s1362083

I've read the excellent guides and am pretty sure I'm OK but as its my first time, I'd appreciate a thumbs up from an experienced hand:

22/03 BA2764 LGW-AMS 18:10-20:30
22/03 BA2765 AMS-LGW 21:15-21:30
23/03 CX0252 LHR-HKG 11:25-07:00

The only risk I can see is that I'm on the last rotation of the day on 22nd and first rotation of 23rd would be too late. But I presume I'm covered in case of issues to the aircraft which would equally affect BA2764 and BA2765.

I could take the evening flight to HKG but the timings don't work as well so rather not do that unless I'm taking unnecessary risk with the morning departure.

Tim nice but dim

Should be OK - but 22/03 is next year so weather at the end of March could be anyone's guess.

Is it your first time to AMS? Here's something I uploaded to youtube on my last JER-AMS TP run, where there was another FTer onboard doing the run.

s1362083

It is my first time at AMS. I stumbled​ upon that video earlier, it's partly what gave me the initial confidence to consider it!

Tim nice but dim

Nice to know the video is of help to others!

AMS is about as easy as it gets for ex-EU turnarounds. Even if there is an aircraft and gate swap (extremely rare) the BA gates are so close to each other that there is little hassle.

Enjoy your trip!

Agent69

I assume they issue you with the boarding card for the return leg when you check in at LGW?

Is this something you have to ask for?

BOH

Am trying to think of instances where this wouldn't be as straightforward as the video shows? So given no segregation of inbound and outbound pax at AMS, surely any combination of taking an inbound into AMS and then any outbound back again is as simple as stepping off the plane and just staying in the gate area and boarding the return?

Given the BA aircraft tend to return to the same airport they came from, ie LHR based aircraft usually go back to LHR (same for LGW and LCY frames), surely just picking an outbound flight and the corresponding paired return on the same aircraft would be zero risk? As in the video, it there is a delay in the outbound leg into AMS, the corresponding return is on the same aircraft so no problem.

What is there that could could go wrong - or is it that the OP is concerned about the onward connection to HKG the next day?

catsilversword

Easier/as good as Brussels? The only ex-eu I've done, but am curious to know about AMS too.

chris1979

Much much much much easier.

You had to reclear the transfer security and walk in total best part of a mile in BRU.

In AMS, walk off plane, pop to loo (optional), grab some water (optional), walk back on. No security. Total walking sub 100 yards.

OP should be absolutely fine - only tiny risk is that 11 months is a long time and there could be terminal moves, changes, etc etc etc but that is unlikely and wouldn't stop me from booking it.

s1362083

That's how I see it too, so your question is the same as my one! I can't see what can go wrong with this, but I just wanted to double check that I wasn't missing something.

One thing I can think of is if I can't get the AMS-LGW boarding pass online beforehand for any reason then there won't be enough time to go landside and printing one. But I presume given that people do this routinely it is not an issue.

scottishpoet

No reason why they couldn't, but easier if you check in online and get the boarding pass on your mobile device

Airprox

This is old information. These days, if the gate is setup correctly you can just go straight back up the boarding ramp with no security. And unlike AMS, at BRU you can even go to the BA lounge for 30 minutes as it's very close to the 2 gates that BA uses.

windowontheAside

In the unlikely event you had problems with a mobile BP, you could get it printed at LGW / LHR before the first leg.

s1362083

That's handy to know. Doesn't work this time as I need a LGW destination for the turnaround.

That's good to know too, thanks.

KARFA

I am not sure what you mean here. The OP isn't changing from one BA plane to another, it's a back to back so getting off the plane and getting back on the same plane at the same gate. It's irrelevant surely on this occasion where other BA planes are going on the D pier.

To the OP, AMS is foolproof. As noted it is very easy to do. If your inbound is delayed then clearly the return to LGW is delayed. I really wouldn't worry about doing a b2b at AMS.

corporate-wage-slave

I will add to those who would advocate AMS, it's a really good one for a beginner to go with, and broadly I would have no concerns.

There are a few places which are even better, mainly because the airport is less congested, such as DUS, CPH perhaps, and dear old SVG / BGO, for which there are photo guides in the Dashboard (BGO is probably OK but they have the builders in and we're not totally sure of the final design). For LGW the obvious alternative is JER, but other options there include GVA and VIE (not year round) and FCO (though we could do with further confirmation on the change to gate arrangements there). There are a few places where there is a security check on B2B but are still very good options, BCN and OPO springs to mind there.

There are some people for whom B2B is not a suitable way of travel. Some travellers like a very well organised, smooth and straightforward set of travel arrangements, and become unhappy if all the details aren't sorted out. There is nothing wrong with this approach to travel but it may not fit in with B2B travel. Staying the night before - which has other advantages particularly on the luggage side - may be the answer there. And frankly some people are best on direct flights - there is an element of you get what you pay for.

As for "what could possibly go wrong?", I can think of three categories: usual oversleep and traffic disruption on getting to LGW in the first place; then airport/aircraft/weather disruption - technical failures of aircraft, fog in Schiphol. The final category is in the boarding pass / check-in failure area.

For the external factors like weather then there isn't a lot you can do directly, the key thing to ensure your longhaul service is protected. If you got to AMS and you couldn't get back again that would be automatic or easily explained away, so less of a problem. If you couldn't get to AMS for the same reason then on the basis the AMS-LGW flight wouldn't be happening you would need to get the original HKG flight protected otherwise the system may automatically rebook you on to the next day's flight and give your seats away. So long as you call up about your booking there won't be an issue.

For the boarding pass one, the key message is "get checked in". It's not so much about the boarding pass per se, that can be easily reprinted at the AMS gate, and they have to do this for everyone whose iPhone fizzes out of power. It is slightly awkward if you get to the AMS-LGW gate not checked in at all and the 45 minute check-in deadline has passed. Not impossible, it can be overridden but it's probably a conversation you don't want to have. Normally if there is a glitch on BA.com in this area then check-in works but not boarding pass, so that's ok. So the potential steps here are:
- check in online at T-24
- check in on the App
- call up to see if there is a reason why checkin doesn't work (ticketing?)
- Twitter if the call is unhelpful
- try again every few hours online or App (it may just be a late aircraft change)
- try at LGW customer service desk landside (they can print boarding passes too)
- try at LGW lounge customer service desk (ditto on boarding pass)
- all else fails, AMS gate.
I've seen people having to go a few steps down the way here, I don't recall anyone failing to complete their B2B due to this, so I don't want to exaggerate the risk here, it's a very small one.

Key message is, I'm sure it will be fine, and I hope you enjoy the experience.