eugeniod1995

Thank you guys for your replies

I don't get why Iberia doesn't offer to fly business on domestic flights, I thought I was getting a bargain saving 4,500 Avios booking through them but I was not aware of the difference of class.

I only have 65 minutes of connection so I wouldn't have had more than half an hour to spend in the lounge, but having to go through security checks with all the other people after having flown business class is a bit "weird".
Last year I flew EDI-LHR-FCO and EDI-LHR-LIN and I had access to the lounge in both EDI and LHR, with the same amount of Avios spent.

I would try to cancel the ticket and rebook through BA but I'm on the flight departing at 21:10 (the only one shown on the Iberia website) and BA only offers the flight departing at 21:50, on which there are people I don't want to fly with.

If I knew of this difference I wouldn't have postponed my departure by one day to "save" 4,500 Avios, but now unfortunately there is no more availability the day before.

I'm quite disappointed for this inconvenience since Iberia and BA are virtually the same airline.

But anyway, am I granted 2 luggages of 32kg anyway? Following the rule of the most inportant carrier I should.
You know, I have to move back from Germany with those flights 🙈

BA6501

Are you sure Iberia didn't offer Business? It is very easy to pick the wrong cabins on Iberia Plus, you have to select the correct cabin "radio button" for each flight.

Anyway - with 65 minutes I wouldn't lose sleep over it, you won't have time for anything more than a quick drink in the lounge.

As there was no Club Europe on domestics last year, an onward flight in Club Europe sufficed for lounge access. As far as I know BA and Iberia have the same availability, for BA flights at least (as a Blue) so that should not have been an issue.

Yes, you are granted the highest baggage allowance on your booking for all BA flights.

Curious as to why you redeemed via Iberia Plus as I'd presume the taxes (well, RFS) would have been cheaper via BA, at £42.50 for CE+ET or £50 for CE+CE.

eugeniod1995

It would have been nice to have at least the Fast Track security since in other European hubs I would't have had to go through security coming from the EU...
Do you guys have experiences about the waiting times for both the "connections" security and the "normal" security at 8pm? I have been to Heathrow only in the morning.

And yeah, at least for Business IB and BA don't have the same availability, and actually I don't even think that IB updated their systems with the UK Club Europe, since at the moment I can't find it even in October...

British Airways


Iberia

Tobias-UK

At that time it should be a breeze, Fast Track and standard lines should be short, if there are any queues at all.

corporate-wage-slave

And by 8pm Fast Track is likely to be closed down anyway, everyone gets Fast Track! Best time to transfer though T5. There are now e-gates on domestic connections for the passport stage, soon to be switched on, but I can't see it taking more than a few minutes.

Tobias-UK

International to domestic? Excellent news! The worst part of the Int-Dom is the connection especially if you have a lot of visa nationals in front of you. No segregation at present for EEA and the rest.

corporate-wage-slave

Yes. There are a number of bits and pieces coming to Flight Connections, including self serve boarding pass checks and some sort of boarding pass issue facility. For domestic Flight Connections I suspect they won't be working (or needed) later in the day, but they will be useful in the morning peaks.

Tobias-UK

That's great news, I'm slowly getting my wings back and over the next few weeks so I'll be around much more frequently. Looking forward to these upgrades in the connections process.

corporate-wage-slave

Given you presumably be heading for CCR, and with the direct door at South Security being closed, I suspect that going landside and using the First Wing will always be best for anyone Gold or above with e-gate access, given the layout of the building and routes involved.

Tobias-UK

Oh yes! Thanks for the reminder, that little fact completely left my mind ... I must be getting old

KARFA

Do keep up - the new e-passport gates were mentioned several days ago

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28459970-post239.html

eugeniod1995

Here it seems to, are you sure?

Now I have to decide wether to go through FCC or landside, I would't mind a smoke...
I would't want to find the hell at the border because of the eGates not working or at the North security

KARFA

There was some segregation between EEA and non-EEA for a while and then a few months ago they stopped it and it was all just one queue - which for the obvious reasons noted already is pretty dumb. My diagram doesn't reflect this and does need a bit of an update now.

However with the imminent use of e-passport this should mean much improved immigration for those doing a INT-UK/DUB connection when going through connections.

eugeniod1995

Thank you for the explanation
Could you also explain this sentence better:

highexpectations

Purser on my flight yesterday decided to conduct the service from the galley, rather than bring the trolley out in the aisle. Now whilst I know that this might not work for flights with busier passenger numbers, for a CE cabin with around 12 people to Glasgow, it made the service feel so much more special and individual.