the onward flight to VIE, and I was really wanting a shower and a coffee and some snacks and some internet. But they informed me that QC membership only covered entry for longhaul and we had to go sit in the general terminal area for a few hours.

Not that this was much of a hassle. We had another brekkie at Pret a Manger which was, as ever, delicious. And I had a good browse through the airside shops. Picked up a Vienna map and sussed out the sights.

Two hours was ample, but if it had involved a terminal change, it could have been tense.

 

[serfty]

Of course. My last transit was T3 only to get to the VIE flight. I'm pretty sure there was security involved, but not customs and immigration.
....

Mea Culpa - I should read better ... you were correct - certainly no customs/immigration - but there is transite security, which 18 months ago took 45 minutes - with express access.

 

[MYT105]

We are flying in May as well and arrive on QF1 in T3 and need to go to T5 for a flight to Paris, as they are on separate bookings I was looking at the times and one option was 2 1/2 hrs and the next flight was going to be close to 4hrs, so I just booked the later flight as it was going to be less stressful and we are on holidays and in no real rush, and I also am WP so will have lounge access in T5.

From various trips through LHR on an EU passport it can be quick, last trip was under 25 minutes from landing I was in a car leaving the airport, other trips have been closer to 2 hours to get from T3 to T1 for a flight to Ireland. So it can vary quite a lot, o if you are not tight for time then take an extra hour or two to save the stress.