MaxFlyer

I would go for option 1: 4 hour connection. It provides more buffer should your inbound be delayed. Plus you have to pick up bags, exit the terminal, transfer landside to T2, check-in, clear security and get to the gate. Lots of areas of potential delay.

How many days are you going to the US for? Your friend would be amazed how much you can pack into a full size carryon and a bag.

jerseykeebs

Yea, and google flights suggests that each of these short flights is often delayed 30 minutes. And I read the post here just recently about excessive carry-on/hand luggage during boarding causing additional delays. What a mess.

We're actually visiting the UK from the US! We're coming for 6 days, and unfortunately the checked bag is very much settled at this point lol my friend thinks London will be super cold, and she'll need lots of layers and bulky clothes, not to mention toiletries.

corporate-wage-slave

No, no, no, no. It's lots of layers of thin clothing, which take up very little space when rolled into a tight sausage. London will usually be mild by USA standards, but EDI can have a wicked wind in winter. But if you can get your friend's re-education successfully completeted, then the huge advantage is an airside bus between terminals which will save a lot of time, and once in T2 there are plenty of things to do. The UK is now blessed with supermarkets and chemists, so toiletries are generally available.

Radiation Station

England isn’t cold in October, especially in the south of England, unless you guys normally live in Dubai . Pretty sure you’ll be okay with a jumper/fleece and a lighter down jacket. And I really wouldn’t bother with toiletries, we usually have better selections in the UK than the US. For a six day trip, I would 100% be HBO.

kcaluwae

An update about my previous post about the short connection (1h05minutes) we had at terminal 5.
We arrived in A and needed to go to the C gates.
We landed about 15 minutes late and had an extra delay because our gate was still occupied.
We still managed to get through the security checkpoint where you need to scan your boarding pass but then things went wrong in the actual security lines. We could skip the line but one of our bags was picked out for a "random security check".
It was in a line of maybe 7 or 8 other bags and it took ages before all the other bags were thoroughly inspected. Informing the security staff about our short connection only seemed to make them work even slower than before.
Long story short, we missed our connection. The gate agent noted in our boarding pass that it wasn't our fault, and we were rebooked on a flight that left the morning of the next day. Surprisingly that flight was just half full.
Overnight stay including dinner and bfast was in the Rennaissance hotel. They do good business, they even have a separate check-in area for all BA customers.
Dinner was good, buffet with salad bar, 3 main courses you can choose from and a selection of deserts. Bfast could be better, limited selection of items.
I'm not sure if all rooms are as worn as the ones they give to the BA people but if they are you should avoid this hotel. We slept OK but if I would have paid for this room I would have felt bad. (I checked the prices on the Marriott website)
Worst part of the process was the shuttle that BA offers to get to the hotel, it runs once an hour, we just missed it so we could wait for an hour.

All in all BA managed this pretty good. Next time if I see that they update my booking I will pay closer attention to see if the connection is not too short...

motef

Thankyou to everyone for all the help in these posts. It was so useful and reassuring

We landed at T3, got the airside bus to T5 and then used the egates and went airside and then re-entered via the First Wing.

There was no wait at all for any step including bus, escalator up after entering T5, egates or First Wing.

Now the boarding for our flight to EDI is another story, what a sh*t show of chaos

ginger50

I just took the airside bus from T5 - T3. There were no AA agents doing document checks before boarding the bus. At T3 I went to an AA desk for a document check and she said "not necessary, you have a boarding pass, just go straight through". Nobody did a document check so I assume that the information in my API file including the Attestation was in order. The only painful part was the security check at T3 - no fast track available - it was a bit of a zoo.

tmm1012

Next week, I'll be flying BOS-LHR-MXP on BA238 and BA582. BA238 arrives LHR at 18:45 and BA582 leaves LHR at 20:35. If all goes smoothly, we should have plenty of time to make the connection, but if we arrive in T5B/T5C and will be departing from T5B/T5C, I wanted to be prepared to use the corresponding FCC without going to T5A. I understand that gates are often not assigned at LHR until 2-3 hours before the flight, and I would assume that the BA mobile app should show the gate, but it's currently after 21:00 and checking the app for this evening's BA582, it only shows "Terminal 5" even though the flight is estimated to leave in 13 minutes:



Apologies if I am missing something obvious, but where can I access the scheduled departure gate in the BA app?

Ldnn1

Best to use the Heathrow airport official app, where you can add the flight for live information.

The BA app will also show you the gate info on the day if you're logged in and checked in. That's linked to flights within your bookings. It's separate functionality to the Flight Status tab where you can search for any BA flight but don't get the gate info, as in your screenshot.

tmm1012

Ok, thanks for the clarification! I knew I had seen gate assignments in the app before, but I didn't realize that I needed to be looking specifically at My Bookings (I don't think I've ever seen an airline app/website that doesn't show gates when checking flight status...seems silly not to show it). I see in the official Heathrow Airport app that the gate for BA582 today was A18, so I'll have that app ready to reference as well.

csycsycsy

Hello, I have a question about T5 to T3 connections. We arrive on BA465 from MAD at 2155 in T3 and connect to next morning's 0915 BA1444 in T5. Must we clear immigration in T3 and then from landside make our way to the hotel (probably Premier Inn T4) , or do we have the option of taking the airside connection bus to T5 and do immigration/arrivals there (and then stay in Premier Inn T5). Thank you!BA1444BBA1444A1444 BA465BA465BA465BA465fdfdfd

KARFA

do you need to collect checked bags?

at that time of evening the airside connection buses have pretty much stopped as no one will be connecting that late prior to the last few flights departing. If I were you (and assuming similar prices for both hotels) I would book the T4 one, get crossrail to T4 (trains at 21/51 past the hour) and then get the TfL buses 482/490 next morning to T5. The bus stop for the buses can be accessed by taking the lift to the car park, exit out on to road, and then it is same side about 200m along to your right.

Can I help you

BA465 from MAD arrives at T5 not T3?

KARFA

not from the start of the winter timetable. Obviously IB moved to T3 back in July, but it seems BA are moving MAD to T3 too.

Can I help you

Has that been confirmed anywhere?