Thanks for the information. Now that I can avoid unnecessary delay, if AA is on time my only worry will be BA's baggage transfer to VCE.

Those desks aren't for printing boarding passes for onwards flights, they're for rebookings and such.

If you don't have a boarding pass for an onward connection, all you have to do is go through the "boarding pass checker", prior to security and they print you one right there.

That is cool didn't know the checkers could print onwards BPs. I had to stop at the transfer desk as I wanted to change my seats. BA is notorious for blocking seats (good for some; annoying for some) and AA could only see 2 seats when they rebooked me.

BA has a new system for seat blocking designed to reserve good seats for emeralds and sapphires, and block the seats beside them, according to some complex algorithm.

Theoretical Seating master thread: Blocked seats and status

Interesting... That would explain it when I saw on EF 50% of the seats were blocked. I am an Emerald - so this kind of worked against me I suppose because when AA rebooked me there were a few blocked window seats, but when I got to LHR BA only had aisle/middle seats left so I moved from 12D to 10B.

All I can suggest is make sure your AA emerald number is both in ExpertFlyer and on your AA PNRs. Although we know how bad the integration between BA/Amadeus and AA/Sabre is.

Yes, my AA # was in my PNR and BA had my # according to the BA twitter team. What happened was my AA flight went mechanical, so I got rebooked through LHR connecting onto BA to PVG. When the agents at the Flagship lounge rebooked me they could only see two seats and after I got my BA PNR I tried reaching BA via twitter and was told because I am checked in the only option is to do the seat change at the airport (LHR).

My circumstance is probably an extraordinary one though - just wish AA airport agents could see the seats or at least force booking into a blocked seat.

Ohh interesting! I'm AA Plat and flew over the weekend LHR-LYS-LHR on BA with my wife and noticed indeed both times the remaining seat in our row was blocked on EF, was wondering why. That's great from BA - for once!

Can you transfer T3->T5 from the secure side? I am arriving on AA from LAX (assume T3) and transferring on BA to TLV (assume T5). Would love to check out the new CX lounge in T3 before heading to T5 - is this possible? (I have a 6.5 hr layover so plenty of time).

This may have been answered in the 50+ pages but didn't find it searching/scanning the 2016 posts.

I do this same transfer all the time to TLV.

If you want to check out the new CX lounge (which opens to pax on Dec 7th), you will have to clear security for connections, then go to the lounge. From there, you'll have to go to flight connections, go to the bus to T5, then clear security again at T5 before going to (likely) the satellite B/C for the TLV flight.

If I were you, I would try the new CX lounge (the pics look great). 6.5 hours is a long time and the Galleries F lounge in T5 isn't anything special. It's worth the extra security hassle, IMO.

Great thank you! I fly through on the 10th - very convenient timing to check out the new lounge :D

If I split the time between CX and Galleries F - appx how long should I budget for the transfer 3-5 and from the lounge to the satellite B/C gates? I know this can be highly variable, especially at Heathrow.

Very convenient, indeed! I transfer T5>T3 TLV-DFW on December 6th. Ugh. Missed it by a day. :(

It only takes about 10-15 min to get from the T5 Galleries F to the satellites. If you're a normal-paced walker.

Personally, I prefer the Galleries F T3 lounge to the T5 version. Smaller, and Johnny Blue on demand. 😎 ...can get crowded mid-mornings and early-afternoons, though.

Enjoy the trip!

The T5 galleries F lounge has JW Blue on demand as well.

When did it change to "on demand?" We were last there early in the year, and it was just out. But I can certainly see why this change was put in.

Cheers.

By on demand, I mean it's just out. I assume that's what the other poster meant, because I don't see why he would think it would be better if you had to ask for it.

Quite possibly. I took the comment to mean not that it was better to ask than to have it out, but that it was, in fact, available at T5 at all as the other poster surmised it was not at all. And having to ask for it is certainly better than not having it available at all, especially with regard to Johnnie Blue :)

Cheers.

Right. I meant that at T3, it is just sitting there waiting for you to pour as much as you wish.

Is this now the case in T5, too? I was just there last week, but it was 6am and I wasn't looking for the Johnny Blue, but the coffee.

Hi,

The JW Blue is in Galleries First for self pour and has been there all the times I have visited.

Regards

TBS

Same.

There is a new facility for AA passengers in Terminal 5, which allows you to get a boarding pass and clear the security check while waiting for the bus to Terminal 3. This feature is therefore mostly of use if travelling from a BA service into T5, or possibly Iberia, and then departing to the USA on AA from T3.

As indicated in the wiki above, upon disembarkation into Terminal 5, and assuming you wish to go the fastest route, which is via the airside transfer bus, you would normally follow the purple signs for Flight Connections T2, T3, T4. This takes you down to ground level via some escalators (elevators/lifts are also available) to a bus loading area. There is a specific gate for Terminal 3, and right next to it is a new AA desk, where you can check-in and do the verbal security check that all AA passengers undertake in London (and other European cities). So if waiting for a bus to arrive then you can do it all there in T5, and not do it at Terminal 3. If a T3 bus pulls in, I would suggest you jump on board, you can still do the check in T3, which is done in a hall right by the bus stand in T3 and before security.

If you have access to the Terminal 3 AA Admirals Club / Flagship Lounge there is some case for doing it there rather than T5, the lounge agents tend to shortcut the process somewhat to those with status. If doing this you'll have to ignore the various agents asking for AA passengers to identify themselves in T5 and then T3. If all else fails, it can all be done at the gate prior to boarding, but you'll appreciate they can't process 300 passengers at that late stage.

The verbal check will generally ask you why are you travelling, for how long, where you are /were staying. The most taxing question that surprises some people is the name of your company's CEO. I wouldn't assume the agents have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Fortune 250 management teams, it's more about how and the style of your response.

I'm sorry, I don't perfectly follow here. How does this differ from current practice and would it make things faster?

Current practice is that this process is in T3 only, now you can do it T3 or T5. It would be faster since you can get this process out of the way while waiting for the bus in T5, given that the bus runs at 6 minute intervals. You thereby save time at T3.

How about a late night connection? Arrive into T3 at 10:10pm and depart T5 at 6:55am. Are the transfer options still the same? May do landside if decide to stay at the Sofitel, or may do airside if it's an option at that time and decide to slum it in the terminal.

At that time of night the airside buses have pretty much stopped. If going to T5 you can get the tube or HEX landside, both of those will still be running at normal frequency.

Even if there was an airside option you can't stay airside at T5 overnight since it is closed. You can stay in the landside area overnight at T5 though.

I am arriving into T3 on AA from LAX and connect out of T5 to BRU next week with 100 minutes in between to clean up. I know I have to re-clear security one way or the other, but wondering if I should grab a shower in the CX F lounge or just head to T5 and hit Galleries F (which I have been to many times). Thoughts on whether 100 minutes is too short to clear T3 and use the CX F lounge?

They won't let you stay in T3 if your flight is going from T5.
Go to GF is my advice.

I think it will be tricky to get from an AA arrival to one of the T3 departure lounges (e.g., CX F). Unless something has changed regarding clean arrivals, you'd need to re-clear security in the Flight Connections Centre at T3 to access the departures area, if they'll even let you. Then you'd need to make your way back to the FCC (I'm not sure how easy that is from departures) to take the bus to T5, where you'll need to re-clear security again.

My recommendation is to just go straight to T5 and shower in the BA lounge. You *should* be okay with 100 minutes, but there's not a lot of margin for error. We did JFK-LHR on AA to LHR-GLA on BA (T3-T5) with 90 minutes, and by the time we got through security at T5, they were already boarding the GLA flight. Call it 12 minutes late arriving, an 8 minute walk to the FCC, 5+ minute wait for the bus, 10 minute bus ride, 20+ minutes to clear UK customs (which you won't have to do), 10 minutes to clear security, so that was a bit over an hour already. But not having to clear customs could be the difference for you. Then on the other hand I did a BA T5 -> BA T3 connection with time to shower on a 75 minute connection a few months earlier because every step ran just a little more smoothly, including arriving 10-15 minutes early.

The other option is to use the AA Arrivals lounge in T3, and then take the Heathrow Express to T5 from landside. This *will* involve clearing UK customs, so you'd want to check the line first - even FastTrack can be bad.

That is correct. You arrive in an arrivals unsecured area and they won't let you into the T3 secure area without a boarding pass for T3.

Also, there is no way for you to leave a secure area by yourself without being escorted out.

Also, depending on where the flight is at T5, you need to get to the security check point 35 minutes before the flight in order for them to allow you through (grrrrr hate this rule). A part of me wonders if I should have just been firm and said let me through I will worry about the rest later.

If your flight is delayed and you have less than an hour, get going and don't stop until after getting through T5 security. Also, unlike the USA, they might close the gate 20 minutes before the flight.

Other than designated Arrivals Lounges, LHR lounges are departure lounges. As others say, follow Flight Connections to T-5, go there and process, see if there's time for a lounge. And remember at LHR they do not announce gates until boarding or very close, so you may have a way to go.

100 minutes... could be challenging, particularly if you arrive late - easy to do with Heathrow's holding patterns.

You can't access the T3 lounges, so your only choice is to go to T5. You could use the T3 AA Arrivals lounge, but I'd not recommend it. Head to T5, head to the South lounges and see if you have time once you get there.

Cheers.

There's more discussion of this "conformance" check at T5 on the BA forum, but my understanding is they're pretty strict the vast majority of the time -- I don't think you can even board your flight if you don't pass conformance. (Though the good news is that conformance is before you actually go through security, in case it wasn't entirely clear above).

I don't think this should be an issue for OP unless his inbound is meaningfully delayed, at which point you know that the shower is a lost cause and you just try to hustle to make the flight.

Didnt realize that about T3, assumed it was like coming into T5 and whether you come in at A/B/C you can go through security in whichever and then move around airside. I should have plenty of time, I usually do 120 mins but even w 100 it should be fine. I am front row of my inbound plane and the BRU flight has usually been leaving from relatively close to GF lounge in 5A, so hopefully not far to go once showered. Bummer, been frequenting the GF lounges since T5 came into existence and was really hoping for something new to try...

At T3, I've always been able to backtrack without an escort from the secure area to immigration, where I've been able to clear immigration and go landside. (I've done this when departing from T3 and wanted to access a T3 lounge to change into running clothes, leave my luggage, and go for a run.)

Whenever I've done this from T5, I've had to get an escort, but folks on the BA board have told me that I can avoid doing this by riding the train out to the satellite C area, but rather than get off there, stay on the train when it returns to the A gates, at which point you'll be deposited near the immigration desks without the use of an escort.

At T5, moving around airside can be a challenge. It's easy to get from area A to B or C. Not sure you can do it in reverse.

In any event, your chokepoint is going to be security when you reach T5. Even with FastTrack, the queues can be long and slow. That said, if your LAX-LHR is ontime, you're right that you should be fine.

I see people say this, but in the 8-9 years I've been using T5 pretty regularly, I haven't had more than 2 or 3 times where I have had more than a handful of people in front of me for FastTrack. Those were usually where there was some sort of labor action going on.

You've been incredibly lucky. That said, it has been some time since I've seen really horrific lines, but I've certainly seen them with enough regularity to be weary of them.

No challenge at all now. The underground walkways (beneath the transit train) are fully open so you can walk back and forth between A/B/C to your heart's content.

Excellent guide on the BA forum here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...assengers.html

The train only goes one way, but you can walk freely between A/B/C through the underground tunnels.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...assengers.html

Connections "fast track" security is terrible, it is much worse than coming from landside. It's always a good ten or fifteen minutes for me, sometimes longer. If you have a UK passport it is much quicker to exit through arrivals via the e-gates, go upstairs and then re-enter security from the departures floor. The exception would be in the evening when connections start to dry up.

This is a hard rule for departures but if you are connecting then the rule is relaxed; you can whittle it down to twenty minutes in some cases.

But at some point it will be decided that you are too late and you will be offloaded automatically. At that point you can no longer clear Ready to Fly ("conformance").

I completely forgot about the train. I haven't tried it, but it should work. You would be able to take the train out of the secure area of T5.

You can go C to B to A in reverse, but you have to walk. The walkway is below the train. I just did it this weekend.

To be fair, T5 connections fast track is still faster than non fast track. As for going landside, the UKBA Registered Traveller programme provides access to the e-gates without the need for a UK passport (or even an EU passport for the time being). If one goes landside, make sure you choose the fast track queues because the regular queues can be slow. Also, my experience is that the landside queues can be just as slow 0530-0700 as the connections queues.

T3 is a different matter and I've found T3 connections security to be quite fast now that they've expanded the area.

You can actually leave both T3 and T5 from the airside departures area back to landside without an escort.