louie-m

Does anyone know how long you need to connect from international (arriving on Etihad) to domestic with luggage and probably requiring assistance? Mum can walk a short distance, slowly, but would need a buggy or wheelchair. And how would I go about arranging assistance bearing in mind I'll be waiting in Adelaide? Thanks.

ETA: having looked at schedules, I guess what I am asking is whether arriving in BNE at 17.50 and leaving on the Qantas flight at 18.45 or the Virgin flight at 19.15 are feasible. I suspect I already know the answer :-(

kcupp95

Neither of those flights will work.

She'll need to get off the plane, go through immigration, collect her bags, go through customs, get over to the domestic terminal, check in, go through security and get to the gate. Not going to happen in 90 minutes, especially with mobility issues. And that's not accounting for a delayed flight - the flight today was 30 minutes late for example.

The terminals aren't connected and will require you to take a train or taxi between the two.

You may be able to check in and drop off luggage in the international terminal but isn't a guarantee. Check with the airline to see if that's a possibility.

Since her flights will be booked on separate tickets (bad move by the way) it's unlikely the airlines will be able to provide much assistance in transferring her. They should be able to get her to the taxi rank at the international terminal at a minimum though. Once checked in for the domestic flight she'll be able to get assistance to the gate. You'll need to contact both airlines though.

number_6

There is a "free" bus which is funded by some airlines but BNE is a lot less convenient for this connection than say MEL or even SYD. Hopefully the airfare was lots cheaper to make up for the inconvenience. QF intl/domestic does include a free transfer (bus running landside between the 2 terminals), not sure whether Etihad also provides this or QF on separate ticket. There is a fair bit of walking landside at both terminals (probably longer than the airside part, which can be assisted, so not too useful). I'd say 120 min is the minimum connecting time, so on separate tickets would want at least 180 min.

NZbutterfly

If she were able bodied I'd say book virgin on the same PNR as etihad flight. I fly NZ into brisbane then onwards on VA quite a bit and once you've collected your bags and cleared immigration and exited there is a transfer desk to the right. Dump bags, they seem to reissue my boarding pass despite being printed from NZ already then I take the free bus to domestic, get off and go straight through security (haven't found the lines long to date for VA) and straight to lounge or gate.

There is also a train and with the alliance with NZ/VA you get on free, just show tickets VA issue. Last time I did this I was told the train was running quicker than the bus. When I took QF and waited for the bus it seemed to take forever to come.

I'm presuming the EY/VA alliance is similar to NZ/VA. Maybe you should check with the VA forum. For me I would book that connection. If it didn't work out due to delays it would be on the airline to sort.

Your mothers mobility issues do make it tricky. All you can do is call etihad and virgin to see what their advice is on what they offer assistance wise and run the plan past them. An alternative - do you think you could meet her in BNE? Fly up for the day?

If all else fails, find the schedule that works, then have her make her way to the VA lounge and if she's up for the $65 could pay to get into the VA lounge to kill some time if you're planning a longer layover.

If your mum has a smart gate passport that will help speed things along. I think calling the airlines is the best way to sort it though.

kcupp95

Looks like those flights are the last ones for the day from Brisbane to Adelaide...... OP's mum is looking at an overnight stay now.....

OP why is this connection being booked separately? Is there a specific reason she needs to fly into Brisbane?

Would be worth looking at seeing if you change the flight from Abu Dhabi to fly via Perth, Melbourne or Sydney in order to get a better and easier connection for your mum.

Exec_Plat

Meet her in BNE. Dinner, sleep- fly to ADL togteher the next day. yes, adds cost.

If she is on ethiad due to premium cabin award inventory, etc, that may be worth the above.

louie-m

Thanks for the replies everyone. When I saw the last flight of the day was at 19.15 I rather suspected that would be a problem!

I'm trying to get my 80+ yo parents here from London to see where we now live in Adelaide. Mum has recently and rather unexpectedly been given the all clear to fly as long as she has a flat bed for the long haul parts of the journey. So I'm trying to find award flights in business or first. She's not up to changing planes all over Europe, the Middle East and Australia so we need to keep it down to three legs, nor are lengthy layovers appealing as they're not up to nipping into whichever city it was in. I haven't yet found a single workable option with AA/BA or VS miles or any of Amex Aus's MR partners between mid Sep and mid Oct....

I thought I might have found something just about doable at a push, but it would mean 21 hours in AUH; adding in a night in Brisbane as well would simply be too much. Might just have to wait and hope for last minute availability somewhere. Thanks again for the help.

kcupp95

Is Emirates an option?
They fly LHR-DXB-ADL. Only 2 hours in Dubai.

Cathay Pacific flies LHR-HKG-ADL with only 2 hours in Hong Kong.

Singapore Airlines flies LHR-SIN-ADL with almost 6 hours in Singapore.

Not sure if any of those airlines fit in with your rewards programs though sorry.

Etihad flying LHR-AUH-MEL-ADL has 2 hours in both Abu Dhabi and Melbourne.

NZbutterfly

Well I guess one benefit in overnighting is less walking. She would only need to walk to taxi at airport, make sure you book a hotel that helps with bags, then cab next day to QF or VA and check in.

That's if you are unable to find a more preferable route or fly up.