Different inbound and outbound carriers while connecting in LHR.

I am looking at flights for my sister and her husband from LAX to Copenhagen.

 

LAX-LHR: Virgin Atlantic

LHR -CPH: British Airways

 

Two layover times option: 2hr 15 min or 4hr 45 min

 

1. Will their luggage be checked all the way through to Copenhagen? Or will they need to get their luggage at LHR and re-check with BA?

 

2. Is 2hr 15min sufficient time to clear customs and catch the connecting flight? Or it is safer to take the 4hr 45 min connection?

 

Thanks!

Do Virgin code share with BA?

Are the flight booked on 1 ticket or 2 separate ones?

 

I would take the longer layover

 

It always seems to take longer at LHR connecting

JMO

 

could always look at Norwegian air they fly Nonstop

 

if it goes the day they need ..

Edited September 13, 2018 by LHT28

Do you know that Norwegian Air Shuttle flies non-stop LAX - CPH in 10h40m? They are a low-cost carrier, but I would much prefer a long haul flight without a connection to dealing with the hassles of Heathrow.

Do Virgin code share with BA?

Are the flight booked on 1 ticket or 2 separate ones?

 

I would take the longer layover

 

It always seems to take longer at LHR connecting

JMO

 

could always look at Norwegian air they fly Nonstop

 

if it goes the day they need ..

 

It is booked on 1 ticket.

 

I thought about Norweigan, but know nothing about their premium economy seats.

It is booked on 1 ticket.

 

I thought about Norweigan, but know nothing about their premium economy seats.

If booked on 1 ticket then the bags are probably through checked

 

I would call the 1st airline to be sure though

Are you booking through the airlines or a 3rd party site ?

Edited September 13, 2018 by LHT28

 

 

 

1. Will their luggage be checked all the way through to Copenhagen? Or will they need to get their luggage at LHR and re-check with BA?

 

 

 

2. Is 2hr 15min sufficient time to clear customs and catch the connecting flight? Or it is safer to take the 4hr 45 min connection?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Question 2 is fundamentally dependent on the answer to Question 1 - if they don’t need to collect bags, then they can remain as airside transit passengers so no need to clear either immigration or customs.

 

You say later it’s one ticket - please make sure that’s really true and not two tickets packaged together - then BA should interline the baggage to VS.

 

But if they are not familiar with LHR, they may want to take the longer layover anyway. But airside, the shorter should be plenty.

 

 

 

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Do Virgin code share with BA?

 

 

They don’t, but the question is irrelevant in this context (your next question is the crux). Plenty of airlines interline luggage with carriers they don’t have a code share with.

 

 

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LAX-LHR: Virgin Atlantic

LHR -CPH: British Airways

 

Two layover times option: 2hr 15 min or 4hr 45 min

 

1. Will their luggage be checked all the way through to Copenhagen? Or will they need to get their luggage at LHR and re-check with BA?

 

2. Is 2hr 15min sufficient time to clear customs and catch the connecting flight? Or it is safer to take the 4hr 45 min connection?

If the travel is on one ticket, then 2:15 is fine. The process is that on arrival at LHR Terminal 3, they follow the purple flight connections signs for Terminal 5. There is a bus which takes them across the airfield to T5, where they collect their onward boarding pass (if for some reason they don't already have it), have that checked against their passport, clear security, and go to the gate for the onward flight. This process should normally take 45-60 minutes. The bags would be through-checked and don't need to be touched at LHR.

 

There is no reason why the travel should not be on one ticket. As others have said, neither alliances nor codeshares matter. Virgin Atlantic sells plenty of through-fares over London to other European destinations. As Virgin doesn't have a short-haul operation, all of the onward short-haul connections are bound to be on other airlines. And as Virgin isn't a member of any alliance, by definition the other airlines that are used are not going to be in an alliance with Virgin.

 

However, this is where the flexibility might be used to your benefit. On LAX-LHR-CPH, VS will place its passengers onto both BA and Scandinavian. The potential benefit is this: SK operates at LHR T2, which is physically much closer to T3. That may make the transfer a little easier.

 

I'm guessing that the itinerary that you're looking at has a Monday evening departure from LAX, onto a BA departure at 1400 on Tuesday. If that's right, you may find that the fare is also valid for a connection onto SK504 at 1405, so that the connection time would be 2:20 (instead of 2:15). So there is slightly more leeway on what should in theory be a slightly easier connection. (However, it may be that the passengers have a reason for picking BA over SK, and I wouldn't count this as a strong reason for avoiding the connection onto BA.)

 

If it were the case that what you're being sold is two separate tickets, then I think that 4:45 is close to the minimum sensible time, given that there would be no guarantee that the bags would be through-checked and theoretically no protection if the second flight is missed because the first flight is late. However, it sounds like you've already discounted this possibility.

Globaliser - thank you for that detailed response.

 

All- The ticket I am considering is being offered through a 3rd party and packaged as below. Just want to make sure the luggage will get there as well. :-)

 

If I purchased directly from VA, then I would have to go to SAS or BA to buy the LHR-CPH tickets. This would then result in 2 individual tickets. How do I find out if the below is considered as one ticket?

 

Virgin Atlantic

Flight 8

• 5:15pm
  
• Los Angeles (LAX)
  
• 11:45am
  
• London (LHR)
  

2h 15m layover in London

British Airways

Flight 818

• 2:00pm
  
• London (LHR)
  
• 4:55pm
  
• Copenhagen (CPH)
  

I see there is the option for SAS connection as well. I have no experience with SAS though:

 

Virgin Atlantic

Flight 8

• 5:15pm
  
• Los Angeles (LAX)
  
• 11:45am
  
• London (LHR)
  

2h 20m layover in London

 

Scandinavian Airlines

Flight 504

• 2:05pm
  
• London (LHR)
  
• 5:00pm
  
• Copenhagen (CPH)
  

Personally I would look at Norwegian airshuttle & the non stop

Their Premium seats look fine though I have not used them I am sure you could find reviews on them

But of course I hate connections so it is just my personal opinion

I try to avoid LHR & CDG if I do have to make a connection

Any reason why you're not considering flying BA for both legs?

Any reason why you're not considering flying BA for both legs?

 

BA and Virgin Atlantic are like night and day - BA has reached the bottom in the race - Virgin has a way to go yet.

 

We avoid BA longhaul now after a fairly lousy experience coming back from Sydney. We flew out on Singapore Airlines - now that is a good airline.

From what my researches have shown, Norwegian’s Premium Economy is far superior to Virgin’s or BA’s. I should go with them. A direct flight is always preferable.

 

 

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Although we have not flown on Norweigan, our recent experience with them have me looking elsewhere.

 

I had purchased 3 Norweigan premium economy tickets (flight this past June) for the sole reason of flying on their dreamliner. A week before we were scheduled to depart, I received an email stating that our aircraft has changed from the Dreamliner to an old Wamos plane (wet lease). After researching about Wamos, we were not thrilled. To their credit, Norweigan allowed us to cancel for full refund - so we did. I did not want to take that chance again.

 

We have flown on many BA flights in Premium Economy and they have all been consistent: comfort, food, flight attendants.

 

I do not like flying through Heathrow either, but I will if need be.

From what my researches have shown, Norwegian’s Premium Economy is far superior to Virgin’s or BA’s. I should go with them. A direct flight is always preferable.

 

 

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Agree...I prefer a direct flight as well. But I am not ready for Norweigan just yet.

BA and Virgin Atlantic are like night and day - BA has reached the bottom in the race - Virgin has a way to go yet.

 

We avoid BA longhaul now after a fairly lousy experience coming back from Sydney. We flew out on Singapore Airlines - now that is a good airline.

 

I too have had great experience with Singapore. But they are not an option for this trip.

Any reason why you're not considering flying BA for both legs?

 

1. Price

2. Other family members already bought their tickets so jsut trying to get on the same flight as them.

Have you considered Air Canada you connect in Toronto & they do have a nice lounge there if you have a long layover

 

Just an option

Only thought luggage got transfered through if it was the same airline or a codeshare airlines. Don't think BA and Virgin codeshare.

 

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Only thought luggage got transfered through if it was the same airline or a codeshare airlines.

Nope - as explained above.

All- The ticket I am considering is being offered through a 3rd party and packaged as below. Just want to make sure the luggage will get there as well. :-)

 

If I purchased directly from VA, then I would have to go to SAS or BA to buy the LHR-CPH tickets. This would then result in 2 individual tickets. How do I find out if the below is considered as one ticket?

What I would be doing is using ITA to price the exact itinerary, and then comparing the total price (including the breakdown of taxes, fees and charges) to the fare and TFC quoted by the travel agent. If there are two separate tickets, then the item-by-item breakdown of the TFC is liable to be different, and the base fare may not match. However, life has become complicated by the fact that the ITA quote may include a GDS surcharge and the travel agent you're using may or may not have to pay it.

 

You could phone the travel agent and ask, and hope that you're getting an accurate answer.

 

Alternatively, you could phone Virgin Atlantic (that's VS, not VA - VA is a different airline altogether) and book the ticket over the phone. I'd be surprised if you could not do so. You'd be assured of getting one ticket covering both parts of the journey if you do that. But if you're using the travel agent because it's cheaper, then it's possible that you may not like the price quoted by VS (which should be the same as that quoted by ITA, barring only the issue of the GDS fee).

 

However, you're right not to try to buy from VS online because (as you say) you can't get a through ticket to CPH. You definitely want to avoid any route that's guaranteed to get you two separate tickets.

 

One thing that does give me a bit of comfort is the fact that the travel agent is quoting for the VS-SK connection. If ITA says that these two routings should be the same price, and the travel agent is offering them for the same price, then I think that it's a reasonable bet that you're being sold one ticket for the journey.

 

Is there a cooling-off period after purchase within which you can cancel for a full refund if you buy from this travel agent? If so, then one thing you could do is to make the purchase, and then check the ticket numbers. Thereafter, cancel if you're unhappy.

Only thought luggage got transfered through if it was the same airline or a codeshare airlines. Don't think BA and Virgin codeshare.

 

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This is why you book through an agent (or agency). As long as it is on the same ticket you can check luggage through. There are some exceptions, for example, if you are transferring to a domestic flight you might have to claim your luggage to go through customs and then drop it off for the next leg, but here the transfer is to Copenhagen.

This is why you book through an agent (or agency). As long as it is on the same ticket you can check luggage through.

You don't necessarily have to book through a travel agent to get routings like this onto one ticket. I'd be surprised if VS could not sell this routing over the phone, as I have said.

What I would be doing is using ITA to price the exact itinerary, and then comparing the total price (including the breakdown of taxes, fees and charges) to the fare and TFC quoted by the travel agent. If there are two separate tickets, then the item-by-item breakdown of the TFC is liable to be different, and the base fare may not match. However, life has become complicated by the fact that the ITA quote may include a GDS surcharge and the travel agent you're using may or may not have to pay it.

 

I tried this, but ITA is giving me only flights with mixed classes. For example, it is Premium Economy from LAX-CPH, but Business from Mad-LAX.

 

 

Is there a cooling-off period after purchase within which you can cancel for a full refund if you buy from this travel agent? If so, then one thing you could do is to make the purchase, and then check the ticket numbers. Thereafter, cancel if you're unhappy.

 

I do not understand this. Are you saying there is one ticket number for LAX-LHR-CPH?

I tried this, but ITA is giving me only flights with mixed classes. For example, it is Premium Economy from LAX-CPH, but Business from Mad-LAX.

It is rather frustrating here when trying to get basic information is so hard.

 

So, I assume that what you're wanting is VS PE from LAX to LHR, and VS PE from LHR to LAX, with the short-haul flights in economy?

 

If so, this is the search that you need (the full text of the second box is F BC=W|BC=S|BC=H|BC=K as W, S, H and K are four booking classes used by VS for PE):-

 

 

And this is the sort of result that you'll get - although I've had to go for a random NS2019 Monday departure to show you the 2:15 connection to the BA to CPH:-