Clearing customs and immigration at Heathrow

[Travel Lifestyle]

1 hour ago, Globaliser said:

Here's a moving illustration, in time lapse, of activity at this time of the morning. The landing aircraft are probably about a minute apart from each other in real time.

 

 

Oh wow

[SSAtlantic]

On 1/25/2024 at 5:11 PM, Globaliser said:

A 6.30 am arrival is one of the worst times of the day to arrive at Heathrow

If we are flying from the NY area, when is a good time to arrive in a Saturday?  We had  4-5 flight times to pick from and of course picked the earliest arriving at 6:20 am. 

[Globaliser]

23 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

If we are flying from the NY area, when is a good time to arrive in a Saturday?  We had  4-5 flight times to pick from and of course picked the earliest arriving at 6:20 am. 

 

That depends on what criteria make it "good" for you. Personally, if my body clock is running on East Coast time, I prefer the latest possible flight. From NYC, that can often be nearly midnight, so arriving in the UK just before noon = 7 am NYC time, and your body will have been demanding sleep throughout the flight so you have a decent chance of getting some. Trying to navigate an airport and an arrival city when your body and brain think it's 2 am (and you haven't slept) is a big contributor to these short East Coast overnights feeling like hell on earth. For me, that's a high priority criterion.

[Slock2000]

Question for a first time traveler overseas. For a flight on AA and one leg is operated by BA, we would depart from ATH arrive in LHR, change planes with having an 1hour 30 minute time from for connecting flight from LHR to LAX, will this give us enough time. Our checked luggage will not need to be picked up between flights.

[Globaliser]

14 hours ago, Slock2000 said:

For a flight on AA and one leg is operated by BA, we would depart from ATH arrive in LHR, change planes with having an 1hour 30 minute time from for connecting flight from LHR to LAX, will this give us enough time.

 

1:30 is exactly on the published Minimum Connection Time between an ATH-LHR flight operated by BA (arriving at T5) and a LHR-LAX flight operated by AA (departing from T3).

 

At the MCT, the airlines expect that most passengers will still make it, most of the time - but there will be a significant misconnection risk. So it will be worth your while knowing exactly what you must do when you get to LHR (basically, do not clear immigration and customs at LHR, but follow the purple Flight Connections signs), what later LHR-LAX flights you might be rebooked onto on the same day (although there's no guarantee that you'd get rebooked onto another non-stop LHR-LAX), and what your backup plans are in the event that you have to take a 24-hour delay.

[Slock2000]

Wow, why do they sell a flight as one flight with that connection then? It would be aweful to end a vacation not making a connection!

[Globaliser]

23 minutes ago, Slock2000 said:

Wow, why do they sell a flight as one flight with that connection then?

 

Because most passengers will make it, most of the time.

 

If you want less risk, pick different flights.

[Slock2000]

Thank You

[SSAtlantic]

We have changed our flights and are now flying on a daytime flight. Leaving the US at 8:30am for a Friday night arrival at 8:30pm. What is a good estimate of time to arrange our transfer to London hotel?

[Globaliser]

Meeting the driver at about 9.30 pm should be fine. If you're using one of the usual suspects, they will be checking for the flight's actual arrival time, anyway, which is as much of a variable as the time it takes to clear immigration, collect bags and clear customs.

[travelbuds]

On 7/8/2023 at 11:23 AM, gumshoe958 said:

 

The 1345 bus is certainly doable, but I would recommend buying the £5 “Change & Go” add-on which allows you to take a later bus if you miss it, subject to availability.

Wondering if you got the "Change and Go" and picked a later time, can you get an earlier time on arrival if space is available?

[travelbuds]

On 7/8/2023 at 11:23 AM, gumshoe958 said:

Once you have your luggage, it’s about a 10 minute walk to Heathrow Central bus station via clearly signed underground tunnels (including some moving walkways, if they’re working).

 

The 1345 bus is certainly doable, but I would recommend buying the £5 “Change & Go” add-on which allows you to take a later bus if you miss it, subject to availability.

Wondering if you got the "Change and Go" and picked a later time, can you get an earlier time on arrival if space is available?

[gumshoe958]

6 hours ago, travelbuds said:

Wondering if you got the "Change and Go" and picked a later time, can you get an earlier time on arrival if space is available?

Yes you can, it works for any bus within 12 hours either side of the one you booked, as long as there’s space.