monkeytennis

Swiss Tony

Hope for a retime?

If it's >6 months, there has to be a fighting chance that one of the sectors will be retimed by 5 mins or so. In which case just call up & explain that under the commercial policy you're entitled to a rebooking +/- 2 days on a flight with seats in same cabin (not class).

argonath

So let me get this right, the booking agent did exactly what you asked them to do and you are berating them for doing so ?

madfish

From reading your post it seems that you are unhappy that the agent did not give you a much longer connection. Is there another flight that would get you in to LHR after the one you have booked and still make your CPT connection? If so the agent did as requested. What about the return?

In tiday’s Society where we all want reduce costs we end up needing to do more of the work ourselves. Perhaps you would have been better suited to have researched first and then asked for specific flights. Yes, it would be nice if all agents were better trained but whilst they are paid a paltry salary we won’t get better trained staff.

You we’re happy with the flights at first but for the connection between T3 and T5. Advance preparation would have made you aware of this. You also had 24 hours to cancel and rebook without charge.

monkeytennis

So the main complaint is that the booking agent didn’t do what I asked in that he booked me on the last flight EDI-LHR that complies with the published MCT. Granted, I didn’t pick up on this very quickly but we are all busy people and these things don’t always get noticed as quickly as they should.

Secondly, the most recent agent I spoke to told me that the minimum connection time T5 to T3 is 1hr 5min and that you can walk between them as the terminals are linked. It takes 5 mins apparently. As far as I am aware, this is all incorrect.

Thirdly, it is a questionable policy to charge someone a change fee to increase their connection time when this benefits the airline at least as much as the passenger.

Geordie405

Certainly a T5 - T3 connection with 1hr 45mins between flights is eminently doable. The suggestion that you walk between terminals is ludicrous. If the agent has made a mistake when booking and you are on a later EDI - LHR flight than the one you specifically requested then you may have some grounds to ask that the schedule be corrected. However, on the odd occasion that I make telephone bookings I am pretty sure that the entire itinerary is read back to you over the phone before the booking is finalised. Personally I wouldn't worry. You've bags of time to make your connection!

monkeytennis

Thanks for that. I hope so!

If there happens to be disruption on the day, is it likely they would be willing to change the booking to avoid missing the connection?

corporate-wage-slave

Probably best not to do any more piling in! But when you say "recently", it's one of those lovely terms that can mean many things. Normally you would get an email, and certainly a BAEC reference which then allows you to check the details. At that point you have 24 hours to check every detail and cancel it completely free of charge if you want, or to amend it for only the same fare difference (or refund) that would have applied in the first instance. I'm guessing you are past the 24 hour cut-off now? At which point it is difficult to summon up much sympathy, the 24 hour cut off is a great way to prevent this sort of unhappiness from occurring and it seems somewhat odd to complain at this point.

For me, a 1 hr 45 minute connection is perfect, I'd actually seek that out. If you have status / flying Club or First you may get the limo from domestic to T3 which may make it an easier proposition.

And yes if the flight times change on either leg, you can have another go at the connection. One go only! So choose carefully.

UKtravelbear

If you used phrases like 'the connecting flight before the last one' over the phone you could have very well confused the agent and so they booked you on the latest EDI flight that would get you to LHR that exceeded the MCT for the CPT flight.

I know this is after the fact but you really should have done some research before calling - easily done using e.g. google flights - and gave the agent the exact flight numbers and times that you wanted in order to give you a longer connection time. I've done this myself and the phone agents have no problem at all with this and don't even question why I would want to get an earlier flight.

monkeytennis

BertieBadger

I'm sure I can recall reading c-w-s detailing his personal record between the T3/T5 terminals as something around the 35 minute mark?

Maybe you could try beat it I'm never done it close to that quickly, but as others have said 1hr 45m shouldn't concern.

Also, just idly wondering if the agent's screen said something like "1.5hr" for MCT, which they've unfortunately interpreted to be 1hr 5m?

Often1

The BA staffer was neither unhelpful nor uninformed. This is an example of a passenger not taking responsibility for the simplest details of his own travels.

First, either research yourself or ask the agent for options. Routings on BA are easily found online at BA's website, Google Flights and any number of other sources. One may also call BA and ask.

Second, OP's instruction to the agent was unclear.

Third, when the agent read back the booking, OP had an opportunity to interject a concern.

Fourth, OP had 24 hours to reflect, cancel and rebook.

It is far from advantageous for BA to rebook for free. It sells flexible tickets and has an interest in not making fee-free changes to inflexible tickets to protect flexible revenue. Nobody in their right mind would pay for flexible tickets if they could have the flexibility for less.

corporate-wage-slave

22 minutes 37 seconds actually from T5 arriving doors open to Cathay T3. Bus takes 11 minutes and it's a 5 minutes walk from T5 domestics to the bus, then there is security in T3. My Jag connections were a little faster (but not much).

Now that was unusual, but for the OP, let's say the service was on time - it's often early - and they just miss a bus, and security is a bit sticky. 45 minutes should cover it, so that easily gives 30 minutes in a lounge of the OP's choice, and will reduce tiredness from extended travel time. So it's not all bad here, by any means.

More timings here:
Terminal 3 fast track
Is 90 min LHR T5 to T3 MCT realistic – advice please

Geordie405

I must be doing something wrong - I have never had the limo / jag from T5 to T3

madfish