lkar

I'm flying Ethiopian from LAX to DUB and want to connect on to London. There really are no feasible star alliance connections, so I'm going to buy a separate ticket on either BA or IE. The Ethiopian flight arrives at 17:30.

Can anyone explain what will be involved in this connection? I assume that since I'm travelling onward within the common travel area, that I will need to pass through Ireland Immigration, enter the country, and then go back through security as a domestic passenger. Any further detail to help me decide my risk tolerance on the time for the connection would be very much appreciated. In the end, if I miss my connection, it's not the end of the world, given that tickets are very inexpensive right now, I wouldn't be an urgent hurry and there are a number of flights each day. But, obviously, to avoid difficulties and expense, I would like to give myself a reasonably good chance of making my onward flight.

Last, does it make significant difference for the connection if I use BA or IE for the flight to London? Both are about the same price.

Swiss Tony

AFAIK, all transit passengers at Dublin need to go through an airside Irish immigration and security check which I've found to be very fast, but the CTA bit is a red herring. No different if you're heading to Frankfurt or Abu Dhabi.

Do you have checked luggage? That might be a sticking point as it would necessitate going landside so add some more time.

Otherwise, Aer Lingus goes from T2 (where I assume ET flies from) so that might save you some shoe leather, but it's all relative. The walk to T1 is probably a shade over 5 minutes.

Does your AA status give OW lounge access? If so, you might want to look at BA.

lkar

Hi -- thanks very much. I should have mentioned that we will not have checked baggage. So, that should save some time. Good thought about the lounge -- yes, I should have lounge access on a BA ticket with OW Sapphire. I also have Priority Pass, though, and it looks like it also gives access in both terminal 1 and terminal 2 to something called an "executive" lounge. BA also has an evening flight into LCY, which may be an additional advantage.

lhrsfo

BA uses a contract lounge in DUB which is fairly disappointing, so don't get your hopes up. I do this quite regularly and have found that I usually end up on EI because it is generally much cheaper. With EI I seem to get no miles, whether I put in my UA number or my BA number. It leaves from T2 which is much nicer than T1 but offers me no lounge access - but it's a perfectly pleasant place to sit for an hour or so. I tend to leave 2 hours to be on the safe side, and have never needed more than 20 minutes, even with the change of terminal.

Swiss Tony

You may find that the lounge in T2 via Priority Pass is the better option, but you'll essentially walk past it IIRC going from T2 to T1 airside.

Also if you're hand baggage only, I believe BA is more generous with allowances that Aer Lingus.

I know you didn't ask, but don't expect with either BA or EI to be able to get a free standby onto an earlier flight.