tengohambre

Anyone know how long we should budget time wise to transfer at London Heathrow in August? We will be arriving on a flight from Spain in mid afternoon and have a 6 p.m. flight, also from Heathrow, back to USA. One option is a flight from Spain arriving at 1 p.m, giving us 5 hours to get luggage and check in. Seems way too much time. The other gets in at 3 p.m. Those extra couple hrs will let us sleep later in Spain, etc. Are 3 hours sufficient to transfer? Thanks.

PatrickLondon

Depends whether you're ticketed through or have to reclaim baggage and check in again. Also inter-terminal transfer may take a bit of time - it's a big airport. You need to check with your airline(s) and the transfer times suggested on www.heathrowairport.com

fishee

LHR takes longer to transfer than any airport I've ever gone through but 3 hours sounds sufficient IF your flight is on time. Security lines of any sort are really long and even though my luggage last weekend was checked all the way through the U.S. , it took me 1 hour to just make my way through the passport check line to catch my connecting flight when I flew in from Frankfurt. I had a 2 hr. 25 min window (without having to claim/re-check luggage) and I had 35 minutes to spare before boarding. It takes a bit of time to move between terminals, and I was pulled out of line for an additional security search. If your flight is on time, 3 hrs will be close but I do think you'd make it -- but I have a tendency to cut these things close.

OReilly

I have done the transfer dozens of times! I leave at least two hours and have never missed a flight, even when I have had to pick up my baggage. Three hours should be fine unless your fight is seriously delayed.

If you CAN have your luggage checked through, that saves a lot of time. Unfortunately airlines are getting really picky, even if you have tickets on the same airline or partner, but they are separate.

Gardyloo

3 hours is gobs of time.

What airlines are involved? Did you buy the whole trip in one ticket transaction or did you purchase separate US<>UK and UK<>Spain tickets? It will make a difference with respect to bag check and which terminal(s) you will use at LHR. But regardless, 3 hours is ample.

janisj

3 hours should be fine - heck, you can transfer LHR to LGW w/ 4 hours.

But as the others say -- which airlines/terminals are you using?

tengohambre

I have got a BA flight from Spain to LHR and then Virgin back to the USA. So, I cannot ticket through.

With both being international flights does that mean the same terminal?

Of course, my wife says we need hours and hours of time, I say let's wing it. Thank you.

ira

Hi T,

>...my wife says we need hours and hours of time, I say let's wing it. <

Your arms are going to get very tired if you miss your connection.

PatrickLondon

If you look at the Heathrow Airport website, that will tell you which airline uses which terminal.

tcreath

I think you'll be fine unless your plane is seriously delayed flying in. We have transfered through Heathrow many times without any problems.

Tracy

CotswoldScouser

"Do all international flights use the same terminal?"

Lord love you, guv'nor. You do have a quaint view of the world. They have some non-international flights from Heathrow - mostly put on specially every fourth Tuesday to remind us of the old days. But just about every other flight into and out of Heathrow is foreign.

And it's not quite as easy as some people think to do what you want to do.

BA won't, generally, through-check bags to non-partner airlines. So you'll need to go through immigration at T1, collect your bags, trolley them through the underpass to T3 and check in with Virgin.

Immigration for non-Europeans never looks that bad at T1 - though I'm going on how short your queues look while we all shuffle through the EU one. And there's no Customs for your intra-EU flight. But I'd still say an hour from touchdown to the Virgin desk. And they close checkin an hour before takeoff.

Your solution, though, isn't to arrive preposterously early. It's to register on the Virgin site for online checkin, and use it before you you leave Spain.