GVA Geneva
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-2...s/s720/GVA.png
Terminal facilities FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Good, but can be Poor during ski season |
HAM Hamburg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-e...U/s720/HAM.png
Like AMS, turnarounds at HAM are pain free - no security checks and no passport control. BA uses Gates B20 to B32 located on a pier connected to the main terminal. However BA does occasionally use a gate outside this area. There is a poorly signposted transfer route to airside. Most of the terminal amenities are located in the Schengen gate area and while these are accessible, it does involve passport control in both directions. If going landside allow 20 minutes to return to airside. Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Excellent if non-Schengen, Good if Schengen FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
HEL Helsinki
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...0-Ic42/HEL.png
No passport control or security. Most of the time its a gate arrival (risk of coaching from a Schengen stand to an international gate) Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent to Good FT airside transfer rating: Excellent to Good FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
IST Istanbul Ataturk
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q...I/s720/IST.png
Security only, but relatively fast. 30 minutes. Millennium lounge (BA's contract lounge) is en route. Note long turn around times. Also ensure you follow signs for flight connections, going landside may require you to get a visa. Terminal facilities
Variables Risk of remote stand/bus transfer to/from Gates 501-504. These gates are a good 15 min walk from the Millennium lounge FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Poor. You may need to buy a visa |
LIN Milan Linate
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--...M/s720/LIN.png
Its always a bus gate, so its important to position yourself on the bus to get off first. Once you get off the bus, there's a passport check. You then walk through into the baggage reclaim hall; continue walking straight on, with the baggage belts to your right. The exit will be at the end on the left. Once you exit the secure area into the arrivals hall, there are some steps immediately on your right which will take you up a level to get into the checkin area. Continue walking straight onwards to get to the BA checkin area - security is to the right. There's a fast track security for Club / Gold / Silver passengers. Once through security, you'll be deposited into a shop. Walk through the airport down the stairs and you'll find the lounge. Once through the outbound passport check, you'll be at the gate, where you can get on the bus back to the aircraft. Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable to Poor (bus gates) |
LUX Luxembourg Terminal A
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-m...o/s720/LUX.png
Full exit and re-entry required, there is a flight connection route but it is generally closed. Passports, security, passports However small airport and fast processing means safely do able in 30 minutes. Terminal facilities FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Good |
MAD Madrid Barajas Terminal 4S
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x...0/s720/MAD.png
Turnarounds on BA operated aircraft are pain free - no security checks and no passport control. Once you exit the air bridge follow the signs up to the mezzanine and towards flight connections. From there you enter the main departure area. You're visit to Madrid in the cozy confines of Barajas Terminal 4 Satellite. Do not attempt to go landside. It is a long distance and can easily take over 30 minutes to return. Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Good to Reasonable depending on arriving terminal FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
MXP Milan Malpensa
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-s...k/s720/MXP.png
Security check only (dedicated and often idle flight connections security). 10 minutes to get there, 10 minutes to get back to gate, 20 minutes in all. BA lounge near security check. No passports. Terminal facilities Note: There are often long turnaround times at MXP FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Good |
OSL Oslo
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B...0-Ic42/OSL.png
Terminal facilities
Variables Two sets of passport control - at arrivals and again enroute to the departure gate. See here for more information FT back to back turn-around rating: Reasonable FT airside transfer rating: Reasonable FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
RTM Rotterdam The Hague
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-K...Q/s720/RTM.png
Full exit and re-entry required, however it is a small airport. So that's bus, passports, security and then passports, finally bus. Do-able in 30 minutes. There are a few other non Schengen flights (notably one to Turkey). If that gets in just before the BA service, the queue for passports into RTM can be bad. So a bit of a risk. Passports outbound no risk at all, security - there is fast track and that's generally good. Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Good. Reasonable during morning/evening peaks |
SVG Stavanger
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-A...0-Ic42/SVG.png
Arrivals decant into departure hall. Fool proof although flight timetable is slim (Note: there is a single daily service between LHR and SVG) Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Excellent FT landside transfer rating: Excellent |
TXL Berlin Tegel
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L...4/s720/TXL.png
There is security and passport control at the gate, and normally boarding will continue until all passengers have been processed. Sometimes staff will invite you to use a nearby gate to speed up processing. Terminal facilities Terminal A is hexagonal in plan and the concourse forms a continuous loop
FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Good. All security is at gates |
WAW Warsaw
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-S...c/s720/WAW.png
Security only, special route upstairs with few other passengers, less than 10 minutes. (Note this is different for arrivals from other Polish airports, when there would be passports but no security, 15 minutes due to the length of the airport). Terminal facilities The usual facilities are available once you reach the non-Schengen gate area
FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
Working with ticket rules
What are the rules and restrictions?
Cancellation penalties and stopover fees change from fare to fare and from country to country, although stopovers are usually Euro 200 each-way if you break your journey in London for > 24 hours. Also remember you need to factor in the cost of getting to your point of departure, and potentially the cost of a hotel if you are travelling too far to return in a day (e.g. Cyprus, Athens). whichbudget.com lists budget airlines flying to all major cities, and www.skyscanner.net may also be useful. In general, you will see the rules are much more flexible for the equivalent fare bucket ex-UK. First fares: A neat trick for the Club fares – if you time your arrival into London and the departure of your long haul segment right, you can essentially have a free nightstop in London without having an 'official' stopover. For example, you arrive from AMS on a Monday at 21:15 and you can then book your long haul flight the next day (Tuesday) at any time up to 21:14 (< 24hrs) and it is NOT charged as a stopover. Book it for 21:15 or later and that'll be much more expensive fare please. Similarly, you can introduce overnight stays at intermediate connecting cities so long as your connections remain under 24 hours.
Club World fares Again, taking the current ex-AMS I7SALE fares, the rules are:
*A stopover is a transit of an intermediate point that exceeds 24hrs. Note: BA seem to have clamped down on stopover rules, potentially in light of more widespread use of ex-EU fares. Check your fare rules carefully as lots of fares now limit you to a month’s stopover in the UK at most in either direction. |
ITA matrix and working examples
How much/when/where?
Following the steps below (idiot-proofed by FTers for some years now!) to find the cheapest starting point for your trip. (1) Go to http://matrix.itasoftware.com (2) Complete "From" as AMS;ARN;ATH;BRU;BUD;CAI;CPH;FRA;HEL;IST;LCA;LIN;LI S;PAR;VIE;WAW :: BA+ For completeness, you may want to do a second search on the rest of the EU and potential EU member states:DUB;DUS;HAM;LUX;MAD;OSL;OTP;PRG;RTM;SOF;ZAG :: BA+ Do also bear in mind that some of the airports there are quite far way from London (e.g. ATH, CAI, IST, HEL) and you may not want to have the hassle of such a long flight to begin your journey. If so, you can come up with your own list based on the above with airports (or others) that suit you best personally.YYY :: BA+ (4) Enter rough dates which suit you and LON as "sales city" to get GBP pricesWhere YYY is your destination - if you don't know the airport code, you can use FlyerTalk's own Airport Code Look-up tool (5) Click "More Options", change cabin to "Business" or "First" and uncheck "Check seat availability" This will bring up the cheapest listed fare for the route on that day, although it does not necessarily mean that tickets will still be available at that price. You can use dnw's method below to find days with actual I (Club) or A (First) availability. You can also use a tool such as www.expertflyer.com or KVS, though these are not free. (6) Click "Go". Scroll down the results if you don't fancy the first options (usually TIP/CAI/IST) or just delete them in the first place.If you're looking for WT+ pricing (e.g. to Upgrade Using Avios), set the cabin as "Cheapest" and add " / F BC=T" to the "From" and "To" lines. The results will say "Coach", but it will be a WT+ T class fare. You will need to delete a couple of cities from the list to fit in the extra bit of text. When comparing WT+ prices for potential UuAs, don't forget that the cost of UuAs vary depending on the individual flight distance. You should factor in the worth of the extra Avios needed when considering which fare offers best value. Refine, rinse, and repeat as necessary Note that you may need to click on 'Cost' to reorder your results in price order, as the default is to list CAI flights first as they offer Club and First on all legs, not just the longhaul one. If searching for First flights, be careful as it sometimes lists itineraries where only one longhaul leg is in F and the return is in J. Now that you know what the cheapest fare is, you need to find days on which it is available. In order to get a special fare you need availability in the following booking classes on your required flights. Again, taking AMS as an example: AMS-LHR segment R-class (sometimes D on First fares but we'll say R to be safe) LHR-<DEST>R-class for Club, A-class for First You can use expertflyer.com to check availability by I/A code. Once you have found the right flights you can put them in to the ba.com site with your departure location set as Netherlands and it should price it up perfectly. Also note that the ‘feeder’ flights more regularly tend to book in J class now – this is better since J is nearly always available, meaning less ‘hunting’ for availability on your part. Working example So, let's put this into practice using the ITA Matrix to search for the cheapest flights between AMS, BRU, and CDG as potential origins and LAX/HNL as potential destinations. Step 1: Searching for flights and fares https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-O...xSteps.001.png Step 2: Reviewing the calendar results https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-I...xSteps.002.png Step 3: Choosing your flights https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7...xSteps.003.png Step 4: Reviewing the itinerary details and fare construction https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-G...xSteps.004.png Step 5: Reviewing the fare rules Code:
Fare rules & restrictions Step 6: Booking your flights As you cannot actually book flights with the ITA Matrix, you will need to go to your preferred booking channel to complete the process, for example BA.com and AA.com |
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