need help from UK experts!
 

AAACK! Despite very careful planning, I think I may have made a big blunder in my flight schedule. Here's the situation:

We leave from Edinburgh , arriving at Manchester at 9:40 AM, then depart Manchester for Chicago at 10:40. (on Friday, 8/3). Don't know why I didn't realize how tight the time was. Is this doable, given the customs requirements? (I'm not sure if we do the customs at Edinburgh or Manchester - if it's Edinburgh, then I think we're probably fine)

Any help you can give is appreciated. I'm freaking out! Thanks.

I assume that these are separate flights with different airlines.

There is no problem with customs, since you do not go through customs when departing from a country. The problems is that you have to check in for your second flight about two hours before departure and hand over your checked baggage. Even if your first flight is punctual, you have not enough time to disembark, collect your bags, and check-in for the second flight.

Are you flying with Flybe? They do have an earlier flight which arrives at Manchester at 8.10. That should allow enough time, but personally I would arrive at Manchester the night before to be certain.

I'm pretty sure you are flying the following:

BA - EDI/MAN

and connecting to:

AA - MAN/ORD

BA will (or should, with little prodding) check your luggage and issue BPs all the way through.

Connecting in MAN is just like connecting from a domestic to a domestic. No customs.

Have a great trip!

Thanks to you both! I called AA and they told me it's no problem. In same terminal. Also, BA will check bags all the way through.

Thank you!

Except that British Airways no longer flies from Edinburgh to Manchester. Their flights have been taken over by Flybe, a low cost operator who are unlikely to through-check the baggage.

And even if they do through-check, Flybe does not have a good record for punctuality.

I just noticed that the BA flight is actually a codeshare, so the above poster was correct. It is a flight operated by flybe. That may be little more difficult if not impossible to check it all the way trhough.

Well, I think I'll take my chances. The change penalties are outrageous. And we are going home anyway - so delayed luggage, while still a pain, is not such a huge problem.

Thanks again.

Pure speculation and no knowledge on my part, but if your original flight was booked through BA who would have been prepared to check through your luggage, could you use this to try and get Flybe to
a) honour the old BA arrangements or
b) allow you to change flights without penalty ?

Ahem...

The flight from Manchester to Chicago is operated by AA but also carries a BA flight number - one of two MAN-US codeshares (the other is on BA metal to/from JFK.) Dimes to doughnuts the bags will be checked all the way through using BA flight numbers, even though BA doesn't operate either flight.

You're misunderstanding the problem.

IF flybe won't check your bags to Chicago, it's not a question of your bags being delayed. It's a question of the bags staying at Manchester forever, unless you go over to the carousel, wait for them and then find somewhere to check them in for mhe Chicago flight.

And that WILL eat into your transit time, and if as a result you miss the flight, you're going to be left to your own devices.

Now I suspect - as do previous posters - that part of the agreement when flybe took over the route was that there'd be through checking. But I don't know, and neither does anyone else.

So you can either ignore this, or email flybe to be sure. Call me an obsessive, but I'd be typing the email now, rather than having an unpleasant discovery in the Edinburgh checkin queue

Possibly too late to change your flight plans but there is a BMI flight from EDI to Man leaving at 0700 and arriving at 0810. Current price for one person one-way is £57.

For £57 per person I'd take the loss of the other tickets - just ensure that you your US flight tickets aren't cancelled because you didn't show for your Edinburgh flight

Did you book Edinburgh to Chicago via Manchester as one ticket or was it separate tickets

This is a pickle that only flybe can clear up for you. Do what flanner suggests and contact them ASAP. If they will not inter-line, you are pretty much stuck. If you have to wait for your luggage and re-check it at Manchester - your chances of making the AA/BA flight are pretty slim.

If you booked this w/ AA as one ticket (and you find flybe can't through-check the bags), ask AA to change the EDI flight. If you booked them separately - I'd do what alanRow suggests and eat the flybe ticket and book an earlier flight.

This is from BA's website:

Flybe operated BA Codeshare schedule changes 25 March - 27 October 2007
A number of schedule changes to BA marketed codeshare services operated by Flybe have been announced by Flybe between 25 March and 27 October 2007.
Customers due to travel on rescheduled services between 25 March and 27 October 2007 who find the re-scheduled time unsuitable may:
Re-book onto an alternative Flybe flight under the BA marketed codeshare
Re-book onto an alternative Flybe flight under the BA marketed codeshare on the same day with no charge to the customer in any available fare class.
Re-book onto an alternative Flybe flight under the BA marketed codeshare by one day either side of the original travel date provided the same class of service is available. If the same class of service is not available, passengers must pay fare difference, but the change fee may be waived.

Flybe are currently showing 2 flights on Tuesday evening for £30 per person - this may be a cheaper option with an overnight hotel stay

Sorry - that should read Thursday evening

One reminder - You need to check in at the flybe desk, NOT the BA desk.

Have a great trip!

Hi,

There is a flybe flight at 8:30AM - you could change to that - I use flybe a lot from Southampton to Manchester - they are normally on time - or in fact early.

They charge £25 per ticket to change + difference in flight.

But question is - did you book via AA - if so go back to them & ask them to move you to the 8:30 flight.
Mark