Question About Heathrow and Customs
 

greetings, oh helpful flyertalkers!

i'm transiting through LHR on the way to places further afar. i'm a US citizen.

do i get to clear British Customs in order to continue further on, or can i stay within a secured area? For what it's worth, i'm going from AA to BA. my experience with Heathrow is really limited (i'm used to LGW) and i'm wondring if this sort of hassle means that i should just scrap it all and redo this itinerary through LAX. i've never had a problem with UK Customs, but i've had it take forever during the summer and i don't want to get left behind on a once-a-day flight.

of course, going through LAX is an entirely separate pot of beans, but i don't have to go through Customs there. SoCal isn't its own country, yet. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Depending on how much time you have for the connection, you can do it either way.

On AA, you'll be coming into Terminal 3, and leaving on BA, you'll be leaving from 1 or 4, depending on your destination. You can stay inside the transit area, if you wish, even between terminals, although UK Immigration may look at your passport as you leave the Connection Centre. There's also nothing stopping you from clearing Immigration and Customs in the normal manner and re-entering your next terminal from the front. You should be able to check your luggage through to your final destination, unless you're going to one or two of the very smallest airports in the U.K.

How much time do you have, and where are you ultimately going?

If you have more than 2 hours, get out and get some fresh air. Under 2 hours you won't have time.

i'm headed to BKK as my final destination and i have 6 hours to change going to Thailand and 7.5 coming back.

for what it's worth, my routing has three important factors: it's cheaper to take AA over the Atlantic, i can get AAdvantage miles that way, and i don't mind an AB6, or so i'll claim when not under oath. so, that's my idea on that routing, over UA from BOS-LAX and TG from LAX-BKK.


thanks for your advice so far, and for any other stuff you can pass along. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

(Edited because i can't spell and i forgot to say how long i had on the first pass.)

[This message has been edited by gwendolynaoife (edited 04-24-2001).]

I'm of the view that the air inside LHR is cleaner than the air outside. It's always choking with diesel fumes around the arrivals area. A characteristic London smell, like hops in Edinburgh.

There's plenty to do airside at LHR, particularly if you're a shopper. A number of new restaurants have recently opened in terminal 3, not sure about the others as I always fly UA. When in London, I prefer LCY due to its proximity to the city (and my house!) and 10-minute check-in.

Regards,

Matt

I was refering to the observation deck ontop of the queens terminal. There is a nice coffee shop, benches outside and some good views of the airport. You might get a whiff of jet exhaust now and then but for some people that is their type of perfume.

With six hours for the connection, I would not only go through U.K. Immigration, but I would only check my bags as far as LHR, and claim & re-check them myself. This removes an entire layer of uncertainty.

Your connection is probably from T-3 to T-4; after you get your bags you can take the Heathrow Express downstairs for free to Terminal 4, check in at BA, and then relax. You might even find an Internet access place!

I would't think that there would by any problems w/ the connections unless your inbound flight was _hours_ late.

Do you mean immigration when you say customs? I ask because, to my understanding that it's immigration where the queues form and customs where you walk right through the green lane if you have nothing to declare....

I've never taken longer than 10-20 minutes through immigration. Granted, that's with a pretty small sample size.

Since you've got some time, you may be interested in lounge usage.

If you're an Admirals Club member (but not flying J or P), you can use the club as an "arrivals lounge" because you're a connecting passenger (the "real" arrivals lounge is for premium pax only). However, you still need to check with security, answer a few questions, and get a sticker or stamp before you enter the club.

As I found out the hard way, "security" does not mean going through customs and immigration (another reason why I try to get my terms straight, as above!). Search old AA threads for info from people who've done this the right way!

If the AC doesn't apply- the BAA opened up a club/lounge (the Island) open to every one for a day rate. There should be info on the baa web page, and maybe there are trip reports somewhere here.

Of course, if you're oneworld sapphire or emerald, a diners, amex platinum or priority club cardholder, elite on BA or a premium class passenger, you have other options (did I miss anything?).

One more thing- if you don't have status on AA (and don't already know about the challenges), I would suggest you look at Fewmiles "unofficial guide to AAdvantage" and register w/ AAdvantage customer service for one of the challenges before you fly.

It looks like JFK-LHR-BKK r/t in discount coach would earn ~9400 Q-points (as long as the BA ticket is booked in a class that earns elite-qualifying miles/points).

This would hit AA gold, no problem, and put you within spitting distance (one r/t w/ 500 min. Q-points each way) of Platinum if you plan to fly AA again within the three-month challenge period.

You know, landspeed, that never even occurred to me.

i only have status on CO, and that relationship is winding down, so this would be a handy way to get my paws on AA Gold. yay! thanks!

and yes, i mean Immigration. i tend to get the two confused, and i haven't dealt with them in almost three years, so i shallso hope for the best. all this wonderful advice! and i've got an AA flight next week (my school is sending me to a conference. rah!) and i should register now. thanks again!

Glad I could help, in part- I've learned so much from these boards that it's nice when I can give back!

FewMiles page on the challenges is at: http://home.webflyer.com/fewmiles/AA/challenge.html#1

Even though challenges started in the first half of the calendar year are only good through the end of the current membership year (2/02), I would still recommend going for Platinum.

Two reasons:

1.) Well, it is Platinum, after all http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif (100% mileage bonus, upgrade priority, Oneworld lounge access on Int'l itineraries, etc)

2.) You'd get bumped down to Gold through 2/03, giving you another elite year beyond the current one.

Let me know if there's anything else I might be able to help out with... and enjoy your trips!