maa3

I'm Arriving in LHR T3 on AA at 6:35am (1:35am our time) from the US with my two daughters (4, 6) and have a 5hr10 min layover - flight leaving T5 at 11:45am. Bags will be checked through.

I really want a place to ideally close our eyes for a while and keep the kids contained. I specifically booked this flight planning to use the pods at No1 lounge in T3 but now I'm reading about difficulty accessing the T3 departures area from T3 arrivals. Other choices are Yotel in T4 and Sofitel in T5 (for an extra £90) or off airport hotels - also Aspire lounge in T5 (but would really prefer a private space with beds).

How long would it take me to get through passport control etc to get to Yotel vs Sofitel? (I have an EU/Commonwealth and US passport, kids have American passports). When should I plan to leave the hotel to get to my flight? (Flight BA662 normally leaves from A gates)

madfish

For reference BA662 is to LCA (Larnaca).

Will you have lounge access and what class is your TATL in?

I appreciate the kids will be tired but not sure how effective grabbing a couple of hours will be given the need to complete immigration and transfer between terminals etc. I would possibly head over to T5 but stay landslide for a bit and entertain the kids for a little by using the pods between T5 and the car park. Also the departure area of T5 is quite vast and usually not to hectic so some room to move around in unlike airside unless you fancy exploring the tunnels and getting some quieter areas around T5B or T5C

ahmetdouas

With such a short layover i wouldn't be going anywhere too far from T5.
The Sofitel is basically a part of terminal 5 so may cost more but is much more practical. You are looking at 3 hours max for some sleep and rest.

scottishpoet

By the time you clear immigration, get checked in etc and then need to get up to freshen up before heading back into the terminal, as well as allowing time to get between T3 and T5, I do not believe this is worth the hassle

corporate-wage-slave

I tend to agree.

It is possible to stay in T3 in this circumstance, but the No. 1 pods don't strike me as suitable for a family from the way they are laid out, unless the kids were very tired and compliant. Moreover I would be nervous of staying there when there was a T5 flight beckoning, and there would be 2 security searches. Plus the transfer process, if taken leisurely, and perhaps combined with breakfast at Giraffe (which seems popular with kids), would swallow up plenty of time. There is a newly refitted children's play zone by gate 2 in T5A if they have any energy left. There are also resting pods in Aspire, T5 by gate 18, which in a way are a bit better than No. 1, there's a curtained off space, but again the utility depends on the children being helpful.

I'm not sure I'd necessarily recommend going landside, but if you are EEA and your children are USA, then they can and should use the EEA channel with you. You can't use the e-gates however.

maa3

Thank you all, we are TATL on AA in economy and don't have AA/BA lounge access and connecting flight is to LCA yes- so another 4.5hrs flight time. I have taken this AA red eye flight in the past when the layover in LHR was only 2-3 hrs and remember being exhausted on arrival - now I'm going to be doing it alone with two kids and god knows how little sleep. My youngest can be a runner so that's why I wanted a private room where I could close my eyes for a minute without fear she'll run off.

I'd definitely prefer not have to go through immigration that's why I was looking at the private rooms that are part of the No1 lounge - they have a private triple room with a shower and bunk beds - but I'm not sure if I can be allowed to get from arrival at T3 to the departures lounge F area. Please let me know if there's a way to do it or if I definitely need a T3 boarding pass to get there.

Otherwise I'd be interested to hear more about resting pods airside. corporate-wage-slave at the Aspire lounge in T5 is there a way to have more than one rest pod together or are they all separated? madfish please tell me more about the pods you are talking about between t5 and the car park?

madfish

The pods I refer to are not for sleeping but will help you pass a little time, although you will need to be landside to use them. They are a fun way to entertain a child - privately enclosed - and I have never seen them too busy.

There is a charge if you tried to leave the car park via The Thistle so don't do this, and of course you will need to be considerate of users who may want to use them. Some more information below.

http://www.heathrow.com/transport-an...ing-terminal-5

corporate-wage-slave

The Aspire pods are just easy chairs, almost a chaise longue, with a curtain around them. And yes they are in a row so you could have 2 together for example. It's in an area at the end of the main lounge, but it's not a separate room. It has the merit of being well located for your onward flight so you can time yourself quite well, you would only need to leave the lounge (say) 40 minutes before departure, if we allow for a departure from T5B or C. There is a thread on Aspire elsewhere in this forum.

I wasn't aware of the separate room in No. 1, the piods I was thinking of are a row of capsules for napping that you see in trendy Japanese hipster companies. If it was a separate room then I can see the benefits from your point of view. You are indeed normally directed to the departure terminal on arrival, but it is legitimate to go to this lounge if then proceeding on to T5. I would leave T3 about 2 hours or more before departure, taking account of the children, but you can do it to 90 minutes. To get to this lounge, follow the signs for Flight Connections Terminal 3, through security and around to the lounge. Before security you will need to explain that you are going to No. 1 Lounge, if you have booked it or perhaps have an enquiry email to hand then that may assist (or make no difference), it is certainly allowed. Then when it is time to go, purple signs will take you to Flight Connections T5 and the airside bus.