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-   -   Connecting Flight Rome through London to Dallas (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/connecting-flight-rome-through-london-to-dallas-987958/)

jjjgrambo Aug 8th, 2013 05:32 PM

Connecting Flight Rome through London to Dallas
 
Hello! In a few weeks, my husband and I have a flight from Rome to Dallas with a layover in London. The layover is 1 hour and 35 minutes. I'm starting to be concerned about whether that is enough time. Will we have to go through any passport control/immigration in London if we are staying in the airport and if our bags are checked through to Dallas? My apologies if this is a naive question. Since most of our travels have been in the Caribbean, Central or North America, we have never had a layover in a separate country. Thanks!

kybourbon Aug 8th, 2013 07:01 PM

Your bags should be checked through to Rome assuming it's all on one ticket. That is a short connection time for a major airport. I usually try to avoid London Heathrow (is that your connecting airport?) and Paris CDG. I try to allow two hours connection.

I would make a list of any connecting flights that are later for your airline in case you miss yours. You will have an idea of your options.

Rastaguytoday Aug 8th, 2013 09:14 PM

A few years ago, I was making a mileage run to / from LHR, and I had to go throught transit security.

There seemed no way around it. In fact, the Admiral's Club wouldn't let me in until I had gone through this security.

BTW: A mileage run is when you take a cheap trip to accumulate miles to make certain FF status. In this case, I paid $250 for a RT from SFO.

On the way over, I made Platinum again, and I was upgraded to biz class on the return.

Rastaguytoday Aug 8th, 2013 09:16 PM

I take some of what I just said back. You are going from a Shengen country to another Shengen country and should not have to go through security.

flanneruk Aug 8th, 2013 09:57 PM

"You are going from a Shengen country to another Shengen country and should not have to go through security."

Wrong in more different ways than any post I've ever seen here.

You're going from a Schengen country to the US via the UK (which isn't in Schengen). If Britain were in Schengen, you'd have to go through outgoing passport control to get onto a US-bound flight. Since it isn't, you won't: since it's an international to international connection you won't go through inbound passport control, unless you have to exit the secure area to collect your luggage .

ALL passengers getting on a plane at Heathrow go through Heathrow security. We don't trust foreign security operations with our security. ANY foreign security operation.

If this is a BA to BA connection on one ticket at Terminal 5, the statutory minimum connect time is 60 minutes. If anything goes wrong, BA is required to put you on the next available set of flights that will get you to Dallas. There is no other same-airline connection from Rome to Dallas at Heathrow: your required connection time may well be a great deal longer, and many multiple airline connections (especially any you've cobbled together yourself) will require several hours to exit the secure area, collect your bags, check them in again thenm go through security.

This palaver won't be necessary with most connections within the same airline alliance, where you'll usually just go through security (which, with the secure area, is usually fast), but you'll usually need to change terminals. The minimum connect time, for example, for an arrival on BA from Rome and a departure on AA to Dallas is 90 minutes so it's going to be tight (but still possible, as long as you don't hang about). You need to ask your airlines about the details.

jjjgrambo Aug 9th, 2013 06:58 AM

Thanks everyone! Flanneruk, I did find the nifty connection planner on the Heathrow website after posting this. We will be going from Terminal 5 to 3. Will have to take a bus and go through security. They recommend 90 minutes, so we are right on the edge. We are great with staying focused and pushing through. We just can't control the incoming flight. ;) We will call American just to be sure, but I don't think there are other flights available on points, so we may just have to make it work! We've never been to Europe yet, and we get to see London, Santorini and Rome thanks to points and hotel nights. So very excited and very thankful!!!

BigRuss Aug 9th, 2013 07:20 AM

You need to call American and fight it out with them. This is a ludicrously short layover in LHR generally, and worse with a terminal change.

We flew through LHR to Dallas coming back from Barcelona and had a 3 hour layover. We deplaned (20 minutes), had to clear security again (20-25 minutes) and later had to hoof it to the gate (20-25 minutes - there is a LONG walk from the departure lounge in T3 to the gates) and this was ALL IN THE SAME TERMINAL. We had expected 2 or so hours of down time to relax, shop, let the kids run around and . . . nope. Time to run to a store for some treats, grab some pies at EAT and sit for less than 1/2 hour before running off to the plane.

Going from T5 to T3 will be worse. AA should bloody well know this because it has a sizeable presence at LHR and is a oneworld partner with BA. The ONLY way this can be done without really sweating it out is if the T5-T3 transfer takes you to the T3 gate, but from flanner's post that does not seem to be the case.

nytraveler Aug 9th, 2013 07:40 AM

I assume this is one ticket and therefore the airline is responsible if you don;t make the flight. The luggage should go from Rome straight to Dallas.

And in London you will stay airside - so there is no immigration until you get to Dallas.

BUT, 1.5 hours is not much - since you have to transit from one terminal to another and there will be another security check to get into the second terminal (or at lest we have always had one). Depending on traffic - this can be long or short.

Agree to have a list of another flights ready in case you don;t make this connection. (I hae had it take more than 2 hours to do it - and that was jogging with a small wheelie.)

BigRuss Aug 9th, 2013 09:11 AM

<< The luggage should go from Rome straight to Dallas.>>

Yes and no. You won't have to retrieve it because if it's on one ticket the airline will transfer it for you. But if you're not on the LHR-DFW flight, it won't be either (or shouldn't) due to bag matching requirements.

jjjgrambo Aug 9th, 2013 02:26 PM

Does anyone know if being Platinum on American and/or flying first class (thank you points!) will enable us to go through a priority access line for security? We are able to zip right through at all the airports where AA has a big presence here in the states. Not sure if they give priority at Heathrow...

One positive is that we are in the fourth row of the incoming flight, so we should be able to deplane quickly!

kybourbon Aug 9th, 2013 05:46 PM

I would think Platinum or just biz class would get you in the priority line. This thread on FT is old, but it's probably still the same. You could check out some other threads on FT or ask there.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...aa-elites.html


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