Ex-Mainland Europe Travel Planning Guide
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i Preface The Ambassador team has creating this guide in response to the often asked questions that arise whenever we plan our travels originating from Mainland Europe. As you can see it is still a work in progress but we feel there is sufficient meat to the bones to launch the thread. So please bear with us while we work on the remaining chapters - these are displayed in grey in the list of contents immediately below. If you'd like to add your own experience or wisdom, your contribution would be most welcome. ii Contents Introduction Advantages and potential pitfalls Turn-around points in Europe AMS Amsterdam Schiphol Starting points further afieldARN Stockholm Arlanda Terminal 2 ATH Athens BCN Barcelona Terminal 1 BGO Bergen BRU Brussels DUB Dublin Terminal 1 DUS Dusseldorf EDI Edinburgh FRA Frankfurt Terminal 2 GLA Glasgow GVA Geneva HAM Hamburg HEL Helsinki IST Istanbul Ataturk LIN Milan Linate LUX Luxembourg Terminal A MAD Madrid Barajas Terminal 4S MXP Milan Malpensa OSL Oslo RTM Rotterdam The Hague SVG Stavanger TXL Berlin Tegel WAW Warsaw Middle East Travel planning essentialsSri Lanka Working with ticket rules ITA matrix and working examples Baggage interlining etc Planning positioning flights Using Reward Flight Savers Regional UK feeders (Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Easyjet etc) iii Acknowledgments This guide is a collaborative effort, and could not have been produced without the kind contributions from BahrainLad, corporate-wage-slave, Dave_C, dunk, DWFI, Lucanesque, and stifle. Additional thanks are due to dnw, pauldb, and Raffles for paving the way, and of course to everyone who has contributed on this subject in the BA forum. iv Related threads |
Introduction
This short guide is based on what was written by dnw who many year ago pioneered the use of ‘ex-LIS’ fares (i.e. fares which began by flying from Lisbon) on the BA Board. The ex-LIS deals themselves have now ceased to be so attractive but the principle remains and does apply to other European cities. Thanks to a tool originally posted by pauldb and a process honed by Raffles, this guide should still explain everything you need to try and take advantage of this (perfectly legitimate) approach to getting cheaper premium travel.
What's all this about cheap BA premium fares from Europe? The worst kept secret on the BA board…if you want to save thousands (literally!) on J (Club World) and F (First) travel on BA to a number of destinations just by doing a quick roundtrip to somewhere in Europe first, read on… Although this guide will often use AMS as an example, by virtue of it's connectivity to UK regional airports and across Continental Europe, the principle applies to many other cities. At present, the cheapest starting point for an ex-EU trip is often Milan or Amsterdam – but where you see the word AMS here, substitute wherever is currently cheapest. You’ll learn where to find the cheapest point later. Whilst currency fluctuations between GBP and the Euro can diminish the general savings to be made from starting on the Continent, BA still offers some very good deals to those starting from European destinations when travelling long haul – primarily to entice them away from more direct options. |
Advantages and potential pitfalls
What is the catch?
There isn't one! Instead of paying, say, £3000 for a semi-flexible Club World ticket LHR-LAX-LHR, you can buy one for less than £1,500 if you start your journey in AMS instead of LHR. Of course the cheapest fares are I class Club World fares which are generally available during BA sales, so it pays to check the forum for active Continental Europe sales and promotions. You simply need to buy a cheap one-way ticket to AMS first. You can also, for a fee, build in a stopover in London – so you could, for example, fly to AMS for a weekend break in August (using the first leg of your LAX ticket for the return) and then do the LHR-LAX leg in September. The only catch is that you MUST MUST MUST start your journey in AMS! You CANNOT discard the AMS segment and just turn up for the longhaul at LHR. If you skip the first segment of your ticket BA will automatically invalidate your entire trip (and don’t go crying for a refund either, this is just one of the rules!) However, you don't need to take the final segment back to AMS if you don’t want to. If you are on a J ticket (where stopovers are chargeable) and are worried about BA wanting to check your bags all the way through to AMS and you’re coming off a longhaul flight at LHR, then book your return segment back from LGW instead. In these cases, the LHR/LGW transit means they CAN'T through check your bags. Booking the last leg ex-LGW will make the ticket slightly cheaper as the airport service charges are slightly lower than LHR. Conversely, booking the last leg ex-LCY will make the ticket slightly more expensive. If you cannot book your last leg from the ‘other’ airport, you may want to book it for the next day (but less than 24 hours from arrival, so it is not treated as a stopover). This gives you far more leverage with BA if check-in at, say, LAX try to insist – incorrectly - that you must check your bag to your final destination. That said, BA do appear to audit the use of tickets, and may get in touch if you’re doing this a lot. Once or twice in a while should be fine, but if you plan on doing this frequently then you may wish to use all sectors in your ticket (if nothing else to start your next trip off!). If you are on an F ticket then a neat trick is to take advantage of the free stopovers and book your final LHR-AMS segment a long time in the future – you can then use this to get down to AMS to start your next trip! |
Turn-around points in Europe
The posts below provide some guidance as to what you can expect when arriving and turning around at a selection of Continental European airports. Whilst neither Edinburgh and Glasgow offer cost effective starting points they have been included since many of us ask about the ease of using these airports as turn-arounds. Newcastle, Manchester, Aberdeen and Belfast are the same as Edinburgh and Glasgow. Leeds/Bradford and Isle of Man are out through normal exit and back in through security, but 10 minutes will cover.
AMS Amsterdam Schiphol If there are any airports not covered but you think ought to be, please post your own recommendations along with any useful logistical guidance. We can add these as we go. For more information, see http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ations-13.htmlARN Stockholm Arlanda Terminal 2 ATH Athens BCN Barcelona Terminal 1 BGO Bergen BRU Brussels DUB Dublin Terminal 1 DUS Dusseldorf EDI Edinburgh FRA Frankfurt Terminal 2 GLA Glasgow GVA Geneva HAM Hamburg HEL Helsinki IST Istanbul Ataturk LIN Milan Linate LUX Luxembourg Terminal A MAD Madrid Barajas Terminal 4S MXP Milan Malpensa OSL Oslo RTM Rotterdam The Hague SVG Stavanger TXL Berlin Tegel WAW Warsaw |
AMS Amsterdam Schiphol
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Terminal facilities
Variables
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Good if non-Schengen, Reasonable if Schengen FT landside transfer rating: Poor |
ARN Stockholm Arlanda Terminal 2
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There is much quicker option. The arrival gates at ARN have a direct door for back to backs. Just as you come off the aircraft there is a glass door and buzzer which allows you back into the boarding area, bypassing security and passports. While this option reduces the transfer to 5 minutes, you miss the lounge experience which is between security and passports. Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Good FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable (arriving pax should watch for sign to gates 70-82) |
ATH Athens
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Very easy to do a turn around there, however you do need to be prepared with your return boarding pass. When you arrive on stand, you'll be on a jet-bridge, off the aircraft and down an escalator. Turn right at the bottom of the escalator and follow everyone towards to the end of the corridor, perhaps another 50m of walking. At the end, normal arrivals will turn left, however as a connecting passenger you need to turn right. You then need to turn right again, and there is an immigration and boarding pass check. The police officer will ask where you're travelling to, just say London, show your boarding pass, and then you'll be told to head back up the escalator which will take you into the departure lounge. All of the shops and the BA lounge are outside of security, so within ten minutes of landing, you can be back in the lounge. They call boarding in the lounge, but it can get busy so might want to go a few minutes earlier. |
BCN Barcelona Terminal 1
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Dedicated security and passport check for transit passenger to both sides of the main passport check for exiting passengers. 20 minutes, mainly due to the length of the walkways rather than any queues Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good if non-Schengen, Reasonable if Schengen FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
BGO Bergen
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Arrivals decant into departure hall. Fool proof although flight timetable is slim (2 flights daily) Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Excellent FT landside transfer rating: Excellent |
BRU Brussels
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No passports, but security (with fast track) and a long passageway to get to it. 30 minutes is conservative. BA lounge 5 minutes and close to usual boarding gate airside. Terminal facilities
Variables
FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Reasonable FT landside transfer rating: Poor |
DUB Dublin Terminal 1
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Transfer channel, go up the stairs next to baggage belt 2. Terminal facilities
FT back to back turn-around rating: Good FT airside transfer rating: Good if Common Travel Area, otherwise Reasonable FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
DUS Dusseldorf
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With recent reports of BA flights using remote stands (Summer 2015) and consequently coaching to/from the aircraft combined with a risk of congestion at Border Control, the back to back rating has been adjusted from Excellent to Poor. See kt74's post here FT back to back turn-around rating: Poor FT airside transfer rating: Excellent if non-Schengen, Good if Schengen FT landside transfer rating: Good |
EDI Edinburgh
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Exit the airbridge. Take a seat. Then re-board. It really is that simple Terminal facilities
Variables
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Excellent if domestic, otherwise Reasonable to Poor FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable to Poor |
FRA Frankfurt Terminal 2
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Security check only, risk of bus transfer, no passports. Can be 10 minutes (airbridge and good security); can be 30 minutes (bus and lousy security). Fast track security but often useless. Terminal facilities
Variables
FT back to back turn-around rating: Poor FT airside transfer rating: Poor, particularly coming off Schengen FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
GLA Glasgow
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Like EDI, exit the airbridge. Take a seat. Then re-board. Terminal facilities
Variables
FT back to back turn-around rating: Excellent FT airside transfer rating: Excellent if domestic, otherwise Reasonable to Poor FT landside transfer rating: Reasonable |
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