mikeyfly

My recent was six months ago (but to be fair - after the Wiki changed from excellent to poor) and got off plane - sat in gate and got back on plane half hour later. Excellent !

Globaliser

I did a back-to-back at DUS in late July, and it was every bit as easy as it is described as being.

The only oddity was that this was the second ex-LHR back-to-back in a row on which the outbound crew did not come back to LHR with me. The previous experience was a LHR-AMS-LHR. A few days after DUS, I had another such experience on LCY-TXL-LCY.

TabTraveller

Thanks all for the responses.

Ah that's interesting. Never had that before! Was it the same aircraft and different crew or completely different aircraft?

corporate-wage-slave

DUS is a night stop location. If a new crew joins early afternoon they will have arrived late the previous evening. If the aircraft has a slightly longer turnaround that can be a clue, though not reliably so.

Globaliser

Same aircraft, different crew.

I'd have been worried if it there had been a change of aircraft, because then it wouldn't have been a true back-to-back and alarm bells would ring for future planning purposes.

IHateLHR

Quick update with recent experience at OSL. I do the occasional ex-EU based on the old fashioned notion that I actually need to be at the EU destination in the first place!

Arrived on first morning BA flight into OSL, on stand right at the scheduled time. I asked at Passport Control for a non-Schengen/non-Schengen transfer. The border agent asked how long I had and, after a short look of bemusement, made a call to get both the transfer passport desk and the little security screening room opened up. The two security staff were very friendly given they were summoned to fire the screening gear up just for me. Once through I walked down the steps, and 10m to the gate where the return was already boarding.

I might have made it if I'd had to go landside and back, the airport was quiet but the position of the non-Schengen gates at the very end of that "leg" of the airport means it is a long walk/probable run.

Summary: Great experience at OSL with the staff there (I can't begin to imagine the reaction at T5 to a similar such request for help...). With the transfer process working it was a fairly relaxed experience, but there wasn't a load of spare time. Landside and back would be very tight IMHO, even with an on-time arrival.

ComputerCommuter

PRG - Prague Usually gate A3, turn around time 5-10minutes depending on how fast the security at the gate is and if there is another flight on the adjoining gate. They have on occasions used one pair of scanners for 2 flights to save on security personnel.

No need to exit the terminal and re-enter, therefore no immigration delays

sigma421

It's worth noting that EDI domestic bus arrivals no longer spit you out straight into baggage reclaim. The bus will now drop you at a random domestic gate. For arriving passengers this is a bit of a pain as the gate they choose is often quite a walk from immigration. However, if you're doing a back to back this is good news as you won't have to relearn security.

Tobias-UK

Was there a reason why you had to clear passport control?

Do you mean a long walk to the baggage hall?

IHateLHR

Yes as at OSL, unlike places like DUS, the arriving passengers are segregated by level from departing ones. You are "forced" up the stairs/escalators upon exiting the aircraft at the gate which funnels you to Passport Control.

KARFA

Just to be clear on this, there are a few routes you can take at OSL when doing a b2b or non-schengen->non-schengen transfer as the OP did.

You can go through passport control, down the corridor to the right, then a few hundred metres down go through security through the transfer room. This will mean you enter departures airside in the schengen area and have to go back through passport control to get back to the gate. It's a much longer route and there can be queues at both passport controls and at security.

However, when you get to the immigration area there is a signed non-schengen->non-schengen transfer route to the left which is what the OP took. It is not permanently open so you need to ask one of the immigration officers sat in a booth nearby to open it as described by the OP. You then head off down a corridor to the left and through a small security room for re-screening once the two agents show up. The advantage of this is that there is no queuing and you exit back in to the non-schengen area so only a few steps from the gate. You do not go through immigration.

There is a photo guide to the non-schengen->non-schengen transfer route here http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25936195-post758.html

dogloverjb

This is the route we took with a 40 minute flight connection. Everyone was very nice. We did have to wait (in a locked glass room in the corridor) for someone to show up to process us through security but we made it to our transfer gate 20 minutes or so it departed. It is a very smooth process.

corporate-wage-slave

Since this question comes up a lot, I thought I would add an FAQ on baggage and Third Country Itineraries such as LHR-DUB-LHR-USA. I have also put something into the wiki. This thread is linked from the Dashboard. As a general comment, going hand baggage only (HBO) makes this process a lot easier.

Can I check my luggage in before my positioning flight to DUB?
It isn't guaranteed. You can certainly try, and many FTers have done this without issue, provided the longhaul sector is in Club World or First, or you have at least Silver/Sapphire status. But there is a risk the agent won't let you do this before the first leg.

But I haven't got status and I'm flying WTP?
Well, then you can't check your bags in advance, since there is a Heathrow system block which means bags can only be checked in 3 hours before departure. This applies to non status passenger (including BA Blue and Bronze) who are also travelling in World Traveller, World Traveller Plus or EuroTraveller. This block does not apply if you have status or are flying Club or First.

What can I do if the agent refuses to check in the bag?
Here are the various Plan Bs that exist:
- Go hand baggage only, particularly if you are going away for under a month....
- Use Airportr services - see http://airportr.com/
- Check your bag into Excess Baggage's shops in T3, T5 and LGW arrivals, and then collect it before the longhaul. The LCY information desk has a similar facility at LCY.
- Get a friend to help you hand over your bags when you get back from the positioning flight.
- Ship your items ahead or after travel using a freight forwarding company, or by post.
- Park your car in a Heathrow carpark and use this to store you bag.
- Use a hotel near LHR to help store your bags.
- Book an overnight gap either at the positioning location, so DUB in the example given, or a long gap, perhaps overnight, between DUB-LHR and LHR-USA.
These workarounds require you to go landside between the positioning and longhaul flights, you therefore check your bag just before the longhaul service.

Can I check a bag in at T3 if my flight is from T5?
No, nor vice versa, but airportr can perhaps help, see link above.

Are there lockers airside at LHR or anywhere else I can store my bags airside?
No there isn't, and airside unaccompanied bags may be removed and destroyed. Excess Baggage provides this facility landside, your bag will be screened before storage.

On the final flight, will they allow me to short check the luggage to LHR and not to the end of the ticket?
Generally the answer is no, and almost certainly so from the USA, your bag will be checked to the final destination. If you are switching airport then they must return your bags, and if you have an overnight stay before the final flight they might relent.

Can I check a bag in at Flight Connections?
Yes, provided it is inside your allowance.

Can I get my bags back anyway before the last flight?
Yes, but it will be hassle of some sort. You may need to wait an hour or so before the bag reappears, and if you are unlucky you may need to return to LHR on a future date to recover you bags.

zsc

Out of curiosity, why is there no CDG guide, or have I missed something?

corporate-wage-slave

In the past it had a fairly crummy reputation for back to backs (see the B2B guide and wiki) and for connections generally. There are some connections at CDG which remain among the worse in Europe, notably any which involve BA to/from Qatar or Sri Lankan. However CDG has put a lot of work on other connections and it's not as bad as it once was, particularly if staying within the same part of T2C-T2A, for example. The other factor is that France tends to have the same fares / sales cycle as other parts of Europe so it's often the case that ex BRU, LUX, AMS, CPH (etc) are simply cheaper and all are easier than CDG. Even within France, LYS, NCE or perhaps MRS would be better than CDG and typically similar fares.