newconn

Hello,

My first post at flyertalk. Thank you in advance for your inputs.

I will be flying BA from Bangalore, India into Heathrow Terminal 5 arriving at 13:15 and catching a flight leaving for Seattle, US at 14:20, also from Terminal 5.

-Is there going to be a security check before boarding the SEA flight? (I have had this happen to me at other airports such as FRA, CDG etc in Europe, perhaps also in LHR before T5 was opened)
-Is it just a gate change? (BA sales agent said it is a quick gate change only)
-Is 65 min enough for this transfer? We will also have a baby with us.
-Also, BA.com ticket price online has dropped by $100 per ticket since I bought it. Can I call them and ask for price adjustment or something? Its only been 3 days now.

Thanks
N.C

alanR

Here's what will happen

As you can see 65 minutes is a legal connection.

Given the structure of T5 it will be a case of landing, going through security, going to new gate

newconn

Thank you for your response.

Obviously the BA agent on phone lied when he said there will be no security check.

Trav+

Sixty five minutes is a legal connection but allows absolutely no time for irrops.

If your flight from BLR is delayed departing, circles in the stacks above LHR or arrives at a remote stand (stairs down to the apron then buses to the terminal building), you will lose precious minutes needed to make the connection. As you can see from this link you must be through Security and at the gate no later than 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure time.

The gate for the flight to SEA should be posted by the time you get to Flight Connections - check the Time Critical board to see if the gate has been posted. If your flight departs from a B gate, make your way there as quick as you can as it can take 15 minutes from the main terminal building to the B satellite.

With respect to BA call centre agents in North America being unfamiliar with the connection process at T5, that's unfortunately rather the norm; BA really need to improve Customer Service for NoAm as the agents' knowledge can be dismal at times.

Brighton_Flyer

I'd be interested in the answer to this too - I've flown from T5 a few times but never connected there, however a friend of mine has asked me a similar question. I've certainly always balked at similar connection times elsewhere. It looks as if the BA rules are quite strict from this?
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...s/public/en_us

cwppwc

I just returned from a business trip, Seattle - Dubai - Seattle via British Airways and LHR T5. I had 90 minutes between connecting flights both ways. Issue #1: Put into a holding pattern both times arriving at LHR. 20 minutes out of the 90 gone. Issue #2: Don't pull up to the terminal and even though in Business Class, takes 15 minutes to get to the airplane door. Find we are out on the tarmac and "grandma" is having a tough time getting down the stairs. Then onto a bus that takes us to T5. Issue #3: Through a preliminary security checkpoint, passport/boarding pass check via "Fast-track" (agent tells me I don't have enough time to make my connecting flight), up the escalator to another security checkpoint, again "Fast-track" but I end up in the "slowest" line. Run down to the gate at the other end of the terminal just as they were getting ready to close. The "gate" was the portal to another bus which then took us back out to the tarmac, up air-stairs and onto the plane. Had it not been for Business Class "Fast-track", I surely would have missed the connecting flights both coming and going.

I won't travel through LHR again without at least 2 hours between flights and honestly, if I can, I'll avoid LHR all together.

newconn

My connection I am afraid is a very difficult one indeed. However, I don't have the patience to deal with canceling and rebooking better connections. In the worst case scenario, if we are late, I am assuming they will put us on another flight to SEA right? Maybe through Chicago or Denver etc? Can they refuse to help us at all or charge extra to help us? Thanks!

alanR

They booked you on the flights, so BA is responsible for you all the way.

Jenbel

And just to expand on what alanR says, if you misconnect, so long as you are on one ticket/PNR, they should rebook you on another flight (most likely on BA, but they may look at AA options as well). If that involves an overnight at LHR, then they should pay the cost of any accommodation at LHR as well. So long as its on one ticket, with a legal connection (which it is) any failure to connect is down to them, not to you.

And to answer the original question, no, you can't get the price reduction. I think most people would agree its better for the airline not to come looking for us for all price changes after we buy the ticket, since most tickets only become more expensive.

NewbieRunner

A friend was looking at BA flights from Germany to MAN via LHR and ba.com insisted on 120 mins transfer time at LHR. With some connections they seemed to allow 90 mins transfer but nothing less.

How come if 65 mins is a legal connection?

Jenbel

A T5-T5 transfer has a lower connection time than a connection which involves changing terminal (T3 - >T5 on BA). Having said that, I can't recall any BA Germany flights going from T3... VIE does, but all the German ones are T5

<edited to add> Because he's doing Europe-LHR-MAN, he has to clear immigration at LHR. I'm wondering if a terminal change and having to clear immigration means MCT is increased for those itineraries?

The OP's itinerary is bookable on ba.com though, so it is a legal connection.

NewbieRunner

It would have been a T5-T5 transfer.

No terminal change but having to clear immigration could be one explanation. However, the return journey also requires 120 mins for transfer. Outbound immigration shouldn't take long?

BTW the friend decided to fly directly to MAN on Lufthansa.

NickB

ba.com does offer shorter connections. For instance, on MAN-(LHR)-HAM, it will offer BA1395+BA966 in the UK--> Germany direction or BA963+BA1386 in the Germany-->UK direction, both with a connection time of 60 mins at LHR.
It may be that there simply was not a shorter connection for the departure time your friend wanted.
Another possibility could conceivably be that where there is a high incidence of misconnects, ba.com is programmed not to offer the particular connection even though it might be technically within MCT. I don't know, however, if ba systems do allow ba.com to pad connect times for specific flights.

Jenbel

Well no, because on a domestic -> international connection, you don't even have to reclear security (because you've already gone through it in the UK, you shouldn't need ot clear again - LGW please take note ), and you don't go near immigration. You get off the plane (bus) walk to the ticket check and bam, you're straight into airside T5 - depending where your plane arrives if it takes more than 30 mins then you've been parked on a very remote stand and the bus was slow to arrive.

Sounds like a bit of a glitch.

NewbieRunner

Yes, there was a shorter connection. Please see below.

Yes, that's exactly what happens in T1 from BD to another *A carrier on a domestic -> international connection.

I think there may be a glitch when selecting a multi-city option.

For example if I try to book HAM-LHR-MAN either one way or return, I can select BA965+BA1394 with a connection time of 90 mins at LHR. As soon as this is part of a multi-city itinerary because you want to return to another destination in Germany BA965+BA1394 is no longer allowed and you will have to take BA965+BA1396 with 210 mins at LHR.