First time international travelers

[beekash]

We have never flown internationally before and hoping some of you experienced travelers can give me some description of what will be involved in changing plans at LHR this October, as well as answer some other questions. We are cruising from Venice to Barcelona. Airline going there is British Air (although some legs operated by American) and returning on American. All flights booked on one ticket. Already got our seat assignments. We plan to take one large suitcase which will be checked and 1 standard size carry-on bag.

 

Plan is: leave Kansas City Friday afternoon for Chicago. Spend night in Chicago with family. Question 1: do we reclaim our checked bag in Chicago since it will be a little over 24 hrs until our next flight?

 

Depart Chicago Saturday evening on BA (I assume we should arrive at O'Hare at least 2 hours prior to flight). Land at LHR early morning Sunday. Husband has some mobility issues, so have already requested a wheelchair at LHR for him. We have about 2.5 hours until flight to Venice, also BA. Here is where I'd like some detailed info. I understand we will have to go through "passport control." What does this mean? Will we need to claim our checked bag and recheck it? What kind of security procedures will we go through?

 

Should arrive in Venice early Sunday afternoon and our cruise does not leave until 1AM on Tuesday.

 

Coming back I'm not as concerned about, have flights from Barcelona to JFK to O'Hare to Kansas City, all on American. We'll have 4 hours to go thru customs at JFK.

 

Thanks, people, for any information, advice you can share!

[headhunterke]

Imho, it will be best to take your bags on the first night when you stay in Chicago. It's an awful long time for bags to be left alone. You'll need to go through security anyways, so it'll be a small effort to check in your bag again. In theory, it should be ok for your bag to do the overnight transit, but I prefer to have my bags with me if I'm not at the airport. That's a personal opinion however.

 

Normally the agent in Kansas can already check you in all the way through to the final destination, but just ask for the bags to be short checked to ORD (O'Hare). Then the day after, just drop the bags at the drop off point in ORD and let them be checked all the way to VCE.

 

You're right, once you land at LHR, it all starts. What time does your flight arrive there? During rush hour, things can get chaotic at T5 (which is where your flight to VCE will most likely depart). The security checks are unlike any other I have EVER encountered at ANY airport I've flown in to. You normally do not need to change terminals, so you're spared that trip. Immigration will indeed be done at LHR, but has been pretty fast for me last couple of times (do not mix it up with security, because that can be a real pain). Arriving and transitting pax are seperated for immigration purposes. LHR is a well indicated airport, so I'll doubt you'll get lost ;-)

 

You do not have to claim your bags at LHR. 2.5 hours should be ok, but as I said, T5 at LHR can get real ugly. But on the other hand, I think you'll be able to skip a large part of the line because of your husband. I'm not sure how stuff works for pax with reduced mobility at LHR, but here in Brussels, they can cut off about 90% of the line. If possible, ask for someone to accompany your husband (and you of course), that should speed things up as well.

[RuthC]

I've had one wheelchair experience at LHR; take it for what it's worth.

My flight from Boston was terminating in London. I was wheeled up the jetway where I was transferred to a cart. I was brought to a wheelchair staging area where people sat and waited for their next transport, based on priority order of where they were going.

It was only a little unnerving, as I knew I didn't need to catch a flight, but I also wanted to get going, as I didn't want my suitcase taken before I got there! Since I wasn't changing planes, I was a low priority, but that is better news for you as the people in charge do pay attention.

I don't know where you will land, or transfer to, so I don't know if you have a time crunch.

Do try to relax and trust that the people in charge know what they're doing, but also remind them of your flight if you think time is getting short.

[Zach1213]

If you're connecting straight through at LHR, which sounds like is the case, you do NOT go through passport control. You're a transit passenger, and UK is not part of Schengen Agreement. You will clear immigration and customs in VCE. You will re clear security at LHR. It's not always quick at T5, but is rarely awful in my (frequent) experience...and the wheelchair should help

[Gardyloo]

The only comment on your plan is make sure that the Chicago - London flight is operated by BA, and that you're not on a "codeshare" flight (BA flight number) actually operated by American Airlines. Look carefully at your ticket to make sure. If you are on an AA-operated flight (it would be a four-digit BA flight number, not three) then you would land at Terminal 3 at LHR and need to transfer to Terminal 5 for the Venice flight. This is not hard, but it's time consuming, especially for passengers needing assistance.

[beekash]

The only comment on your plan is make sure that the Chicago - London flight is operated by BA, and that you're not on a "codeshare" flight (BA flight number) actually operated by American Airlines. Look carefully at your ticket to make sure. If you are on an AA-operated flight (it would be a four-digit BA flight number, not three) then you would land at Terminal 3 at LHR and need to transfer to Terminal 5 for the Venice flight. This is not hard, but it's time consuming, especially for passengers needing assistance.

 

 

I checked and the legs from ORD-LHR and LHR-VCE are indeed BA (3 digit) flights, so looks like we won't have to change terminals. We arrive at 6:50 am on a Sunday so I'm thinking that would not be an extremely busy time.

Is going through security there similar to US airports (check your passport/ID, put carry on bag thru scanner, empty pockets, take off shoes, go thru scanner, etc)? Anything else involved?

Thanks to all who have responded - very helpful info.

[Gardyloo]

I checked and the legs from ORD-LHR and LHR-VCE are indeed BA (3 digit) flights, so looks like we won't have to change terminals. We arrive at 6:50 am on a Sunday so I'm thinking that would not be an extremely busy time.

Is going through security there similar to US airports (check your passport/ID, put carry on bag thru scanner, empty pockets, take off shoes, go thru scanner, etc)? Anything else involved?

Thanks to all who have responded - very helpful info.

6:50 is a very busy time. Many flights from North America all land right around then.

 

Security is similar except you can keep your shoes on.

[headhunterke]

As Gardyloo said, that's an extremely bust time. One of the worst rushes of the day imo. But, you got time enough and there's a lot of staff wandering around the lanes to make sure people with a connecting flight can skip some of the big lines. Secirity checks are indeed roughly the same. Although, I have found LHR more aware then US airports. For example, I had a little stick of after-bite in my handbag (which I totally forgot about).

 

I've passed security with it at both FLL and ORD without removing it from the bag and putting it together with my other liquids, but they stopped me at LHR, checked my entire bag, did a drug analysis and found the little stick. If they hadn't found it, it probably would still be in that little side pocket of the bag... So make sure to keep all your liquids in 1 place and in a plastic bag, because once your bag gets set aside to do a manual search, it takes a lot of time.

[PennyAgain]

Yes about the manual searches taking time and they also open you up to the 'opportunity' to answer more questions. You don't want to go through all that.

 

I got the classic question 'your accent doesn't match your address'.

 

Keep it simple and whatever else happens don't start arguing with the inspectors because they will win.

[beekash]

They won't get any arguments from us! So even Sunday morning is busy? Thought it might be a little quieter on a Sunday. Anyway, thanks to all - I now have a better idea of what to expect. Hopefully we land on time and all goes smoothly. You just never know anymore with airlines - but that's why I tried to build in a lot of extra time before the cruise leaves.

[happy cruzer]

Do you know that your "standard size" carry on meets all your flights requirements?

 

When I did research a few years ago, I realized that the size had decreased and included the wheels. So I bought some new, smaller carry ons, just to be safe. Also be sure meds can stay with you like in your purse that will fit under the seat in front of you if for some reason your carry on has to be checked.

[beekash]

Do you know that your "standard size" carry on meets all your flights requirements?

 

When I did research a few years ago, I realized that the size had decreased and included the wheels. So I bought some new, smaller carry ons, just to be safe. Also be sure meds can stay with you like in your purse that will fit under the seat in front of you if for some reason your carry on has to be checked.

 

Yes I checked the BA and AA websites to check their dimensions for carry-on. My old carry on is now too big but my husband's works. Thanks for the tip though.