pancakemuncher

Hi, I will be going on a Med. cruise from Barcelona, thinking of staying in London for 5 days before flying to Barcelona using BA. I have a 7:10 am flight booked, how early should I be at the airport for the flight? First time ever in London Heathrow, heard all kind of horror stories for transfer. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

mel

jkbritt

Around 4:00 AM. If you are new to LHR, and need to find your gate, then get a map of LHR and figure out where you will arrive and how to get to the gate from there. At 4 AM, I believe the options are limited to stay within walking distance or take a cab or a shuttle. I am not sure if the bus runs that early. Maybe someonee else will chime in or you might want to do a google search. If your hotel has a shuttle, then pre-book it to make sure the driver shows up. If not, then pre-book a cab if the bus option is out.

P_M

Check out a car service called Just Airports. They are very reliable and it costs less than a taxi. They will pick you up from your hotel.

http://www.justairports.com/

The Heathrow Express will not work for you since the first train leaves around 5am.

I agree with the recommendation to get to LHR 3 hours early.

historytraveler

For such an early morning, I really don't think you need to be there at 4:00 am. The airport will be less crowded than it will be a couple of hours later. I have done several early departures from LHR and would think that if you are at the check-in counter about 5:00 and certainly no later than 5:30 you'll would be fine. In fact the times I've arrived very early, I've found myself waiting because the staff was not even there yet. I don't know about the horror stories youv've heard, but I've flown in and out of LHR many times and only on one occasion did I encounter any problem at all.

Usually I stay overnight at an airport hotel when I have an early departure, but a driver is probably your next best option. Not sure I'd rely would on the airport shuttle.

historytraveler

Forgot to add that the recommended allowance time for check-in at LHR is 2 hours prior to departure for European destinations.

texasbookworm

Here's what we experienced last August when we stayed at Jury's Inn before a 7:55 flight back to the US: "We caught the 5 am HoppaBus which was right on time and got us to Terminal 3 in maybe 20 minutes. We got in line in our proper “zone” for AA check-in. There was a line already before 5:30, despite the fact that AA’s website says the desk opens at 6:00. Anyway, this line took maybe 15 minutes, then we checked our bags and headed upstairs to security, which went fast, and into concourse/shopping/food area. We got a little food at an EAT and waited about 30 minutes or less before about 6:30 they finally posted our gate for our 7:55 flight. We went to that gate area and only a little bit after the scheduled boarding time of 7:10, they started seating us."

I don't know if it makes a difference that you're "only" going to Barcelona, not trans-Atlantic. If that doesn't make any difference, then I would recommend you get there no later than 4:45 or so (I'd try for earlier, just in case...); I'd get a car service if you aren't at the airport (yes, JustAirports is great); I'd call BA to confirm when the desk really does open (I wish I'd call AA instead of reading their website, then I might have gotten there earlier and had even less lines).

nytraveler

I think you need to check with your airline and ask when they recommend you arrive - NOT the latest check in time, but when they suggest you arrive - leaving time for a long line of people to check in and then to make your way through security.

IMHO tourists generally take much longer to get through security the business travelers (since they're no used to the process, tend to ask a million questions and are not prepared for all of the various processes. (I was once stuck behind a little old lady who just refused to take her shoes off - since the floor wasn't clean enough. they finally had to make her step aside so the line could keep moving.)

Don;'t know if you can determine which most of the passengers will be.

alanRow

I'm somewhat confused as to *why* you have to get a 7:10am flight? There are several flights a day to Barcelona so there's no need to get such an early flight.

The only reason you would even want to consider such an early flight if your cruise starts the same day - and in that case it's a VERY bad idea as any problem with that flight could leave you missing your cruise.

Odin

<<I agree with the recommendation to get to LHR 3 hours early.>> That's much too early. 5:30am is early enough, assuming you've done online check-in 24hrs prior and have bags to dropoff.

Gordon_R

The advice that you should be at LHR at 4am is completely wide of the mark, in fact nonsense really. Virtually nothing will be open this early (including the check-in desks), so it would be a completely pointless loss of sleep to arrive that early. Betwqeen 05:00 and 05:30 am is absolutely fine for a 07:10 flight. Also you cannot "get a map of LHR and figure out where you will arrive and how to get to the gate from there" as the departure gates are only assigned an hour or so prior to the departure time.

alihutch

I would aim to arrive for 0530...

historytraveler

I'm sure you are aware that you can print your boarding pass prior to arrival at LHR, then if you need to check baggage you can use the bag drop kiosks or with just carry on go directly through security. No need to wait at check-in. You will not be able to go directly to your gate if you arrive so early. Once through security, monitors will notify you as to when to proceed to your designated gate. Usually this is done 30/45 minutes before departure.

As Gordon has pointed out, the shops, coffee places and restaurants do not open until 5:30 am. The only thing that will be open at 4:00 am will be the restrooms, unless someone is cleaning them.

As I have already stated, the LHR website, B.A. and personal experience suggests passengers be there 2 hours prior to departure for European destinations.

historytraveler

Clicked the submit too early. Although the suggestion is 2 hours prior to departure, I'd have no problem arriving at 5:30 am. The airport isn't nearly as busy at that time as it will be a couple hours later.

pancakemuncher

Thank you all for all the suggestions. Now I have second thoughts of taking that early flight to BCN;

alanrow: Yes, the cruise leave on the same day, so you think I should arrive a day early even it's just from London to Barcelona for boarding the ship?

Do the flights from LHR to BCN tend to delay quite often?

I'll definitely consider JustAirports.com for the transport if I do book the 7:10 flight since we are a family of 4, the Heathrow Express only starts at 5:10, which I think is too late for me.

alanRow

I suggest going a day earlier because

a) you won't have to worry about getting to the airport before the crack of dawn in time for the flight
b) you won't have to worry about something going wrong with the flight and having no other option for getting to Barcelona in time

As for delays - it doesn't matter how reliable the normally is if it's your flight that goes wrong.

Pick a midday flight and you can have a good night's sleep, a decent & leisurely breakfast and still have 24 hours to get to Barcelona

If your checked luggage weight is under 20kg I'd also suggest checking out the low costs airlines flying from Gatwick - just ensure that "Barcelona" is BCN and not "GRO" (Girona) or REU (Reus) which some airlines describe as Barcelona

P_M

Alan has the best idea and I don't know why I didn't think of it myself as I always arrive at the port city a day early. I have booked a cruise leaving on January 30 and although the port (Galveston) is only ~200 miles from my home I still plan to arrive a day early and stay overnight. We thought about leaving the day of the cruise since it's only a 3-4 hour drive. I don't expect my car to break down on the drive to Galveston causing us to miss the sailing but that's never a sure thing. God forbid it does happen we will spend an arm, a leg and a kidney to fly to our first port. Not to mention we will miss 2 days of a 7 day cruise.

Regardless of when you leave I still think the car service is better than the train, especially for a family of 4. It will be less hassle and possibly cheaper. Bon Voyage!!

pancakemuncher

I'm sold, will book the flight one day early, thanks Alan and P_M. This idea give me the peace of mind

Thanks to everyone that gave ideas and advice for early flights, all these advice will be in my notebook if and ever I need to use it.

soogies

Good choice pancake! I was going to chime in that I wouldn't arrive earlier than 05:30. We have never arrived the recommended 2-3 hours before a flight and never missed a flight.

But I am glad to see that you changed your plans. Have fun!

Odin

<<We have never arrived the recommended 2-3 hours before a flight and never missed a flight>>

If the flight is to the US or longhaul in general, you should observe the recommended 2-3 hours before a flight, esp at LHR where it can be very busy trying to get thru security. Gates tend to close 1 hour before for some airlines. Unfortunately it is not one size fits all when it comes to check in times.

soogies

Odin - I guess we have been lucky then. BEcause the last three flights out of LHR we arrived less and 1-1/2 hrs before flight time.