MyBailey

Having never been to Heathrow airport I need advice about connection times. I am booking a nonstop flight from Miami to Heathrow. I always try to get nonstops if I can in any way. I then will book a separate flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh. A one and a half hour flight. I am not checking luggage. Will I need to clear customs at Heathrow then go back into the terminal....or will I clear customs at my ending point in Edinburgh? How much time should I allow between my landing in Heathrow and my flight to Edinburgh? I would really appreciate the help!! Thanks so much.

joto

Is it all on BA? If it is, you would probably stay in terminal 5. If arriving at a different terminal, and leaving from T5, give yourself around 2-3 hours to change planes to be safe. There will be another security/immigration line to go through once you reach LHR, but you are still airside. In any case you would need to then go to domestic transfers. If your flights are on the same airline, you wouldn't need to pick up your luggage until Edinburgh. BA are pretty strict on the size of the carry-on's they allow on board. I don't know about other airlines though.

alanRow

You will pass through immigration when you arrive at Heathrow regardless of what you do.

Luggage is your problem, do the sensible thing and DON'T book a separate flight then you can get your luggage checked through and a 90 minute connection is possible (though depending on arrival and departure terminal it may not be physically possible).

Otherwise allow as much time as possible - I'd go for 4 hours just in case your inbound flight is late or you have problems with immigration, collecting your luggage or customs among other possible problems of booking separate tickets.

If you are planning to do similar on the way back then allow as much time as possible - even to the extent of staying overnight in London - as there's nothing so embarrassing as realising that you have to buy a full price one way ticket because your flight from Edinburgh was late.

alanRow

Just one other thing to note - if you do decide to have separate flights you won't have the Transatlantic luggage allowance for the Heathrow to Edinburgh flight. If you are in the habit of travelling with steamer trunks then the excess baggage charge may be far higher than the "savings" you made by booking separate flights

janisj

I'd definitely make everything on one booking.

In May I'm arriving on AA in T-3 and taking BA from T-5 to EDI. I think I don't have enough time (just over 2 hrs) . . . BUT since it is all on one booking and they <i>say</i> it is a legal connection, I'm not going to sweat it. If I miss the connection they'll put me on the next available flight. If I booked them separately --I'd be SOL.

So either allow 4+ hours -- or -- book the flights together . . .

janisj

oh - my comment was mainly if you are on separate airlines. If both flights are BA it would be easier. But if they were both BA, you'd probably be booking them together anyway . . .

MyBailey

Thank you all.. I will definitely not book a separate flight!

CarolA

"I then will book a separate flight from Heathrow to Edinburgh. "

if this is a second booking... my rule is 4 hours and FULL understanding of the costs of missing that flight.

For example, I have a flight from Atlanta to London next month on Delta using Frequent Flyer miles. I then have a flight from London to Paris on AF that I paid for. I allowed four hours. I also know the price of a full fare Eurostar ticket if I miss the AF flight