luvkeywest

Hey everyone -

We haven't flown to Europe in years, hoping for some help. Our daughter is flying to Norway this summer for study abroad. Purchased tickets thru British AIr, flights are ORD-LHR codeshare on AA. Connect to a Finnair codeshare LHR-OSL. Question is, when she gets to LHR will she have to pick up her checked bag or will it go on to OSL?

Also - as I understand it with or without the bag she needs to go thru security at LHR? I think she's going from terminal 5 to 3, or 3 to 5

Thanks in advance for any help on this connection!

Globaliser

Who? It sounds like you bought all of this in one go. So regardless of which airlines are operating the flights (see next question), checked bags will go straight through to OSL.

She will have to clear security at LHR, whichever airlines are operating the flights. No immigration, no customs.

However, you might want to check which the operating airlines are. I think that what you mean is that the first flight is operated by AA (sold as a BA code) and the second flight is operated by BA (sold as an AY code). In that case, it is a T3-T5 connection.

luvkeywest

That's what we're hoping on the baggage The RT ticket was purchased at BA. First leg (ORD-LHR) is on American, all the rest of the RT is on Finnair. She goes thru Stockholm on the trip home, not LHR. Sounds like LHR is an adventure, good thing she has a 5 hour window in the connection to Oslo!

Yes she arrives at LHR T3 and departs from T5.

Thanks for the comments!

Globaliser

This is exactly why I suggested you check the operating airline for each sector.

If she is flying from LHR T5 to OSL, she is not flying on Finnair. The operating airline is BA, even if the flight has been sold with an AY code.

I suspect the same applies to a flight from ARN to LHR, although I haven't checked this myself.

With a 5-hour connection at LHR between ORD-LHR and LHR-OSL, she's likely to have so much spare time that she could get very bored.

luvkeywest

Thanks again for the help. Yeah 5 hours is a while, but she can watch a movie on her phone, get a bite to eat. And call home

TimDP

Little over 5h is about my longest connection at Heathrow so far although it was a 4h connection when I booked but a delay in my outgoing flight turned it into +5h. That was in 2013. It's long but it takes away the stress of making your connection on the other hand. I made my terminal switch at an easy pace (I made room for every other passenger on my flight that had a tight connection), wasn't stressed about getting trough security in time (performance has improved seriously since then on LHR so waiting time is less nowadays), strolled a bit through the terminal (just something I like to do in an airport, I can imagine not everybody likes this), grabbed something to eat and found a spot to sit down and close my eyes for a while. Easily takes away an hour or 2.
Last year I was at Las Vegas airport for about 16h (my morning flight to SFO went completely wrong (was flying LAS - SFO - LHR), at the end rebooked myself to an evening flight LAS - LHR). That's a while

For my trip in May I have 5h45 (BRU > LHR > YVR, which includes a terminal change) but I do have lounge access nowadays which makes waiting a little bit easier.