Is 70 minutes between flights enough at Heathrow?

Had I been an F passenger

 

Pleb ;)

 

Joking aside, if without Galleries First/Concorde Room access the T5B lounge is actually pretty decent and quiet due to the relatively late posting of gates.

I do think it's a bit silly that freely moving between T5A, T5B and T5C isn't as easy as it could be though. I'm really not looking forward to say an F trip out of T5C where I get to the gate and find that at short notice my flight/boarding has been delayed for a while resulting in hanging out at the gate when I could have been in the CCR...I suppose if it was long enough and I was stroppy enough I could get back to T5A.

Closest I've had is a 3+ hour delay in T5B (LHR-DFW) after arriving at the gate. They basically just told us to wait at the T5B lounge for further notice. Felt like we were captive! Had I been an F passenger I would have been quite irritated.

But the whole terminal is built on the basis of a one-way flow from T5A to T5B and T5C. It's only in unusual circumstances that any passenger would want to go backwards. So I'd rather that HAL didn't waste unnecessary money on an unused direction of travel. (I predict that the existing travelators will in due course prove to be a white elephant once the transit has been fully completed, let alone any hypothetical contra-flow travelators.) And it's always been possible to get back to T5A anyway.

 

On our first First, four or five years ago, this is exactly what happened to us. We left the CCR when we were advised to go to the gate in T5B. When we got there, there was a boarding delay, and we were advised to go up to the lounge. After a while there, we were told that the aircraft was too badly damaged to fly that evening, and it would take a couple of hours to change aircraft. So we walked back to T5A and back into the CCR for dinner and more drinks - and stayed there until we were thrown out at closing time and made to go back to the T5B lounge.

We had a very harrowing experience connecting in late August in Heathrow. Never again. Worse than Paris.

Edited October 29, 2014 by roothy123

We had a very harrowing experience connecting in late August in Heathrow. Never again. Worse than Paris.

 

:confused:

 

Terminals?

Airlines?

Time allowed to connect?

Why was it harrowing?

 

For your post to be useful it kind of helps to be backed up by some information that helps someone make their decision.

:confused:

 

Terminals?

Airlines?

Time allowed to connect?

Why was it harrowing?

 

For your post to be useful it kind of helps to be backed up by some information that helps someone make their decision.

 

First, we booked a set of flights that seemed to have a decent connection time - not too long but (I thought) not too short. I think the time between flights was around an hour, but I've forgotten. Either BA's or Heathrow's website recommended an hour connection time, so I thought we would be OK. We were also supposed to come into and depart from Terminal 5, which sounded good. However, I didn't realize Terminal 5 had multiple buildings, each with their own security lines.

 

Our BA flight from Barcelona left late, although now I don't remember how much late. The pilot was unable to make up any time so we landed late at Heathrow. My husband's feet swell up when he flies long distances, so pre-flight we had requested a wheelchair. It was not there when we landed, so one of the flight attendants called for one. A departing passenger told us (sincerely, I believe) that we'd get there faster by walking than waiting for a wheelchair, but that was just not going to be possible for my husband, so we waited.

 

We were sitting away from the gate of the plane, with few people other than passengers flying by from our flight, which concerned me a little, as it would have been hard to check on the status of the wheelchair with so few airport/airline personnel around. After 10 minutes had passed we were able to flag down someone from BA, who called to see if the wheelchair was coming. Once it came, the man made a valiant effort to get us to our gate. He practically flew through the airport, and I was practically running behind him. I'm not sure if it was the most direct route possible, as people in wheelchairs sometimes have to go a little out of the way to use elevators, but our route took us down one or two very long halls, on the train at one point (I assume to go to another building), and in the other building, through security (at which point the wheelchair attendant politely took us to the front of the line, which helped expedite things but no doubt didn't earn us any brownie points from other frantic people). Once we got to the gate, the flight was boarding, and we knew we would be OK. After taking the elevator down from the gate, a bus took us a short distance to the plane, where we went up the steps and found our seats. We were both sweating by that time, but relieved to have made the flight.

 

We have had difficult connections in Heathrow before, but this was the worst. You may not have a problem at all, especially if you are pretty mobile with no need for a wheelchair, and your first flight lands on time. Of course, if your connecting flight is a bit late, you may be OK too! I think ours left a little later than scheduled.

 

BA is an OK airline, but if I ever book with them again, I will definitely allow an hour and a half connection time, even if it means we sit in London for 3 or 4 hours, or have to leave home 3 or 4 hours earlier than we want. With the timing and length of flights from Heathrow to the US, there aren't too many good options if you miss your flight, so it is not something I want to do. Besides, at that point I really wanted to get home....

 

You can check on-time performance (and also, I believe, what gate a flight comes into/goes out of) on flightaware.net. I don't know if it gives historical information, but at least you can look up on-time performance for the flights from the past week. Also, the U.S. Department of Transportation has lots of on-time stats, but I don't think they cover non-U.S. airlines, so that may not be helpful in selecting flights to/from Europe.

 

I should add that BA & Heathrow had some pretty precise rules about when you have to be at the gate to be allowed to board. I don't think they followed that for us (thankfully!!) but it certainly did make us pretty fearful when it looked like there was no way we would make that flight...

 

OK - attached is a photo. Run (literally) like hell is this tag is attached to your checked luggage!

Edited October 30, 2014 by roothy123

Either BA's or Heathrow's website recommended an hour connection time, so I thought we would be OK.

Are you sure they "recommended" an hour, or just that 1 hour was listed as the minimum connect time? Generally, the minimum connect time assumes best case scenario, and doesn't allow room for delays.

 

We were also supposed to come into and depart from Terminal 5, which sounded good. However, I didn't realize Terminal 5 had multiple buildings, each with their own security lines.

Always good to check an airport map ahead of time, for any airport with which you are unfamiliar. ;)

 

we had requested a wheelchair....I'm not sure if it was the most direct route possible, as people in wheelchairs sometimes have to go a little out of the way to use elevators

This goes back to the minimum connect time.... if you have any special circumstances (i.e. needing a wheelchair which may indeed not be able to take the shortest route), I would add time to the minimum.

 

We have had difficult connections in Heathrow before, but this was the worst. You may not have a problem at all, especially if you are pretty mobile with no need for a wheelchair, and your first flight lands on time. Of course, if your connecting flight is a bit late, you may be OK too! I think ours left a little later than scheduled.

 

BA is an OK airline, but if I ever book with them again, I will definitely allow an hour and a half connection time

 

Having had difficult connections there, I would definitely allow a lot more time. Live and learn; hopefully your next flights provide a better experience!

Having had difficult connections there, I would definitely allow a lot more time. Live and learn; hopefully your next flights provide a better experience!

 

Yes, you're right - 60 minutes was the minimum connection time.

 

Yes, live and learn. Now I research and question EVERYTHING!

Yes, you're right - 60 minutes was the minimum connection time.

 

 

 

Yes, live and learn. Now I research and question EVERYTHING!

 

 

For those connecting through LHR - I do T5 transits many times each year, with fast track capabilities to skip the longest security lines, and I still would never do a connection less than 90-120 minutes within T5. LHR's minimum connection time is a joke much of the time - don't fall for it.

It depends. We did a Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 transfer in early Sept and it was very fast. Twenty minutes at the most. Changed our opinion of going through LHR.

 

BUT, yesterday we did a Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 transfer. It was awful and took an hour just to get from Terminal 3 to 5 and through security screening.

 

THEN, our plane was at Terminal 5's B32 gate. We took a elevator down to the train, and a train to B gates. Then escalators up. After that a walk to our gate to catch our BA flight. But no, there was more. No skyway at this gate. We had to walk down two flights of metal stairs to board a bus that took us to our plane...that looked to me like it was on the tarmac beside T3. Then again stairs up to the plane. Not certain how those with physical infirmities dealt with this.

 

So, we are back to where we have been for the past 10 years. We will avoid LHR whenever possible in favour of AMS or FRA. IF we MUST use LHR and transfer, we will budget for 90-120 minutes....assuming there is no security alert and screening is moving at the normal (slow) speed.

Edited November 7, 2014 by iancal

It depends. We did a Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 transfer in early Sept and it was very fast. Twenty minutes at the most. Changed our opinion of going through LHR.

 

BUT, yesterday we did a Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 transfer. It was awful and took an hour just to get from Terminal 3 to 5 and through security screening.

 

THEN, our plane was at Terminal 5's B32 gate. We took a elevator down to the train, and a train to B gates. Then escalators up. After that a walk to our gate to catch our BA flight. But no, there was more. No skyway at this gate. We had to walk down two flights of metal stairs to board a bus that took us to our plane...that looked to me like it was on the tarmac beside T3. Then again stairs up to the plane. Not certain how those with physical infirmities dealt with this.

 

So, we are back to where we have been for the past 10 years. We will avoid LHR whenever possible in favour of AMS or FRA. IF we MUST use LHR and transfer, we will budget for 90-120 minutes....assuming there is no security alert and screening is moving at the normal (slow) speed.

 

Yes, the gate surprise of having to go down 2 flights of stairs and board a bus isn't great. However, at least by that time they aren't going to leave you, and also there is an elevator at that point that I assume anyone can use (if you brave enough h to step out of the herd!) My husband's carryon was also searched at that point (gate) but that is just a random search and it didn't look like many people were pulled over, so that wouldn't add to the amount of time you need. Once you're to that point, you're probably going to make the plane, even with the stairs, bus and climb to the plane. (And no, climbing those last steps aren't particularly fun for someone with bad knees or feet).

We have 2 flights with connection in Heathrow

Toronto to Rome 2012 and Toronto to Barcelona 2013, both times with 65 minutes between flights

It was no problem for us.