Time traveller

Heathrow Connect is every 30 minutes and I don't think it is worth it. I would just pay extra for the Heathrow Express that departs every 15 minutes or save some money and take the tube, which actually departs more frequently although with more stops along the way. Off-peak tube day pass at 8 pounds for unlimited rides is not a bad deal and you can get into London in an hour or so.

duvin

Not quite:

Heathrow Express - 15 minutes every quarter hour (21 from/to T5) £18/32
Heathrow Connect - 32 minutes every half hour (change at T1/3 for T5) £8.50/16.50

Tickets bought in advance online for Heathrow express £16.50/32

GadgetFreak

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; U; CPU OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J3 Safari/6533.18.5)

As mentioned given the short time definitely take the Heathrow express, not the tube or anything else. It comes in at Paddington which isn't a bad cab ride to Oxford Street shopping, Buckingham and Parliament Square/Whitehall area among othes. Another option is that London cab drives are very knowledgeable and are in my experience happy to give tours at the meter rate. Not cheap but great on a short time line.

rmrper99

Thanks for the input everyone. I'd had forgotten that you do end up going through a security scan again when changing terminals, so the only thing gained by not "entering" the UK is going through the passport lines, which haven't taken that long the couple times I've done it for business trips.

supergrandslam

I am flying RT JFK-LHR-FRA AA/BA-combo this weekend,connecting at LHR for the 1st time.
I have 3+hour layover at LHR for both in/out bound.
As I want to smoke at LHR, I think I will need to enter UK anyway

Can I enter UK at T5 after T3>T5 airside bus transfer?
Or is it better to enter UK at T3 then take a LHR express for terminal transfer?

Almost same question above.Can I enter UK at T3 after T5>T3 bus and stopping by AC/FL at T3?
As my evip for LHR-JFK not cleared yet and will likely cleared on the date of travel, I will need to stop by AC or FL for requesting eVIP UG standby.

Your advice would be very much appreciated.

Degan

Yes. The flight connection bus will lead to an area where you can either choose to enter the UK, or go through security to go air-side. You would need to fill out the proper documentation to enter the UK.
I have no opinion on this. It seems less complicated to me to take the flight connection bus to T5, and then leave and re-enter the terminal.
I do not think that it is possible to enter the UK after taking the flight connection bus to T3. Perhaps I have just never noticed a sign leading to the right place. In my mind, the T3 flight connection bus leads directly to security and air-side. I suppose that after you are air-side, there would be a way to get to the UK, but I do not recall it in my many trips through.
Or stop at the AA terminal counter in FRA.

SAN-man

I would exit both times and take the LHR express. I find the T3-T5 bus transfer annoying. The bus is always crowded, seems to careen around corners (of which here are many) at high speed, and generally seems to run multiple loops almost through the same parts of the tarmac. Plus you need to go through security again anyhow.

I exaggerate, but the LHR express is very easy. Exit at T3, walk down to the bus, and go to T5. Once inside T5, go to the far right, towards BA's J/F checkin. You will want to enter security there; even if not yet confirmed F/J you are still allowed to go in here and it's much quicker.

On the way back, I would repeat the process. when you pop out at T3, veer right and go to Flagship Checkin. They should be able to help you with your evip there, and you can then smoke and head inside at your leisure.

If you have a tight connection it doesn't make sense to do any of this, but since you have 3 hours and your goal is to actually end up outside the airport both ways, I think this is the best way to do it.

supergrandslam

Thank you for giving me useful advices.

I just completed outbond JFK-LHR-FRA today.
Actually I had 4+hours layover by schedule but it ended up only 2hr layover(to boading time, 2.5 hr to depature time of connecting flight) due to JFK-LHR flight delay.

I took T3>LHR express>T5 route and it took only 45min including 2 quick smoke both at T3/T5.
I got off a plane at 8:15AM and I cleared security at T5 at 9:00AM.

Finally eVIP for my return flight just cleared today

anabolism

In my experience, getting through the immigration has taken ages. But then, I tend to arrive after Fastrak is closed (I think it is only open in the morning). The passport check when re-entering the terminal doesn't take too long, though.

UncleDude

There is not Normally Passport check when leaving the UK, its only in operation when there are high level security alerts.

shawbridge

I need to get from BOS to BSL. I have meetings in Boston until 5:30 PM so can't make a 5:50 BA flight to LHR. There is a 7:25 AA flight that gets in at 7:05 AM, I assume in T3. I'd have to connect to BA 752 leaving T5, I assume, at 8:55.

Can I make the connection?

I use IRIS in the UK and am Gold so can go through Fast Track lanes where they exist.

billgrates3

As someone who has made the T3-T5 transfer 4 time this year already, I can say that you won't have any problem making that connection... that's assuming your flight from BOS arrives on time. There's a security line for transfers in T5 and your Fastrak might help there, although often the line is not very long there anyway. My experience has been that it takes me from 45-55 minutes from exiting the aircraft door in T3, then a very long walk to the transfer buses, on the bus thru tunnels etc, then thru the T5 security check, to reach the South BA Galleries lounge in T5.

GadgetFreak

Although be aware that if you are going through the transfer process from T3 to T5 there are no IRIS stations there.

supergrandslam

I am EXP and flying AA JFK-LHR next week. I will likely be sitting in Y.
Will I get Fast Track from AA FA?

I read this thread and found that BA only provides Fast Track to passengers in F/J. I am not sure if AA does same.

I expected that my eVIP would clear easily because it is on FRI just a week before thanks giving. Yes I was totally wrong. All J seats were sold out 3 weeks out

JDiver

In my experience, AA does the same.