DUB connection on the same plane
 

Dear FTers,

have a question about the gates at DUB:
just took advantage of the fantastic fares ex-DUB to the US on LX, bought my positioning flight from ZRH which will be operated by the same plane my actual ticket starts with.
arriving at 10:40 and departing at 11:20.
That gives me 40 minutes, I will OLCI for both flights, can I just exit the plane, enter the gate area, take a seat and wait for the turnaround flight back to ZRH to board?

Based on what I read, it makes a difference if one arrives at the 200 gates vs. 300 gates?

I have an EU passport, no check-in luggage and arriving flight in Y, turnaround flight in C (Fast Track).

Many thanks in advance for the info!

You might find this thread - and a couple of the links in it useful

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/u-k-i...nsfer-dub.html

Many thanks for your reply. Yes, I read those posts plus a few related posts in the BA forum, they all seem to say that there is no way around immigration and security unless one arrives and departs from the 200s...

This, for me, is beyond risky - whilst DUB is a reasonably compact airport, there is a very high chance you'll have to clear both immigration and security, as that thread and the turnaround guide on the BA board indicates.

If you happen to be behind a non-EU arrival and there's a queue at immigration, or there's a group going through security (it's happened to me in Fast Track, and fortunately I had plenty of time) you're in trouble. The absolute best you could hope for is a 15 minute turnaround from exiting the plane - so that puts you back at the gate just five minutes before it closes.

Your C flights have enormous value - if I were you, and it's possible, I'd drop your original positioning flight and put the saving towards a new one and a hotel for the night. There's absolutely no way you're going to have peace-of-mind any other way, and I see no point in unnecessarily starting your journey stressed.

Ok, thanks for the cautious advice!
I have started looking into the hotels...would prefer something with airport shuttle, any views on the Hilton or Roganstown Country Club? Roganstown seem to have a sauna/spa. both have OK prices at the moment...
There must be many FTers familiar with DUB hotels, because of all these great business class fares...
Any tips would be appreciated.

I quite like the Hilton, though if you just miss one shuttle you might sour to it quite quickly... Shuttles are only every 40 minutes much of time.

We've had quite a few threads here on Dublin airport hotels here over the last year!

Pretty much all the hotels around the airport operate free shuttles - I've personally not strayed outside the IHG properties (a Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn Express which sit side-by-side), and - although they're probably amongst the furthest from the airport - it's still under a 10 minute journey. Their shuttles are every 15 minutes, I think.

A handful are even walkable.

Unless you have an enormous preference for a particular chain, I'd just choose the one that looks the best value - you're not going to be there long enough to worry too much!

Thanks for the input...
I will be there on a Sunday evening, so the shops downtown will be closed, its winter, probably won't be taking long strolls outside and going alone to a pub/restaurant doesn't sound like much fun, so I would like a place that has pool, sauna, steam etc...
I have gone through the FT discussions on DUB hotels, but nobody really talks about the Roganstown...the other reasonably priced hotels don't have those facilities...

Oh, the one thing you can be sure of is that Dublin is always fun, and you're never really alone! Get down to Templebar ... :)

Actually, behind the smilies, that is absolutely true - Ireland is a fantastically welcoming country and if you have time you really should explore some of Dublin.