vantony

Hi,

My wife and I are planning a trip from Vancouver to Porto, connecting via Gatwick. One option that we prefer is flying into Gatwick N Terminal on a Westjet flight arriving at 11:10 a.m. on May 17, and connecting via a BA flight 2:10 p.m. in S Terminal. The 2 legs will be booked separately and since we have 1 checked baggage, I guess we will have to pick up and re-check our bag and go through passport control.

We have never connect through LGW that requires to pick up and re-check our bag, then go through passport control, so we are a bit concern that we only have 3 hours connection time.

Any advice on whether that's cutting too close?

simons1

Are you looking at two separate tickets or one booking?

If the flights are on schedule you have plenty of time there even if you have to collect bags. Its when the inward flight is late that issues can materialise.

vantony

Thanks for the quick reply.

This will be booked in 2 separate tickets.

Based on my experience mostly with North American airport, bag pick up can take up to 40 minutes in some airport. And then Customs ( or Passport Control ) can have long line up. Given the total connection time is 3 hours ( and they probably expects me to be at the gate 30 minutes before ), it does not have much margin of error.

How long does it take usually to get through Passport Control?

simons1

Ok a few things then.

On arrival - I'm not sure which passports(s) you hold? If EU then it is generally quick, if non EU then for a small payment you can have expedited passport control.

https://www.gatwickairport.com/at-th...sport-control/.

Baggage - 30 to 40 mins after landing would be my normal experience, reduced by the time you take to get to the belt.

Minimum check in is 45 mins for short haul at Gatwick. Allow 15 mins between terminals so overall I reckon you have over an hour of margin.

However what you cannot legislate for is delays on the inward flight. If Westjet is an hour late then it will be squeaky bum time, and the possible loss of the onward ticket as BA will treat you as a no show.

flatlander

You mean Westjet 22 arriving at 11:15?

You'll be OK as long as that isn't delayed more than an hour or so, which happens about 1/14 of arrivals of this flight over the past year.

There is a later TAP flight from LGW; are you prepared to buy a walk-up ticket on TAP and a corresponding return ticket on BA, TAP, or Easyjet if you no-show for the BA flight and the entire itinerary is cancelled? TAP close-in prices don't seem to be too high, not nearly the eye-watering walk-up BA prices, but I can't prediect what it would be like in May.

Consider buying one-way BA tickets if the price is OK, to protect against cancellation of your return. Then you would only need to buy tickets one-way to Porto if Westjet is late. Are you prepared for that?

If you're not at all prepared to buy new tickets to Porto, if that is entirely outside your budget or willingness, then I would not take your proposed itinerary. If you're OK with a small chance of having to do so, go ahead.

corporate-wage-slave

I agree with flatlander.

What you have here are two separate components: logistics and risk management. Logistics, you're OK if on time, you essentially need 2 hours and you have that plus a bit. Risk management is only something you can judge, it's quite a personal thing. If Plan B isn't too expensive and you're OK to handle it, then go ahead. If you're the sort that likes all your details firmly in place and gets disconcerted when things go awry, then you may want to have a day in London or something.

Gatwick, however, has something called GatwickConnects, which may help here. There are two components, one handling the luggage issue, and the other handling a protected connection, provided you buy the tickets via the nominated agency. For the baggage side, both Westjet and BA are in the service. For the ticketing side I am not sure Westjet are included (I couldn't get it to work in a few minutes anyway).
https://www.gatwickairport.com/at-th...twickconnects/

Since this is an international to international connection you will have the option to transfer airside, which doesn't avoid a security search, but will save you from going through passports. There is a bus service between the terminals.

vantony

This is all very helpful, thank you all.

I am holding a Canadian passport, if this matters.

Good tip on booking 2 one way to Porto, never even thought of that. I can bear the risk wasting 1 way ticket plus rebooking. I also looked at the history of ws 22 and I think I can handle the risk.

Not sure what it means by "protected connection". I already booked Westjet leg, but I haven't book the LGW-OPO leg yet. If I book it through Gatwickconnect, would it consider as "protected connection"? If I book both legs myself, would I still be able to use Gatwickconnect to drop off bags?

corporate-wage-slave

The website should answer your question, but if you have already booked the Westjet leg then you can't use the Protected Connection side, you have to buy both tickets from them (effectively there is a mini insurance policy you buy with the tickets). But the baggage component you can book despite buying the Westjet service already. It essentially avoids the need to carry your bags from North to South on the MagLev train and probably adds 10 minutes or so to your timetable.

flatlander

The C-W-S stamp of approval !

I completely forgot about that when posting earlier, thanks for the reminder. I would definitely be inclined to use the baggage transferring portion of that, then one need spend no time watching a baggage belt while the clock ticks.

corporate-wage-slave

Unfortunately that bit isn't negotiable: Gatwick Connects still requires the bag to be retrieved from the baggage belt and brought to their desk, it simply saves the recheck in process at the BA desks, which given the automated service doesn't save much. But it does make it easier to get between the terminals, plus some security that the bags are / were in the right place. It also offers Premium Gatwick to get through security on the protected tickets if purchased. LGW is fairly slick but still it's nice to know you are usually able to walk to the security bay directly.

flatlander

Oh, I see. Not quite as slick as I hoped, but better than nothing. Noticeably better if one's bags are heavy or awkward (shall we cross this with the "travel by bike" thread?).

It would seem that one can't combine "Gatwick Connects" with an airside transfer bus, then. One has to go landside to retrieve the bag and recheck it.

corporate-wage-slave

Correct because the airside bus service is before the baggage carousels, so that transfer route could only apply if on through tickets, certain codeshares (though not BA) or if hand baggage only.