Safe Connection Time Between Delta and BA at LHR
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Toronto, Canada
Programs: Delta DM, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, National EE, AS MVP Gold 75K, AC 75K
Posts: 1,000
Safe Connection Time Between Delta and BA at LHR
Hello,
I booked a Delta flight from DTW-LHR that arrives at 6:50am on Friday. I also need to fly to Barcelona and am trying to determine what is a good amount of time to leave between the flight. Does anyone know how long it usually takes to clear customs and pick up luggage at Terminal 3?
For BA flights from LHR-BCN, does BA fly out of T3? I'm thinking of booking the 10:25 or 11:05 BA flight to BCN, but not sure if a 4hr window is enough to catch my flight.
Also, looking at Google Flight, BA is the only airline that offers direct flight to BCN?
I booked a Delta flight from DTW-LHR that arrives at 6:50am on Friday. I also need to fly to Barcelona and am trying to determine what is a good amount of time to leave between the flight. Does anyone know how long it usually takes to clear customs and pick up luggage at Terminal 3?
For BA flights from LHR-BCN, does BA fly out of T3? I'm thinking of booking the 10:25 or 11:05 BA flight to BCN, but not sure if a 4hr window is enough to catch my flight.
Also, looking at Google Flight, BA is the only airline that offers direct flight to BCN?
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 31,452
You are on separate tickets with checked luggage. Separate tickets means that there is no connection and you are not protected for travel to BCN should you not show up for your flight on time (I think the cutoff time at LHR T3 for BCN is 45 minutes checked in luggage). You will need to get from T4 to T3 (a bit of a pain, see BA dashboard). Early morning arrivals at LHR can take a while to get through immigration. I would leave it to an early afternoon flight for less risk.
#4
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: London, United Kingdom
Programs: British Airways Gold
Posts: 2,636
BA Barcelona flights do leave from T3. They are the only one on this route
Assuming an on time arrival and conservatively an hour for baggage (Canadian citizens can now use egates so no delays there) then you should comfortably make check in for either flight.
Taking the later one will provide extra reassurance in the event of a delayed inbound, but obviously there are no guarantees
Assuming an on time arrival and conservatively an hour for baggage (Canadian citizens can now use egates so no delays there) then you should comfortably make check in for either flight.
Taking the later one will provide extra reassurance in the event of a delayed inbound, but obviously there are no guarantees
#6
Join Date: May 2018
Programs: SAS Gold, Hilton Diamond, OWS
Posts: 249
If you purchase an Economy Plus ticket you get what is called Same Day Change, which means that you can change to any other BA flight from LHR to BCN for free on the same day provided that there is availability. If you purchase the 11.05 and realise that you can make the 10.25 you can just switch (up to 1 hour before departure), provided that seats are available on the 10.25. Also works the other way around if you are delayed leaving DTW.
Edit: Also applies to Club Europe tickets if you want to fly business class.
Edit: Also applies to Club Europe tickets if you want to fly business class.
Last edited by Scandinavian traveler; Jul 22, 2019 at 8:20 am
#7
Join Date: Jul 2007
Programs: BAEC OW Gold/Emerald
Posts: 538
I would suggest you build in sufficient time for a late arriving DL flight. If the worst happens and you have a long wait in T3 before the BCN flight, assuming you are flying business class, you can do a OneWorld lounge crawl- an hour in each and 4 hours will pass quick time.
#8
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
This is all about risk tolerance. You, as the passenger, bear 100% of the risk because you will not be connecting. The question is how much the BA ticket costs and how much of a problem it is for you if there is poor weather, a mechanical issue or whatever else might happen, and you then have to purchase a new BA ticket.
Measure that against the cost differential to a slightly more expensive ticket on BA and then book the later BA flight, Presuming availability, you will be able to make the change/
Measure that against the cost differential to a slightly more expensive ticket on BA and then book the later BA flight, Presuming availability, you will be able to make the change/
#9
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,201
Of course, if you booked a later flight on a Plus fare, and were at the airport early enough to change it to an earlier one, that would mitigate the risk substantially.
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Toronto, Canada
Programs: Delta DM, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, National EE, AS MVP Gold 75K, AC 75K
Posts: 1,000
You are on separate tickets with checked luggage. Separate tickets means that there is no connection and you are not protected for travel to BCN should you not show up for your flight on time (I think the cutoff time at LHR T3 for BCN is 45 minutes checked in luggage). You will need to get from T4 to T3 (a bit of a pain, see BA dashboard). Early morning arrivals at LHR can take a while to get through immigration. I would leave it to an early afternoon flight for less risk.
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Toronto, Canada
Programs: Delta DM, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, National EE, AS MVP Gold 75K, AC 75K
Posts: 1,000
I would suggest you build in sufficient time for a late arriving DL flight. If the worst happens and you have a long wait in T3 before the BCN flight, assuming you are flying business class, you can do a OneWorld lounge crawl- an hour in each and 4 hours will pass quick time.
#13
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,918
The best OW T3 lounges are the Cathay lounge (opens at 5am), followed by the Qantas lounge (opens at 8am). With a T3 departure you're spoilt, don't even consider wasting your time by going to the BA or AA lounge. There is a long thread about this in the forum
#14
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: London Stratford, E7
Programs: BAEC Gold! Thanks to FT
Posts: 3,379
The best OW T3 lounges are the Cathay lounge (opens at 5am), followed by the Qantas lounge (opens at 8am). With a T3 departure you're spoilt, don't even consider wasting your time by going to the BA or AA lounge. There is a long thread about this in the forum
#15
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,918