benjai

At this hour, is T5B lounge better than north or south GC? Or all more or less the same?

KARFA

For a 0720 flight I wouldn't bother heading to T5B unless you know your flight is leaving from there or T5C. The A lounges will be quiet.

YacozA

Not to get off topic, but good to know there is another person out there who does this.

Boraxo

I have an 8am BA domestic flight from T5 and no BA status. What time do I need to arrive at LHR and how much time should I alllocate to Clear security? Will be traveling light with just a knapsack (no liquids).

Cymro

Working back... assuing you're arriving on the Piccadilly line, it will take you four minutes to get up from the platform. You MUST be scanning your boarding pass for conformance 35 minutes before. I'd allow 20 minutes for security as an absolute minimum, so your earliest comfortable position to be confident that you'll be at the gate before 07.40, when it closes, is 7 a.m. Work back from that in terms of allowing contingency, and at least 20 minutes for bag drop on top if needed - personally I'd say another 30-60 minutes wouldn't be crazy.

In reality you'll probably have 15-20 minutes to spare even if you're there an hour beforehand, but it doesn't take much to throw a spanner in the works, so it's a question of your own tolerance for risk.

Before 6 a.m. and you'll be looking longingly through fragrance shops to kill time. After 7 a.m. and you'll be sweating and probably in need of being a bit more fragrant if/when you're on the plane.

adrianlondon

Isn't conformance *before* security? That would imply being at the start of security by 07:25 is the cut-off point.

Cymro

Sorry, yes, it is, but even then, it's just a fail safe when all goes for normal operations. If you were to take 20 min in security, and the gate closed at 07:40 promptly, you'd be stuck despite meeting conformance.

Allowing 5 min to walk from north security to the gate, 20 min for security, and 5 min in the terminal, you still need to be there at 07:10.

EuropeToAsia

Slightly OT but may still be helpful to those also not travelling every week: Since I started to religiously pack all charging cables, plus powerbank, plugs and other electronics, in a small bag to go on the security tray outside my carry on bag, the rate of my bag being selected for inspection (with the associated delay) has gone down from occasional to 0.

tuff

I keep all my cables in an AA washbag and now leave it IN my hand luggage as otherwise I get shouted at to remove all my liquids and put them in a sealable plastic bag! They very rarely get looked at (except at TXL who always seem to pick on me).

corporate-wage-slave

The trick to the cables in washbag issue is to leave the plug out and visible from the end of the zip. It's a common occurrence these days (or at least it works for me).

scottishpoet

personally I would aim to be in the terminal around 75 to 90 minutes before the flight.

as long as you clear conformance which is t-35 your should be fine.

I do not like to cut things quite so fine, so for an 8am flight I would be aiming to arrive at heathrow around 6:30/6:45.

Ancient Observer

In previous jobs I had to travel on UK trains a lot, and a bit later, travel on airplanes a lot. At work, we used to have lots of debates about "get there early" versus last minute scrambling. Once some one had an opinion, it was most unlikely to change.
I was always in the "get there early" camp. I would rather be relaxed than in a sweat.
In years of traveling, the only thing I missed was 1 train. Due to tube problems.

FeedbirdNiner

Is the First Wing security not open yet? Will it be by July? (First First in the offing).

NWIFlyer

That post is 10 months old ... it's been open a while!

Boraxo