May I also ask what Zone R is? Also......could you walk me through what you think our best move would or should be...coming in from ISt on BA and then trying to get to AA for our BOS flight....we will be flying J on AA but will be coming in on Y on BA The going "outside" sounds like you might save time and as you pointed out a walk might not hurt the old bones.

Any suggestions will greatly be appreciated

Zone R is the F/J check-in area in T1 at LHR. It is separate from the economy check-in, and can be used by Emerald and Sapphire status pax. The real significance is two-fold: much shorter check-in line (that part is common with the other terminals at LHR) and a dedicated security check that is much shorter, which is used by all zone R pax. Thus if your flight departs from T1 and you are flying economy, you still get the equivalent of FastTrack security (and it is typically 5 minutes vs. 30 minutes or longer for the non-Zone R security check). Now at the other terminals (T2,T3,T4) the FastTrack security is only if you are actually flying J/F and not available based on status, so even though checking in at the F desk at T4, for example, you would go to the long and slow regular security check and not be allowed to use the FastTrack check. At least that is the way it works in theory (in practice when the regular check line gets huge, over an hour long, they divert some of it to FastTrack, which then also gets to be huge and takes forever to clear .... the wonders of the BAA operations at LHR).

So using zone R generally means 15 min max check-in and clearing security time, vs. over an hour without zone R access. So it affects the timing quite a bit.

For the scenario of BA Y arrival in T1 (presuming IST arrives at T1, haven't checked this) followed by AA J departure from T3, I would say it is a wash between taking the bus and using FCC vs. going landside and walking. No FastTrack for immigration/customs (but that tends to be not bad at T1) but FastTrack for AA check-in (Park Avenue or regular) and security clearing is general fast in T3 (however FastTrack is often not operating, probably because it isn't needed that often). Either way would work within the MCT without problem. Staying airside, using the bus and FCC, is a bit easier but almost as long a walk as landside (due to the topology of T1, you basically walk over to T2 to get the bus to T3).

Sounds like my AA-BA (T3-T1) 2.5 hour connection is gonna be lots of fun...

If I go through immigration (EU citizen) at T3, walk over to T1 and then enter through security (Y-class ticket, no BA status), how long would that take?

I am doing the same in November - AA JFK - LHR and then BA LHR - SOF all J class.

My worry is that I booked the AA trip on AA.com and the BA trip on BA.com - will they be able to check my bags through? Also, is there any danger of being accused of "nesting" when they realise I book lots of journeys that overlap?

I have a 2 hour stop. I had though that was more than enough until I read this thread. If they won't check my bags through I am well and truly stuffed!!

I doubt it, but note nesting is only a no-no if done for the specific purpose of bypassing the rules of one of the tickets. You have full details on aa.com.

Edited to add:

Thanks - I think I am safe on this journey.

Will AA be able to find the LHR - SOF journey booked on BA.com when I check in at JFK though?

They should, but don't forget to have the ticket number at hand.

Edit: you can see for yourself, by trying to retrieve the ba booking from aa.com

BA has a policy prohibiting through check of bags on 2 separate tickets, with one exception (luckily for you!), and that is to another Oneworld airline. If you had been flying UA on LHR-JFK than BA would not check bags through, but they will for AA. You are OK in both directions, but be sure to have the ticket number for both tickets with you (not just the PNR locator, but the actual ticket number, that would be in your confirmation email for the e-tickets).

LHR transit took under an hour this week, at noon. It looks like the really huge queues are limited to morning (say 8am to 10am) and late afternoon/evenings. It is fast at 6 am (first flight of the day in) and to my surprise was pretty good at noon. Travel volumes may also be lighter now that it is October.

I just did on Wed a T4 to T1 transfer from JFK onto FCO although all on BA - from the time i got on the T4 bus to the BA F lounge in T1 was about 30 minutes but everything flowed smoothly.

The key is when you get to T1 if you are flying J or F on BA there is a special line - however it is not well marked - the only sign you will see is at the entry to the lan which when you enter the actual area where they screen your bags and you walk through the metail detectors will be straight ahead on the far side of the hall when you turn the corner -

When there is a HUGE line for the non BA F/J screening those lines back up and thus block access to the BA priority line and you can literally spend 30-60 minutes waiting in that line and then find out the priority line is empty.

My advice is to stay close to the near wall - closest to where you came up so you can bypass the folks not waiting for the BA F-J line - just keep your F or J BA ticket out and act like you know where you are going so people know you are not trying to cut their line. Eventually the sea of people will part and you will be off to the races!

But note that this "exception" is frequently ignored by checkin people in out-stations, resulting in claim/recheck yoga at London. One must be adamant and physically inspect the tags to make sure they show the final destination past London.

Exactly. The BA idiocy reached a crescendo for me when BA refused me despite my being on a BA F ticket going onto another OneWorld carrier with a separate ticket.

Great reason not to fly BA now. I'll add it to my growing list. They make the rules, we get to chose who we pay money to.

Agreed. I had a F class ticket on BA SYD-HKG connecting to AA F on a separate ticket to the States. I had all appropriate documentation to show the BA agent in SYD. She went up two levels of command at my insistence, and was adamantly refused approval of checking my bag thru to the US.

If you wish to pursue this, you can contact BA Special Services (though I'm not sure who is eligible these days for SS, probably having an F ticket is not enough). In the past SS has been able to part the waters of the BA bureaucracy quite magically. It was quite nice when they staffed a desk in the Concorde Room (something they no longer do; I suspect the SS numbers have been decimated and the SS mission may now be only for VIPs, but I don't know).

As far as I know (and I haven't checked recently, in the past 2 months), BA policy is still to accept interlined luggage on separate Oneworld tickets; in fact I think this might even be a Oneworld policy and BA is required to honour it by their Oneworld membership contract. Maybe someone can shed light on that.

As far as I know (and I haven't checked recently, in the past 2 months), BA policy is still to accept interlined luggage on separate Oneworld tickets; in fact I think this might even be a Oneworld policy and BA is required to honour it by their Oneworld membership contract. Maybe someone can shed light on that.[/QUOTE]

I checked the OW website and look what I found...

"Easy and Seamless Connections

The oneworld� alliance airlines work together to ensure that your journey goes smoothly from start to finish. In key airports you will find that our transfer desks and customer service desks are clearly marked with the oneworld logo, and our ground staff are on hand to help you with your connection between oneworld alliance airlines.

To make things easier for you, on the majority of flights when you are transferring between oneworld member airlines, you and your baggage will be checked through to your final destination at check-in.

Remember, should a problem ever arise, just contact a representative from any oneworld alliance airline, who will be happy to assist you."

Makes it all sound so lovely and easy doesn't it!!??