GeraldHouse

A connection example that may help the masses (think open, but hopefully not broken jaw

Land from North America at London LHR at 6:45am.
Return from Dublin back to North America at 10:50am.

A flight from LHR to Dub that appears feasible leaves from LHR at 8:20am and arrives at Dub (Terminal 1) 9:45am.

That gives 1.75 hours to clear customs in LHR and get to the gate for the flight to Dub. To walk from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 is 10 minutes max, and US customs is inside security in T2. Given global entry, that leaves .5 hour before an international flight leaves.

Seems foolish but possible?

Anyone sufficiently insane to attempt this?

WorldLux

1) Why?
2) Not sure where you get the 1.75 hrs. Per my calculations, you have no more than 1.25 hrs in Heathrow (Gate is scheduled to close 20 minutes prior to STD). If departing from T5, then you'll have to go through security at least 35 minutes prior to the STD, which means that you have to pass through security by 7:45 am for the 8:20 am flight. Depending on the citizenship you hold, this could easily go wrong. The line for non-EEA passport holders is frequently very long.

GeraldHouse

Fly to phl at 1:30pm departure from Dublin instead of at 11am to jfk. Open jaw on both ends. Why? Aer lingus has a decent sale on until the 17th. And can upgrade to biz using 37,000 avios. And otherwise stuck over there.

antichef

There are many variables here that make a general answer potentially less than accurate.

There are four terminals at LHR, so it might help if you can identify which one you are landing at, and departing from.

I assume you are flying from LHR to DUB, but if you are flying BA it will be fromT5 and if Aer Lingus it will be T2. Transfers between terminals take some time, particularly if you are collecting luggage and going landside because you are not on interlinked tickets. Your passport and visa status can dramatically affect this variable! If getting back into T5 there are "conformance" times for entry which are very strict.

DUB is, as you realise, has 2 terminals connected by a 10 min walkway.

Waiting for luggage anywhere can play havoc with time estimates.

UKtravelbear

The issue with pre clearance at DUB isn't often the immigration line (which granted with GE will be a lot quicker for you) but with the time taken to clear the additional security check,

lhrsfo

I would absolutely not do this. I have often flown to the US, with my ticket originating in DUB, but my travel in London. I have always avoided flights from DUB leaving before noon because the risk is simply too great - the slightest delay anywhere will kill the connection.

I have found a 7am ish flight out of London (I usually choose FR because - at least until the summer strikes - it's more reliable than BA or EI) puts me in DUB at about 8:30 with a comfortable gap until my noon departure. Any earlier and I would book a hotel the night before in DUB - and I say this as someone who is not as risk-averse as most here. I still have UA's flat-tire rule up my sleeve which many other airlines won't grant.

Repeat - don't even think about the unprotected connection you suggest.

UKtravelbear

I00% agreement

And it certainly won't 'help the masses' that the OP apparently wants to help!

FT it littered with threads about people being worried about short connections even when on a single ticket let alone separate bookings.

Often1

As this is not a connection, but rather a transfer between two separate tickets, the better question to OP Is what his risk tolerance is.

On a connection, the risk is simply inconvenience. That could run anywhere from an important business meeting to missing lunch with a friend and meeting up for drinks later.

On a transfer between tickets, the financial and logistical risk is 100% OP's. If he no shows for his new ticket, it will be cancelled and will retain whatever value the fare rules provide for in his ticket. That is generally nothing (as to base fare and carrier fees).

A smarter move between tickets is to hedge the savings with a night at LON. Could be at an airport hotel for convenience or actually in London for a pleasant time.

T5 has conformance and while there are occasions when it has been waived, for the most part, it isn't. Thus, running and bobbing and weaving between terminals and gates may not help.

GeraldHouse

Thanks for the replies. Arriving at T5 in LHR at 6:50am, Then taking a BA flight from LHR Dub Terminal 1 at 10:50 leaves 4-.5 = 3.5 hours to clear customs, and transfer to another terminal at LHR. No problem there I think. Then 55 minutes (12:15 to 1:30 - 20 minutes) to go from T1 Dub to T2, through security, and then Global Entry thru US customs to the gate. The risk is all at the Dub transfer, so maybe a layover as suggested, or a later flight to another North American destination is prudent.

UAPremExecflyer

You need less time in LHR and more in DUB.
You really are asking for trouble with this proposed itinerary.
You cannot "self-connect" in DUB (ie. use the Connections Centre on separate itineraries) - will need to exit in T1 entering Ireland and then walking to T2 and going through two sets of security again.

antichef

Are you on three separate tickets? If not, which are the sectors on which ticket?

Is this hand luggage only?

LondonElite

Sorry, but this is all not very smart. You appear to plan to travel on three separate tickets, which means none of your flights are protected. What if the 645 arrival into LHR is late and you land instead at 730 at this point you have no real hope of making the flight to DUB. You will be classed as a no-show and the ticket will be cancelled. Unless you hire a private jet, you won't get to DUB on time for your return to the US. You could also play out this scenario on the DUB flight getting in late, say 1020. At this point your next flight is going to leave without you. It's all crackers.

Why would you want to do all of this anyway?

GeraldHouse

All good points. But the flight thru LHR to DUB is available as a connected ticket, and shows either the 8:20 or 10:50 flight to Dublin as valid itineraries after arriving at LHR at 6:50am. The additional leg just bumps the itinerary cost to nearly twice as much if purchased that way. If I really need more time in DUB taking the 10:50 flight, I can fly to Boston a half hour later for $20 more than PHL. I am (still planning to) bridge business class 777 lie down seats using the AerLingus sale. BTW, what, if any delay benefits does the fact that I would be flying all OneWorld provide?

LondonElite

antichef

Pretty much nil going from one ticket to the next.

We are trying to advise without all the required facts, but you seem to have a different perception of your itinerary and the risks than most of us here! For example, you indicate that you are going all "OneWorld" yet mention an Aer Lingus sale? Since they are not in OneWorld, it is not clear to me what you are doing or even who you are flying with.

Within European ticketing there are very different practices to those that Americans are used to at home, according to my experience gained from reading threads of woe from surprised and stranded travellers on FT . For example, I gather that in the US if you have a ticket on "Carrier A" from airport X to airport Y, and a separate ticket with "Carrier A" from airport Y to airport Z, that if the flight is delayed on leg 1 from X-Y they will usually protect you and rebook you on leg 2 from Y-Z. European practices are the reverse. If carrier A fails to get you from X-Y in time for you to make your flight from Y-Z then you are on your own and are marked as a no-show and your ticket from Y-Z is cancelled. If it is a single ticket from X-Y-Z then you are protected. Some tickets are fully flexible and can be changed and some fixed and non-refundable, again I have no idea which you are on and therefore what risk arises.

As far as I can work out your itinerary is USA xxx - LHR - DUB - USA xxx, but with which carrier and which parts are on separate tickets I have no idea.

The advice you have been given and the caution expressed by myself and other UK based posters in relation to your itinerary is based on our knowledge of the custom and practice employed by airline operators and airports on this continent. We have no idea of your travel knowledge or understanding or expectation, but if it is based on other airlines on another continent they may be some way removed from our collective experience. It is not just "... the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there." Foreign countries do things differently too!