Keith Flyer Maven

hello:

As part of an award, I'm flying lax-yvr (alaska airlines, F)-lhr (BA, F)-cph (BA, CE) and have a couple of easy questions for those of you in the know:

1. I'm arriving YVR at 7:20p and connecting to BA 84 which leaves at 8:35p. First class, no bags, but is that enough time? (I was rather surprised that I was able to book it.) Never flown into YVR before so have no idea re: terminals, etc....

2. How's seat 4K on the 747?

3. If I transit through Heathrow quickly (yes, I know...), will BA allow me to 'walk onto' an earlier CPH flight? I've done that in the past, but all pre-9/11.

Thank you for indulging my inexperience. Haven't been in BA F in exactly 20 years, and looking forward to it.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

To be honest, I think the 1 hour 15 min connection time at YVR is a bit tight for comfort. ( the BA flight will board about 40mins prior to departure ( the lounge being by gate D64)

Instructions for connecting pax at YVR can be found here;

http://www.yvr.ca/guide/around/conne...asp?id=usa2int

( you will have to fill out a canada customs form)

2. 4K is an ok seat on the 747 but you are closer to the galley and you have 4F across the aisle ( Row 3 or Row 2 would be better still IMHO)

3. Very doubtful that BA will allow you to walk on to an earlier flight to CPH.

If possible I would try to get on an earlier AS flight to YVR.

Enjoy BA F!

Regards

TBS

Greg66

1. We did LAX to YVR a couple of weeks ago. Alaska is a pretty punctual airline based on my (limited) experience. YVR is not a big airport. There's only one terminal. You should be able to get to immigration within 15 minutes of landing - esp if you're at the front of the plane on the LAX-YVR leg.

If you have to go landside and back to airside, it's a short (3m) walk from immigration desks to the outside world, up an escalator, walk straight on for 50 metres at you're at the BA check in desks (assuming you haven't printed your BP).

Queues permitting at security with hand baggage only you should be able to get from landside back to airside in <15mins.

As TBS says, the connection time is tight. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but there's no margin for errors/delays. Study the maps of YVR if you can't change the LAX flight!

2. As TBS

3. No idea. Sorry.

Trav+

There is an AC flight from Taipei that arrives at 1940 - if your flight is a bit delayed or the AC fight a bit early you could run into a queue at passport control.

But there aren't a lot of flights through the International wing after 1900: just an AC to LHR and maybe a Transat flight to FRA. Security is fairly quick, but D64 is a hike from the main terminal building. You should have time to make the connection, but not a lot of time in the lounge.

Gardyloo

I would absolutely positively get an earlier flight into YVR. I was connecting off AS (QX actually) to BA 84 a couple of months ago, and started with 3 hours for the connection. Various bad things happened and my QX flight didn't arrive until 20:05. I discovered that the transit kiosk in the YVR arrivals hall shuts at 8 PM (watched the immigration officers walk away laughing) so I had to wait in the 500+ people queue (mainly those who had arrived on BA 85) to go landside, up the stairs, past the (empty) BA counter, through security, and sprinted through the concourse; and made the flight only because the aircraft had landed 40 min. late. I was the last person to board before they closed the doors - after the standbys.

(However 62A was still waiting for me )

Don't risk that short a connection. Go early and enjoy the BA and CX (if open) lounges.

traveltot

As for walking onto an earlier fligh to cph, i can only tellyou about my frequent (once a month onaverageover thelast year) EXPERIENCES FROM AMS TO LHR> I HAVE ALWAYS (whenever i have asked) bee nable to walk onto an earlier flight (i fly CE in I or J fares) with no charge. good luck and sorryy for tehe typos inthis post.

macabus

I assume you're also connecting through SEA, so I would highly recommend taking an earlier flight.

This would give you a back-up flight from SEA to YVR and put some buffer time before your BA flight. Better to be safe than sorry.

I have taken the BA flight in F from YVR to LHR and would recommend a window seat on the "A" side. This time of year you'll have a spectacular 3+ hour sunset over the mountains.

OPebble

T5 is now VERY different about changing flights at the last minute and certainly not at the gate.

Trav+

AS705 is a non-stop service from LAX to YVR. Flights from the US usually arrive at gates a bit nearer passport control than international flights, so you should be able to get through the formalities quickly.

Here's hoping all goes well and the weather behaves; it's still light enough at 2030 to get a good view of the mountains after departure.

Keith Flyer Maven

Thanks to you all for your assistance/ideas. Based on the suggestions here, I'll switch to an earlier Alaska Airlines flight and make sure I'm seated in the forward-most available window seat on the left side of the plane....

thanks again,

keith

OPebble

You may already know this, but when you arrive at the Canadian Passport control desks, when they see you are flying on to the UK, they will give you a red card about the size of a piece of paper and point you off to the right where you will be escorted to a lift that takes you straight back into departures airside! (At least they did last time I did SEA > YVR > LHR.)

The _Banking_Scot

Hi Opebble,

Whist that is an option, according to the YVR site, this can be closed and you are foreced to go landside and then cear security again.( I do not know when the " direct route" closes.

Regards

TBS

HappyhkFlyer

I'm taking the same flight in November. Would the sunset still be visible at 20:45? I presume the sun sets around 18:00 on the West Coast in November?

OPebble

No chance - sunset in Vancouver in November is between 16:48 and 16:17!

HappyhkFlyer

In that case I'll be happy with 62K!