geo1005

I'm traveling AA#90 to LHR from ORD on the daytime flight arriving LHR T3 at 10:45 PM and wondering if making the last scheduled Heathrow Express to Paddington from T3 with a 11:48 PM departure time is possible???

We will have carry-on luggage only and no access to Fast Track as we are flying coach.

I've never arrived LHR that late in the evening - any comments on how busy Immigration will be that time of night (it's a Friday for our arrival) and if making that last HEX train is a viable option?

Thanks in advance!

TomMM

Back in May I flew to LHR on a UA day flight and arrived around 9:30 PM on a Thursday. It took about 1 hour 20 minutes to make it through immigration.

USA_flyer

If you don't make the HEX, the tube might be an option.

:D!

Where in London do you want to go?

flatlander

Last time I got back late to T3 on that exact flight, a few weeks ago, there was very little immigration wait at that time of night and I didn't notice any significant queues at all (I was using e-gates, but I didn't notice much queue for the staffed immigration desks). I'm sure I was out on the landside before 11:45 and I had to wait (a short time) to collect a bag, so I could have made that last HEX even with checked bags.

If no other flights are delayed, it's very quiet. If there are late night delays to other flights there are problems because the staffing plan on the UK Border assumes it will be quiet and queues build up. This usually only happens if the weather is very bad all day, and that is actually not common at Heathrow.

That flight is very often on time or early, since it leaves ORD at a quieter time and arrives LHR at a quieter time.

I think your chances of making the HEX are quite good. If you just miss it, go immediately to the Tube which runs later, last departure 00:16. The Tube is beyond the HEX as you go from the terminal in the underground passages, so you can guage your chances as you reach the HEX turnoff in the tunnel.

dddc

Different time reference to you, but I landed at T3 on a weekday afternoon from a longhaul flight. It took me 18 minutes from walking off the plane to getting out with my suitcase. I don't expect that will happen very often, but you never know!

Be prepared to miss the HEX, more so in case there are delays in arriving, ie have a back up plan ready in case. You should be fine, but always good to have a plan B ready.

flatlander

If your Plan A is the HEX, then your Plan B is the Tube. There is no National Express coach late at night, so plan C is probably a taxi or if you're very impecunious a night bus - finding a local private hire firm (goooooogle) may well be cheaper than getting a black cab from the taxi line.

I would still expect you will get the HEX without trouble. Just don't dawdle.

geo1005

Many thanks for these responses! I've been off FT for the holidays and am now returning to this great advice.

I think (Plan A) will be a zip as best we can to customs/immigration and hope to make the HEX with the Tube (Plan B) as the back-up. We are headed to the Green Park area in Mayfair so either way we should be fine... THANKS!

Analise

Since your destination is Green Park, why bother with HEX as taking the Tube will be just a one-seat ride. Food for thought.

GUWonder

The later my arrival into LHR T3 when doing that AA flight, the more urgently I rush to do the airside transit to LHR Terminal 5 and clear passport control at T5 instead of at T3. At times it has saved me 30-100 minutes doing it this way, and I'm often booked at the Sofitel LHR anyway. If you/your entire travel party can use the EU/UK line rather the the "all other" line and if you don't have a non-European passport along with Oneworld Sapphire/Emerald status, then the terminal shuffle may be less worth it.

:D!

+1 to Analise.

You are arriving on Friday night, when the tube runs every 10 minutes from Heathrow to Green Park all the way through to Saturday morning.

No rushing required, and no need to pay for a more expensive and more inconvenient journey.



I am surprised that the flight connections bus is still running at that time. Unless AA90 arrives well ahead of schedule, the last flight out of T5 (usually BA83) would be closed before you could make it onto the bus. Does LHR now tacitly approve this sort of airside transit purely for immigration purposes?

GUWonder

I am not sure at what time they kill the transit side shuttle buses, but they seem to operate at times longer than fast track immigration at Terminal 3. And Fast Track immigration at Terminal 5 seems to be open later than Fast Track immigration at T3 in my experience.