QF to BA Connection at LHR

[bgh]

Hello

I am part of a party of 4 flying on QF1 SYD-LHR in September. It is scheduled to land at 06:35 am and we have a connecting flight with BA to FCO that is scheduled to leave LHR at 08:00.

Are we going to be cutting it too close to get off the flight from Sydney and then collect baggage, clear Customs, etc. and make it to the BA flight in just under 90 mins?

Any tips? I haven't been over there for a long time.

Cheers!

 

[offshore171]

Pretty tight. I wouldn't book that. I would imagine there are multiple flights to Rome each day, so see if you can get a later one.

 

[RooFlyer]

Hi @bgh welcome to AFF.

That would be too tight a connection fo me. You only have to lose an hour on route (or 30 mins ...) and you will be toast. if on same ticket, you would be accommodated later (if room!) but I wouldn't want the hassle.

 

[scoobs214]

I agree with what the other guys have said - arriving into T3 at LHR these days is getting busier and busier and if the FCO flight is on a seperate ticket youll have to clear immigration (even tho u can use E-gates there can be a lineup) and collect your bags to recheckin.

If on same ticket the airside bus is pretty quick, but any delays on QF1 would be a pain.
I always go with the idea of a long layover = no stress

 

[OATEK]

The issue you face is that the flights you have booked allow for the minimum transit time between T3 & T5 at LHR (90mins), and so any delay becomes an issue. Even though your bags can be checked through to FCO if on the same ticket/PNR, you still have to run the gauntlet at Heathrow. But given the booked flights meet the minimum, you might find that a flight change for the same day might not fit under the fly flexible policy and may attract a re-booking fee - please let us know how they treat the change if you go down that path.

 

[bgh]

Pretty tight. I wouldn't book that. I would imagine there are multiple flights to Rome each day, so see if you can get a later one.

Thanks for your reply. It's already booked, but as it gets closer, we have been reviewing our intended itinerary, and this sort of stuck out as a possible 'issue'. The LHR-FCO is currently booked on points via QF, so is fully refundable. But, there are not a lot of direct flights (using Expedia as a booking tool) and the few that are good time-wise are super-expensive, i.e. well over $1100 per person for Economy class. Or maybe this is normal pricing for LHR-FCO? But if we miss the connecting flight, $1100 will seem cheap I suppose

 

[Princess Fiona]

I fly through LHR regularly from Australia and I would not do this connection at all.
It’s way too tight.

EDIT: I just checked my last BA flight LHR-FCO in January and it was T5.
So not only is it a tight connection it’s a T3 to T5 change.

 

[jase05]

Thanks for your reply. It's already booked, but as it gets closer, we have been reviewing our intended itinerary, and this sort of stuck out as a possible 'issue'. The LHR-FCO is currently booked on points via QF, so is fully refundable. But, there are not a lot of direct flights (using Expedia as a booking tool) and the few that are good time-wise are super-expensive, i.e. well over $1100 per person for Economy class. Or maybe this is normal pricing for LHR-FCO? But if we miss the connecting flight, $1100 will seem cheap I suppose

I’ve never paid more than $600 from LHR-FCO in J one way, normally Y is about $150-200

 

[TheRealTMA]

I

Hello

I am part of a party of 4 flying on QF1 SYD-LHR in September. It is scheduled to land at 06:35 am and we have a connecting flight with BA to FCO that is scheduled to leave LHR at 08:00.

Are we going to be cutting it too close to get off the flight from Sydney and then collect baggage, clear Customs, etc. and make it to the BA flight in just under 90 mins?

Any tips? I haven't been over there for a long time.

Cheers!

I agree with those above but haven‘t done this for some years and from what I read chaos reigns at LHR these days. Connection far too short for comfort for me. But, BA should put you on a later flight if there is a delay but you could end up in Y ( not a lot of difference BA J and Y just more crowed.) Better to pick later flight or longer transit via hotel. Good luck!

 

[RooFlyer]

The LHR-FCO is currently booked on points via QF, so is fully refundable. But, there are not a lot of direct flights (using Expedia as a booking tool) and the few that are good time-wise are super-expensive, i.e. well over $1100 per person for Economy class. Or maybe this is normal pricing for LHR-FCO? But if we miss the connecting flight, $1100 will seem cheap I suppose

So its not only a separate ticket, but a points redemption? In that case, if you miss it, you are very unlikely to get a substitute offered. And yes, $1100 would sound cheap then.

If its all on time, you might be kicking yourself for asking here when you've changed, but on a long flight over, I like to relax and not worry about delays in the air, delays getting to a gate, delays getting bags etc.

 

[bgh]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I think we will cool our heels in London for the day and fly to Rome the following morning...

 

[Forg]

Breakfast at Borough Markets … win!