pliant

Hi,

My finance and I are planning on taking one flight into London and then transferring to Aer Lingus to get from there to Cork. How much time should we leave in between the two to make sure we catch the second flight? What happens if the first flight is delayed and we miss the second one? Could we just purchase tickets the day we arrive in London for Aer Lingus to get to Cork or should we book them in advance?

Thanks!

julie_Colorado

Generally, if you buy 2 seperate tickets... and the first flight is delayed... you have a problem. You are just assumed a no show to your 2nd flight. I usually fly to Cork thru London (the exchange takes a while)... the Aer Lingus flight is shared with BA... and BA has several partners. Are you sure you can't buy a single thru ticket?

GreenDragon

I would definitely purchase the flight ahead of time, and give at least a 1.5 hour layover -- I;ve had to travel from one end of Heathrow to the other on a AA/Aer Lingus connection, and that takes a while -- especially after an overnight flight!

flanneruk

The question as put, is unanswerable.

Aer Lingus flies out of T1 at Heathrow, and is for most purposes a domestic flight.

In particular, you have to come through UK Immigration, though if you can get your incoming airline to through-check your bags, they will be automatically transferred onto the Cork flight, anf you won't need to come through UK Customs. On separate tickets, BTW, airlines increasingly refise to through-check

So how long the process takes depends on:
- where you're coming from. Some BA flights from some intercontinental destinations, and most flights from Europe, arrive at T1. So do several other airlines' flights. But we've no idea whether you're coming from Timbuktu or Manchester
- What airport you're arriving at.
- what passport you're travelling on. With a European passport, there are noi immigration formalities. Otherwise, it can take up to an hour.

With a European passport, arriving at T1, on one ticket, I'd allow 40 miniutes max. On a foreign passport, at another Heathrow terminal, on two tickets at least 2.5 hours.

But you'll get much more helpful answers if you don't assume we're all mindreaders

TimS

Assuming you can't buy a single through ticket and will need to buy your Aer Lingus ticket separately, don't wait to buy it in London. The sooner you buy, the cheaper the ticket. For example, the price for LHR to Cork ranges from 9.00 GBP (plus taxes) to at least 59.00 GBP (plus taxes) depending upon the availability of discount seats. Do what flanneruk says and allow plenty of time between flights so you aren't late for the one on Aer Lingus.

pliant

We're coming from toronto, canada. We're considering maybe going with Continental Airlines. They have a flight that goes straight through to Shannon only stopping in New York. Would this be a better idea? How long is the drive from Shannon to Fermoy which is where we will be staying for the first night?

Thanks!

TimS

According to www.viamichelin.com, the distance is 88km and the driving time is 1hr50min.

pliant

thanks...that's a helpful site!