ajy733

I am planning a trip from Detroit to Athens via Heathrow. I haven't booked yet and am a little concerned about the connection time. We land at 6:50 am in terminal 4 and depart at 8:25 am from Terminal 1. Is this cutting it close?

Desireesun

Hi there,

Try posting at flyertalk.com, under the BA icon for the airline program heading.

D.

AAFrequentFlyer

<b>http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/heathrow/terminal_information/flight_connections/which_connection/terminal_4/t4_to_t1_uk_page.html</b>

John_T_Cuttino

This topic is much discussed because of the transfer system at Heathrow.
You arrive at one terminal and transfer by bus to another. On the way you have to go thru security at the Fllight Connection Center again (this is the time consuming step).
If you (and I assume you will) check bags to final destination, i.e. from Detroit to Athens) you will have enough time. 1.5 hrs should be plenty.
Actually 30 min is all it takes but need to allow time. That time of morning is busy and there are a few &quot;quirks&quot; at Heathrow. Often the plane holds on the tarmac waiting for a gate.
There is another unique feature to Heathrow, after you have done all of the above, your departure gate will not have been announced yet. You go to a large wait area (where incidentally all the great shops are). They post the departure gate info about 30-45 mins before departure. You have to pay attention then quickly go to the gate area. There are no services in or near the gate area so be prepared.
The connection system is well labelled and in English but you have to be careful (this is difficult after an all night flight on little/no sleep.)
If on the other hand you have claim bags and recheck, big problem (passport control, luggage reclaim, ticket counter check in, security, gate area, etc.
Bottom line, not to worry and check out the website referred to by AAFrequentflyer.

Kate_W

You are cutting it close, but if most things go smoothly, you'll make it. Flights from North America often reach London early (20-30 minutes), but the time made up is often lost as the plane waits for a gate (as another poster mentioned). Generally, I've found that the bus connection between airports goes smoothly (buses about every 10 minutes and I usually don't have to wait for the next bus if I walk really fast). The unpredictable variable is clearing security once you get to T4. I have sometimes sailed through in 3-5 minutes; usually there's a 8-12 minute line-up; a handful of 20 minute waits; and on a few horrific trips the line-up took close to an hour. (This has only happened twice in about 30 trips in the last few years.) There is no priority line-up for security, and I'm not sure whether you can ask to to the head of the line if you're about to miss your flight - but try asking if you have to.

If you can get a longer connection (2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours), do it. You can easily keep yourself amused in Heathrow's shops. If you can't get a longer connection, make sure that your journey is booked on a single ticket, even if you're changing airlines. That way, the airline will take some responsibility for getting you on to the next flight. If you buy two separate tickets and miss your connection, you'll have to buy another ticket.

martytravels

Heathrow sucks, there's no other way to say it. Take Northwest/KLM and go thru Amsterdam instead. AMS is well-designed and very passenger friendly - it's arguably the best European airport to connect through. Heathrow was a nightmare and I wasn't even changing planes - it was my final destination.

wpcx2

Ditto to above poster. AVOID Heathrow. Period. If you fly business/first into/out of Heathrow, you get driven from terminal to terminal in private van. Otherwise, it's the death march to Bataan. Cruel. Schipol is 2nd best airport in world (after Chiangi) so aim for it. The \Dutch aren't fazed by anything and react accordingly.