Budget Travel - Risk it at Gatwick?...

Hello,
I've done some perusing of the forums and some searching, but I'm looking for a little advice.

My wife and I are traveling around europe and we plan to fly to into rome, travel to Geneva, and then our return flights to USA depart from Gatwick (london).

Our departure is from LGW June 14th at 10:10am on US airways.

Our best option currently is:
EasyJet leaving Geneva June 14th at 7:05am, arriving at LGW at 7:40am (north terminal), plan to then catch our 10:10am flight on US Airways.

Question is the following:
We both will have backpacks (carry-on), and pack lightly, what would be a good time estimate on getting off the easy jet flight, and transfer on to the US airways flight? Is 2.5hrs long enough???
and
If we fly EasyJet, and then US Airways, do we have to go through customs in LGW? Do we have to "re-check" back in at LGW?


Or is all this cutting it "too close", and we'd be better off flying the night before into LGW?

Thanks for any advice, as I see that EasyJet has a good name, I'm just not sure of the transfer and baggage situation at LGW (from a LCC to an international flight). :)

You will not be able to check your bags through because EasyJet is a LCC and will not do it. You will need to check in with US, and recheck it and then re-clear security. This means you will also need to go through customs and immigration on arrival. Not enough time I think.

Edit - EasyJet flies into the North Terminal, US into the South. Another reason to not risk it.

However if you only have carry-on, it is possible you can make a 2½ hour connection. In addition, you may be able to change terminals using the free Flight Connections bus, which would mean you could connect airside and not need to clear Customs and passport control.

BTW welcome to FlyerTalk. :)

Welcome to FlyerTalk TysonCook !

To quote a famous Clint Eastwood lineDo you feel lucky ?
While EasyJet does have a pretty good reputation, let me finish the above quote: Well, do you?

EmailKid

You've got to sleep somewhere anyway, and I think you will sleep better in a Gatwick airport hotel than back in Geneva (with a REALLY early wake-up call).

Romelle

IMO opinion very doable.

I have stepped outside for a cigarrette in this time frame and had no trouble getting back in.

The OP asks about interlining baggage. EasyJet wont interline with US, so they will have to land, clear immigration, collect bags, clear customs, transfer terminals and re-check in with US before the cutoff time. I don't think its doable,.

And in any case any delay on the Easyjet flight means you are Fooked & looking at buying a full cost one way ticket in order to get home.

And are all the dimensions of your backpacks smaller than 55x40x20cm (40l, 1800ci) - if not they'll get checked

This would be do-able only if...

- you have no checked baggage
- you are able to check in online (or at a kiosk) for your US Airways flight
- you have travel insurance that will pay to get you home if the Easyjet flight is delayed or cancelled (mine includes GBP 1000 worth of insurance for this)

With checked baggage - no chance.

There are plenty of hotels around LGW, including a Yotel on site. Last time I had to stay overnight at LGW (before the Yotel opened) I stayed at the Travelodge for all of GBP 15 on one of their advance booking offers - I think the cheapest available has now gone up to GBP 19.

You've got to sleep somewhere anyway, and I think you will sleep better in a Gatwick airport hotel than back in Geneva (with a REALLY early wake-up call).


Exactly. What's the point of paying for a full hotel night (at Swiss rates, not less!) just in order to get up at 04:00, miss breakfast, and have to rely on good fortune in order to make a connection at an unfamiliar airport?

2.5 hours is extremely doable at Gatwick, even with a change of terminal. I have comfortably done 1.5 hour connections arriving on easyJet, but those were South-South connections.

When you arrive in North Terminal, follow the signs for South Terminal Flight Connections and proceed immediately to South Terminal. You can check in for US Airways at the transfer desk and voila - all set. Whole process shouldn't take more than 15 minutes on a good day and 45 minutes on a bad day.

If you have checked luggage, your pinch point will actually be Immigration rather than baggage claim. You can expect to exit Customs with your luggage approximately 30-45 minutes after arrival. Transit to South Terminal will take another 10-15 minutes. This puts you at US Airways checkin in Zone J approx. 0840 hrs which is plenty of time.

The morning GVA-LGW flight is operated by an EZS aircraft which is GVA based and run almost always on time or early.

Thanks for all the help!
So..my plan is going to be the following:
1)if we check no baggage, we'll try to just fly out of GVA that AM and make the connection (I have good insurance).
2)if we need to check baggage, we'll fly to London the night prior, and sleep :-)

Now I need to go measure our bags, thankfully, my wife is a very good light packer :-)

Thanks for the wonderful "welcome"! I'll make sure to pass on some advice to others to "pay it back"

Hope all is well!
Tyson

My travel insurance has rules about how much time is necessary to leave between flights on different tickets, and this amount of time is definitely not within that limit.

Yes ... it's doable ... have done this connection a couple of times myself.

Easyjet is usually pretty much on schedule for this flight, but be aware that they are very strict with weight and boarding time, so allow yourself enough = plenty of time at GVA.

Good luck ! ^