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GUIDE: LHR / London Heathrow, Connection, MCT inc. AA T3 <--> BA/IB T5

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Old Feb 5, 2015, 10:54 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: stifle
Please edit or add information to this wiki as necessary.

Link to LHR page on aa.com

Link to London-Heathrow web pages

Link to Wikipedia page on LHR

Link to FT - AA thread London Heathrow (LHR) <-> Gatwick (LGW) Transport / Transfer (master thread)

The vast majority of arriving passengers with a passport from the European Union, Switzerland or, effective 20 May 2019, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea or USA can now use arrival immigration eGates without any fee or pre-registration requirement. But for those transiting LHR with a non-UK/non-Ireland destination and no luggage to claim during transit at LHR, the eGates are generally irrelevant since most such passengers don’t enter the UK-Ireland Common Travel Area.

NOTE: Connecting flights between Terminal 5 and Terminal 3 - please allow a minimum 1 hour 30 minutes between flights.

If you are unsure which terminal your connecting flight departs from, see "Which terminal does my flight depart from / arrive?"

For gate to gate connection assistance in T-3, AA Five Star Service can be used (fee, must be in AA Business or First on incoming or outbound flight). For interterminal assistance, see https://www.heathrow.com/airport-gui...cierge-service for Heathrow Meet and Assist.

LHR is composed of four terminals (Terminal 1 is now permanently closed). American Airlines and many oneworld airlines (e.g. AY, BA, CX, IB, JL, QF, RJ, UL) use Terminal 3. MH and QR use terminal 4. BA uses Terminals 3 and 5. These terminals are not connected - you can not walk from one to the other. Use this tool to see where your next flight departs / arrives.

Transferring/ Connections at LHR interterminal can be done three ways:

Link to interactive custom Heathrow Flight Connections Guide

1) Landside: exit your terminal and process HM immigration and customs as if you were arriving in the UK, then take the free train or busses connecting to other terminals. With most hotels, if you are staying overnight you will most likely utilise the "Heathrow Hoppa" busses costing £6 for one person or £11 for a family one way, £11 for one person and £21 for a family return; family is up to 2 adults and 3 children. A small discount is available for buying your ticket at a ticket machine in select hotels or via the HH website. You must proceed landside if planning to use the AA (or BA) Arrivals Lounge, which close at 1400 hrs / 2 PM as these are landside. (See post no. 627, here, for local land & hotel transport options.)

Inter-terminal landside connections can be via rail (free) or walking, depending on the terminals. See the diagram for Heathrow Express terminal connections, free when you are traveling within the airport's confines. See here You can also travel between the terminals, or Hatton Cross station, free of charge via the Piccadilly line, but you must touch a contactless payment card/Apple/Google Pay or Oyster card on the faregates at the start and end of your journey. When changing terminals via Heathrow Express or Elizabeth line you can either do the same or get a free paper ticket.


2) Airside:

Follow the signage to Flight Connections, where you will proceed a bus waiting area at airport ground level and take a bus to your next terminal, where you will proceed through boarding pass, carryon check a standard airport security check. Now you are ready to catch your next flight. Flight connections Minimum Connect Times are ordinarily 75 - 90 minutes (the latter for connections between T3 and T5).

NOTE: You must be at your connecting gate 20 minutes prior to departure. If you must recover bags and re-check (e.g. oneworld to non-oneworld or LCC) you must check your baggage in at least 45 minutes prior to departure.

Use this tool available from this page on LHR's website that include a step by step guide through Flight Connections. The page also offers videos. Use this tool to see where your next flight departs / arrives.[/quote]


Typical Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 Flight Connections path:

T3–>T5 see posts 674, 675.1. Welcome to Heathrow!: On leaving the aircraft, please follow the purple signs for Flight Connections.

2. Flight Connections bus: A dedicated bus will transfer you between terminals. Buses are free and depart every six to ten minutes.

3. Airline desks: Need to visit your airline's ticket desk? You'll find it here.

4. Ready to fly: Staff will check that you're in the right place, your hand baggage meets airline regulations, and you have time to catch your onward flight.

5. Hand baggage check: At this point your hand baggage will be checked to ensure it conforms to UK and EU regulations. Please be aware that liquids in containers over 100ml are not allowed through security.

6. Security screening: You will pass through security screening at this point. If you are a non-UK resident and have goods to declare to HM Customs, please use the Customs telephone before security control.

7. Departure lounge: Check the screens in the departure lounge, which will be updated when your gate opens and again when your flight is ready for boarding.

NOTE: Flight departure gates are listed in only sufficient time to get to the gate, not hours (or often an hour) prior to departure.


Typical Terminal 5 to Terminal 3 Flight Connections path:1. Welcome to Heathrow!: On leaving the aircraft, please follow the purple signs for Flight Connections.

2. Flight Connections bus: A dedicated bus will transfer you between terminals. Buses are free and depart every six to ten minutes.

NOTE: As there is a new AA desk at the bus boarding point, you can get your AA boarding pass and pass the AA oral security questioning while you await the bus.

3. Hand baggage check: At this point your hand baggage will be checked to ensure it conforms to UK and EU regulations. Please be aware that liquids in containers over 100ml are not allowed through security.

4. Security screening: You will pass through security screening at this point. If you are a non-UK resident and have goods to declare to HM Customs, please use the Customs telephone before security control.

5. Airline desks: Need to visit your airline's ticket desk? You'll find it here. But see 2A if flying AA.

6. Departure lounge: Check the screens in the departure lounge, which will be updated when your gate opens and again when your flight is ready for boarding.

Lounges:
Airside lounges at LHR are designated departure lounges. You use the lounge in the terminal you're departing from – arriving and departing passengers are separated, so it's not possible (for example) to use a terminal 5 lounge if you are arriving in terminal 5 and departing from terminal 3.

Terminal 3 lounges include:

Airside, departure lounges:
American Airlines Flagship / First Class Lounge - Lounge Zone H
American Airlines Admirals Club - Lounge Zone H
British Airways Galleries First and Club lounges - Lounge Zone F
Cathay Pacific First and Business lounges near Gate 11
Qantas Airways London Lounge - Lounge B / Gate

Landside, for arriving AA and BA long haul passengers who flew in first or business class, or any class if oneworld Emerald (no guest)
American Airlines Arrivals Lounge (recently renovated)

Terminal 5 lounges:

Airside lounges:
British Airways Concorde Room (longhaul BA First)
British Airways Galleries First Lounge - South Concourse
British Airways Galleries Club lounges both North & South Concourses
British Airways Galleries Club lounge T5B Satellite

Landside, for arriving BA First/Club World passengers and oneworld emerald members in World Traveller or World Traveller Plus (no guest)
British Airways Galleries Arrivals Lounge

For hours, access, amenities, etc. consult the oneworld lounge access tool here

Link to the most useful London Heathrow International Airport website. Click on "Connections" for a connection assistance tool.

For long connections where you might wish to go to London, you can use "the tube" (Underground, ~50 minutes, cheapest), busses to various locations, taxis (the most expensive, about 45 minutes) or "minicabs" and other hired cars, the Heathrow Express (15 minutes to Paddington station) or Heathrow Connect (30 minutes to Paddington). You can also Uber or bus to nearby Windsor town, and with sufficient time even tour Windsor Castle.

For links to local and local hotels, other airports (such as Gatwick, ~1:30), railroad stations (Feltham, Watford, Woking and Reading), intercity coaches (such as Oxford) start at this page.

The Tube takes 50 minutes from the Central / Terminals 2/3, T-4 or T-5 stations using the Piccadilly Line. Link to LHR tube page; link to London Toolkit page on LHR and Piccadilly line; link to Transport for London page.

The Heathrow Express / HEX departs T-5 and takes 21 minutes (it stops at Central / T2/3, six minutes) and onward to Paddington (15 minutes, about 1/3 of the time a taxi would take, though a taxi or bus can tale longer in some traffic). The trains have 15 minute headway (depart every 15 minutes) and have baggage racks.

(If you stay at Hilton T-4, board HEX at T-5, go to Central / T-2/3, get off, take the connecting train to T-4 (4 minutes), all free. From T-4 follow the signs to the hotel, perhaps 10 minute walk by covered board walk).

The Elizabeth Line (formerly TfL Rail) costs less, takes 30 minutes to Paddington from the Heathrow stations, and continues to key central London destinations such as Tottenham Court Road and Liverpool Street.


This London Heathrow International Airport connection / transfer thread has been split off from the original thread, which can be read here: BA T5 <-> AA T3 transfer /connection at LHR / Heathrow (obsolete, trailing thread).

For other terminals please see ARCHIVE: BA T5 <-> AA T3 transfer /connection at LHR / Heathrow

Also see this page for MCT information.





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GUIDE: LHR / London Heathrow, Connection, MCT inc. AA T3 <--> BA/IB T5

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Old May 9, 2019, 6:30 pm
  #826  
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Gatwick, UK
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Originally Posted by sam2k2002
Fully separate tickets. The IBZ-LHR flight is BA-operated with an IB codeshare, not an AA codeshare.. my overseas itinerary is AA-merketed/AA-operated. Opting to include the IBZ-LHR leg triggered a $1000+ upcharge as the entire itinerary had to be priced using the BA codeshares for the AA flights.
Maybe Chase has some severe limitations, but usually it is cheaper to return from Europe than from London.

For the dates you mentioned I am seeing $800 (Y), $1500 (PEY) and $3800 (J) for LAX-LHR & IBZ-LAX. Just doing LAX-LHR seems to be $600, $1600 and $4000 respectively. I don't seen AA or BA requiring a $1000 upcharge.

If you're using Chase UR points then you may not be able to get these fares, but you should know all your options first Also, be aware that Chase (expedia) makes it quite hard to get the right codeshare for a flight.
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Old May 9, 2019, 7:16 pm
  #827  
 
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Originally Posted by SeattleDavid
Maybe Chase has some severe limitations, but usually it is cheaper to return from Europe than from London.

For the dates you mentioned I am seeing $800 (Y), $1500 (PEY) and $3800 (J) for LAX-LHR & IBZ-LAX. Just doing LAX-LHR seems to be $600, $1600 and $4000 respectively. I don't seen AA or BA requiring a $1000 upcharge.

If you're using Chase UR points then you may not be able to get these fares, but you should know all your options first Also, be aware that Chase (expedia) makes it quite hard to get the right codeshare for a flight.
That's exactly what I'm battling at the moment.. I actually just found the AA-marketed combination I am looking for: LAX-LHR & IBZ-LHR-LAX, however there is no option at the end of the chase checkout process to switch from Basic Economy to Economy. The AA EXP desk told me yesterday that there's something weird with the IBZ-LHR leg on BA that can only be priced out as Basic Economy for the overseas legs. Which is a dealbreaker. And when I do find the flight and class of service combination I need, its marketed by Iberia, so cant apply SWUs. Another dealbreaker. So the hunt continues..
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Old May 10, 2019, 3:43 am
  #828  
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Originally Posted by tjcxx
3/ as you exit customs into the public area, turn right for either tube or Heathrow express (HEX). If you have contactless payment cards (separate one for each passenger) then take the tube. Tap in and out, and it won't charge you anything. It has a 10-minute frequency. Otherwise probably best to take HEX (15-minute frequency). You do not need a ticket from T5 to T3 and there are no barriers. HEX is slightly closer to the AA check-in at T3 than the tube.
Best of luck
This isn't true since May last year. There are now barriers and you do need a ticket. See Geordie405's comment upthread

For travel on the Heathrow Express train you need an Inter-Terminal Transfer ticket or you can use an Oyster Card or Contactless payment card to go through the barriers.
the tickets are available from marked machines on the ground floor after arrivals at T5 and at platform level.
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Old May 10, 2019, 8:31 am
  #829  
 
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Originally Posted by sam2k2002
Fully separate tickets. The IBZ-LHR flight is BA-operated with an IB codeshare, not an AA codeshare.. my overseas itinerary is AA-merketed/AA-operated. Opting to include the IBZ-LHR leg triggered a $1000+ upcharge as the entire itinerary had to be priced using the BA codeshares for the AA flights.
If you use a travel agent, the TA can put all flights in one PNR and issue separate tickets to take advantage of different fares. The benefit to having all flights in one record is that, in general, airlines are more willing to help when they can see connections in their PNR. When automated processes are involved (e.g., flight delays often trigger automated processes that check connections and rebook passengers) they can operate on the flights.

As others have pointed out, when multiple airlines are involved there will be multiple PNRs, but what's important is that all flights are booked and ticketed (single or multiple tickets) out of that PNR, so each airline can see all the flights.
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Old May 14, 2019, 10:35 am
  #830  
 
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UPDATE: I chose peace of mind and switched to a BA flight IBZ-LCY before my LHR-LAX that gives me 5 hours between flights. Don't want to side track the thread, but does anyone have experience transiting LCY to LHR?
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Old May 14, 2019, 10:46 am
  #831  
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Originally Posted by sam2k2002
UPDATE: I chose peace of mind and switched to a BA flight IBZ-LCY before my LHR-LAX that gives me 5 hours between flights. Don't want to side track the thread, but does anyone have experience transiting LCY to LHR?
There are some very relevant pointers just a few posts down

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...onnection.html
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Old May 14, 2019, 10:51 am
  #832  
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Originally Posted by sam2k2002
UPDATE: I chose peace of mind and switched to a BA flight IBZ-LCY before my LHR-LAX that gives me 5 hours between flights. Don't want to side track the thread, but does anyone have experience transiting LCY to LHR?
some information on options here LCY-LHR connection, 175 minutes - possible?

if you are happy to take public transport then DLR/tube/HEX should get you across in about 1.5 hrs or slightly less. options are

DLR to Canning Town, Jubilee to Green Park, Piccadilly to T5; or
DLR to Canning Town, Jubilee to Baker Street, Bakerloo to Padding, HEX to T5

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Old May 14, 2019, 10:58 am
  #833  
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Combination of the DLR/Jubilee/Piccadilly line is my recommendation. Also takes less than 1.5 hours and much cheaper than the HEX.
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Old May 14, 2019, 3:25 pm
  #834  
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Originally Posted by UKtravelbear
Combination of the DLR/Jubilee/Piccadilly line is my recommendation. Also takes less than 1.5 hours and much cheaper than the HEX.
Which could give him a little time to visit London!
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Old May 28, 2019, 10:16 pm
  #835  
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The Wikipost has been updated with this good news:

Arriving passengers with a passport from the European Union, Switzerland or, effective 20 May 2019, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea or USA can now use arrival immigration eGates without any fee or pre-registration requirement.
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Old May 29, 2019, 3:59 am
  #836  
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Originally Posted by JDiver
The Wikipost has been updated with this good news:
Most people transiting LHR don’t clear the Border and enter the UK CTA, and so they don’t encounter the egates. The egates are relevant for those entering the UK-Ireland CTA but not to most passengers transiting LHR.

Even for those visiting London, lots of Americans can’t use the egates at LHR — as again became evident on Friday and Saturday at LHR T3, T5 and T2. The UK has blocked egate use at least for passports beings used by kids who are under 12 years of age.
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Old May 29, 2019, 5:30 pm
  #837  
 
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
Even for those visiting London, lots of Americans can’t use the egates at LHR — as again became evident on Friday and Saturday at LHR T3, T5 and T2. The UK has blocked egate use at least for passports beings used by kids who are under 12 years of age.
By "lots of Americans" do you mean just people under 12 (and by extension adults with them), or is the under-12 group (and accompanying adults) only an example of who can't use the gates, and there are others as well?
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Old May 31, 2019, 1:01 am
  #838  
 
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Originally Posted by carlosdca
OP is doing a landside connection, not sure if there is a bus. I only know of train (heathrow express or tube)
Yes, there is bus route 7 by First, Heathrow-Slough, which is part of Heathrow Freeflow (AKA Heathrow Free Travel Zone) and runs every 10-30 mins, 24/7. However I'm not sure I'd recommend it to someone who asks for advice on FT, because the connection with HEX is the best signed option for a terminal transfer. Furthermore you'd still be faster by Tube. Personally I don't opt for the HEX as it's less frequent than the Piccadilly line. In terms of ride speed, there's no real difference. But for the very occasional traveller I'd just say HEX with the printable free ticket from the ticketing machines.

Originally Posted by beachfan
ive waited a half hour for the bus from T5 to T3, plus 20 minutes for the ride.

Which is why I personally rather go landside and take the Piccadilly line to T3. At times there can be an awful queue for the airside bus, plus it's not that frequent always.
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Old May 31, 2019, 1:08 am
  #839  
 
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Originally Posted by KARFA
if you are happy to take public transport then DLR/tube/HEX should get you across in about 1.5 hrs or slightly less. options are

DLR to Canning Town, Jubilee to Green Park, Piccadilly to T5; or
DLR to Canning Town, Jubilee to Baker Street, Bakerloo to Padding, HEX to T5


Adding my own favourite:

DLR to Stratford, Overground to West Brompton, District to Earl's Court and last, but not least: Piccadilly to LHR T3 or T5. Avoids zone 1.
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Old Jul 9, 2019, 1:54 pm
  #840  
 
Join Date: Jul 2019
Posts: 3
Apologies, I'm trying not to replicate a previous-answered question here, but I'm hoping you can help me out. I'm flying this weekend on a non-connecting flight from EWR-LHR on Virgin Atlantic (arriving T3, I assume), then transferring to a BA flight from T5 seven hours later.

I can either check or not check my luggage. Checking would be nice because it's a long trip and I'm not sure I can fit all my liquids into one quart-sized container (special contact lens solution). However, after reading through the instructions, it looks like it might just be easier to suck it up and carry on my suitcase at EWR, thus preventing the hassle of going all the way landside, going through security again, etc.

I would swear that a couple years ago, doing almost the same thing, when I got to T5 I was able to give my hand luggage (including a carry-on suitcase) to a BA rep somewhere in the middle of T5 and just leave it there for a few hours. I am sure I didn't pay for this service. However, I can't find anything on Heathrow's or BA's sites about this. Since I didn't pay, I don't think it was the left luggage service.

Can anyone tell me what this was and if it's still there? If not, do I have any options other than lugging a suitcase around T5 with me for seven hours (I don't have lounge access).
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