Minimum Connection Time- Heathrow

We are flying from the U.S. to Berlin with a connection in Heathrow. Most likely on British Airways for both flights.

What would be the MINIMUM connection time suggested for the plane change at Heathrow. At this stage of planning, do not know if a terminal change is involved.

http://www.heathrow.com/airport-guide

 

Lots of info on the above site, but it takes time and delving. Hope that it helps :)

We are flying from the U.S. to Berlin with a connection in Heathrow. Most likely on British Airways for both flights.

What would be the MINIMUM connection time suggested for the plane change at Heathrow. At this stage of planning, do not know if a terminal change is involved.

The answer (both for the official Minimum Connection Time, and for the potentially very different answer for connecting comfortably without too much stress) depends critically on the airlines involved. If you can tell us what the other candidates are, we can give some ideas. What's comfortable also depends on your own attitude to travel, and how relaxed you'd be if you missed your booked onward flight and you had to wait for the next available flight.

 

What I can say is that if you are flying on British Airways-operated flights both to and from Heathrow and both of the flights operate to/from Terminal 5, then the official MCT is 60 minutes. What I'd generally reckon is to allow about double that if you can, if you want to have a reasonably comfortable time doing it.

It's a lot easier if you book it as a through journey rather than as two flights. The last time I flew into LHR on BA, there were people on board who had through flights booked. We were 30 minutes late and BA staff were there to whisk those passengers off to another terminal. I heard one say that they had 45 minutes to do it. I have no idea whether they made it of course, but BA certainly tried.

 

I have also seen anecdotal reports that red eye flights from the East Coast frequently arrive early. In any case, they are less likely to be delayed by congestion at LHR.

Yes, if it's a through ticket it's up to BA to get you through to you connecting flight.........or put you in a hotel (Sofitel) for the night. ;)

Where are you flying from? Lufthansa may have direct flights.

At LHR, it took us 90 minutes to get from our BA flight from Amsterdam to our next BA flight to the US. I was thinking the whole time, "I'm so glad we have plenty of time for the connection!" Felt really sorry for those that were obviously very stressed out waiting through this line, that line and the next line. Had no idea BA is obligated to get you to the next flight. Good to know.

Not necessary the 'next' flight....but a flight or hotel and a flight the following day. The benefits of a through ticket.

I was meant to have a 3 hour transit time in Heathrow once. My plane was delayed over an hour. I had 60 minutes to get to from terminal 1 to terminal 5. I had to run all the way (plus transport bus). I had to go through security again. They have a separate line for connecting flights so it wasn't too busy. Run through terminal 5 to my gate. They were just boarding the last passengers when I got there.

 

I had a through flight so knew that BA would have to get me on flight, but still I was sailing out the next day so it could have been a close thing if I missed my flight.

 

I would much rather have 3 hr wait in terminal than the sprint I did that day. I have done fairly brisk transfer at 90 min.

 

Don't forge flight time and when boarding gate closes are two different things.

 

If i have a long wait I get a meal and a drink and just relax. There are a lot of shops in the terminals to look at.

 

If flights where in the same terminal than you could have a shorter layover time.

 

But would not do it if the tickets weren't connected. Also you usually pay less tax if Heathrow is a connecting stop opposed to Heathrow being end and beginning of flight.

 

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I have also seen anecdotal reports that red eye flights from the East Coast frequently arrive early. In any case, they are less likely to be delayed by congestion at LHR.

I see this mentioned here from time to time, and really don't understand the basis for it.

 

While it is true that stronger tailwinds may mean that your flight can arrive earlier than scheduled, this is not unique to eastbound trans-Atlantics nor is it unique to Heathrow. This also happens to me on flights from Hong Kong and Singapore. And for every flight that is early for this reason, there will be a flight which is late because the tailwinds are less strong than average or the headwinds are stronger than average.

 

If you happen to be on the lucky side of the random distribution, then another thing comes into play which (in its detail) is specific to Heathrow: the curfew. The first permissible landing time is 0432L. If your flight is so early that you could land before then, you'll have to do circles or holding racetracks in the sky somewhere, or fly some long pattern to delay you; or, these days, be asked to slow down when still a long way away to lengthen the duration of your flight. (The same can also happen at any time of the day to manage the flow of aircraft reaching London airspace, regardless of whether you are early, on time or late.) But between 0432L and 0602L, only a small number of flights is allowed to land, and that permission is usually allocated by airlines to the flights that are scheduled to arrive earliest. If your flight is not one of them, and you're early, you'll be likewise waiting in the sky using one of those techniques so that you do not land before 0602L.

 

One consequence is that from 0602L, there is intense pressure on runway capacity for landing. This is a period during which Heathrow often uses both runways for landings to try to get aircraft down as fast as possible. But this is also a peak time for congestion and holding.

 

For these reasons, I really don't understand how anyone could sensibly act on advice that eastbound trans-Atlantics frequently arrive early. Of course, the random distribution of actual flight durations means that some will. But broadly speaking, you're as likely to have a longer-than-scheduled flight as a shorter-than-scheduled flight. Market forces and GDS display methods see to it that airlines do not pad schedules any more than is reasonable for average lengths of delay. And every factor that can make an eastbound flight early some days also operates on all westbound flights to Heathrow.

 

Yes, if it's a through ticket it's up to BA to get you through to you connecting flight.........or put you in a hotel (Sofitel) for the night. ;)

Mind you, under current BA policy anyone who can expect to be put up in the Sofitel for the night is unlikely to be asking the question the OP is asking. :)

 

Ordinary passengers who misconnect and who are then entitled to hotel accommodation overnight will these days usually be put into a cheaper and more distant hotel.

Keep in mind that there is an additional security check at Heathrow for ongoing passengers. We had the required 60 minutes (actually 65) and barely made it almost running through the airport to our connection. (BA). This time I've allowed 3 hours between flights since Heathrow is an interesting airport to walk around and perhaps shop in. (Gave me time to get some Guinness chocolates for a neighbor!) No way would I do a 60-minute layover again...way too stressful.

We have an overnight flight booked with BA from NY to Barcelona with a stop in Heathrow at 0920. I'm concerned because we only have a 90 minute layover and have to get from terminal 5 to terminal 3 to catch the second flight. This is our first time flying into this airport so I didn't realize what all we had to go through at the time I booked it.

 

Is it difficult to move between these terminals?

 

Also, does anyone know whether they use two jetways (front and rear) to deplane a 787? At this point I'm trying to decide where we want to be seated.

I've changed terminals twice on Heathrow connections, and both times took 45 minutes plane to departure lounge. But on both occasions it was a quiet day with no significant queues. So I would say 45 minutes is the absolute minimum, and be surprised if you can do it.

I see this mentioned here from time to time, and really don't understand the basis for it.

 

While it is true that stronger tailwinds may mean that your flight can arrive earlier than scheduled, this is not unique to eastbound trans-Atlantics nor is it unique to Heathrow. This also happens to me on flights from Hong Kong and Singapore. And for every flight that is early for this reason, there will be a flight which is late because the tailwinds are less strong than average or the headwinds are stronger than average.

 

If you happen to be on the lucky side of the random distribution, ...

 

For these reasons, I really don't understand how anyone could sensibly act on advice that eastbound trans-Atlantics frequently arrive early. Of course, the random distribution of actual flight durations means that some will. But broadly speaking, you're as likely to have a longer-than-scheduled flight as a shorter-than-scheduled flight. Market forces and GDS display methods see to it that airlines do not pad schedules any more than is reasonable for average lengths of delay. And every factor that can make an eastbound flight early some days also operates on all westbound flights to Heathrow.

As I understand it, it's not a random distribution. The jet stream flows west to east because of the rotation of the earth, but the schedule flight times east-west and west-east are the same - presumably because they don't mind landing early, but they don't like landing late. I have arrived early several times on Chicago-Manchester, an hour and a half early last time, but I've never been significantly early the other way.

 

But you're right, it can't be relied on. A through ticket is definitely the way to go.

As I understand it, it's not a random distribution. The jet stream flows west to east because of the rotation of the earth, but the schedule flight times east-west and west-east are the same - presumably because they don't mind landing early, but they don't like landing late. .

 

 

No, eastbound transatlantic flight times are often scheduled up to an hour or so faster that the westbound equivalent, so the overall effect is factored in.

 

What is effectively random is the variation in the jet stream that will alter flight times either way.

 

 

 

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No, eastbound transatlantic flight times are often scheduled up to an hour or so faster that the westbound equivalent, so the overall effect is factored in.

 

What is effectively random is the variation in the jet stream that will alter flight times either way.

 

 

 

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My flights are usually American Airlines, Chicago to Manchester, scheduled 8 hours either way. Other companies and routes, I dare say, do it differently.

Thank you for all the information. Now I realize 90 minutes may be pushing it but this is the itinerary BA gave us so we'll let our flight attendant know that we have a connecting flight in case we're late. From what some of you said, BA does help you get to your next flight on time if we're running late.

My flights are usually American Airlines, Chicago to Manchester, scheduled 8 hours either way. Other companies and routes, I dare say, do it differently.

 

 

 

Current scheduling for that route is 9 hours westbound, 7 hours 30 minutes east - an even more extreme example :)

 

 

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I flew LAS to ATH via LHR in May. Layover was 1hr55m. We landed late after circling due to traffic. We had an hour by the time we got off the plane. We then walked very fast which seemed like forever and then waited in line for the bus from T3 to T5. The bus took a good 10 min through countryside it seemed like. Then it was more walking until we came across security but before that was a passport check. I’ve never seen so many people trying to check personal items and tagging them. Once at T5 it felt like a mall two days before Xmas. Luckily our flight left at the gates that didn’t require a tram or shuttle. Talk about stress. Then after all that fast moving my bottle of soda exploded on flight. Next year we’re giving Gatwick a try but no connections [emoji38]

 

 

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... but the schedule flight times east-west and west-east are the same - presumably because they don't mind landing early, but they don't like landing late.

Apart from the error about the scheduled flight times eastbound and westbound, which others have already corrected, it is not true that they don't mind landing early. There's no point landing early if there is no vacant stand for the aircraft so it can't park, there are no ground staff to meet the aircraft so that nobody can disembark, no baggage loaders to unload the baggage, etc. An airline's ground operations are planned around the scheduled times of arrival, and although there's always a bit of juggling for the small random variations each day, you can't simply turn up an hour early and expect to be treated like royalty.

 

Out of interest, I picked up a few more typical timings for eastbound and westbound flights from MAN, to show that the pattern is consistent even at a non-LHR airport:-

MAN-YYZ TS    8:00 eastbound    6:50 westbound
MAN-PHL AA    8:00 eastbound    6:45 westbound
MAN-IAH SQ   10:20 eastbound    8:50 westbound
MAN-EWR UA    8:20 eastbound    6:45 westbound
MAN-ATL VS    9:25 eastbound    8:00 westbound
MAN-JFK VS    7:40 eastbound    6:30 westbound
MAN-MCO VS    9:25 eastbound    7:50 westbound