Connecting through Heathrow: enough time and what about our baggage?
 

Two of us are travelling from Barcelona to Heathrow, with a connecting flight to Vancouver.

Here's my questions:

1) Our British Airways flight arrives from Barcelona at 9am in Terminal 1; our flight to Vancouver (Air Canada) leaves at 12:05pm at Terminal 5. Does this give us enough time to connect?

and--

2) Will our bags be booked through to Vancouver from Barcelona or will we have to pick up from Terminal 1 and move on?

Something's amiss. Either you're flying to Vancouver on British Airways from Terminal <b>5,</b> or you're flying on Air Canada from Terminal <b>3.</b> Which is it?

If it's BA all the way, then no question your bags will be transferred. If it's BA to LHR and AC to YVR, then they <i>should</i> be checked through all the way, but British Airways' field station people can sometimes be a bit stroppy on these things. Be sure you show your Air Canada ticket to the BA agent when you check in at BCN.

If your bags aren't checked through, and you are indeed on AC from Terminal 3, then connecting on the ground with bags is not the end of the world - the T1 to T3 connection is not complicated, and 3 hours is plenty of time.

Gardyloo, you know, you're right with that, it's Terminal 3, not Terminal 5. Thanks!

2) You need to ask British Air this question. Hopefully you can get your luggage checked thru from Barcelona to Vancouver without having to claim it. This will hugely streamline getting thru Heathrow.

Is this booked all on one ticket, or did you buy two separate tickets?

If this is two separate tickets, you are taking a severe risk if you don't/can't make it to your Air Canada flight.

If there is nothing you can do at this point, at least know the numbers to phone Air Canada to change your return ticket (at whatever cost) should you be stuck on the ground in Barcelona knowing you cannot possibly make your flight home.

Air Canada says on its website that you should arrive at the airport three hours before the flight, if you are flying back from Heathrow. (At least that's what it said last time I checked.)

That may not be necessary, but it just goes to show that your connection is not necessarily easy.