Procedures at Heathrow..worried about connecting flight
 

I never gave it a second thought until I "ran into" some threads about time in between connecting flights on here. I did read them & have become more concerned with more questions so I felt a need to post & ask.

We were booked on British Airways from Calgary to Rome, going through London Heathrow. Our bags will be picked up in Rome & it is all on one ticket. These are the flight times that "they" gave us.

I just assumed that since it was all on one ticket that British Airways isn't going to come up with these times if there is a chance that people won't make that second one to Rome. right? I think I'm completely naive. Here is our flight information.

Everything is with British Airways. depart Calgary and arrive Heathrow at 12:45 (IF IF IF the flight is on time). What time we will actually get off the plane is another thing. I believe this will be terminal 4

Depart London to Rome 14:15 at what I believe will be terminal 1. From what I can tell there is quite a distance between the two terminals.

We won't have much to carry with us as we don't have to check any baggage. My husband & I will have 1 carryon between the 2 of us & who knows what my sister & her husband will have.

Do we need to go through customs, security, a whole bunch of line ups as well? I am not clear on whether or not we will have to go through all of that as we are departing right away again.

I think you will be fine with that amount of time. Best advice: Look at a map of the airport to know exactly where to walk. The less time you spend fumbling, the more quickly you get on line for the bus that transports you between terminals.
You do go through a security checkpoint, however, even if you are not in premium/first class, BA often allows you to get into their "express" line. Look for that line and show them your ticket. We did, and we were expedited (if your 2nd flight is not BA, make sure you show them the 1st ticket).

i wouldnt worry either. heathrow is huge but its still a fair amt of time. 1-4 is not the closest but its not horrific either. Make sure you let them know you are connecting and you might get put in the express lane.

good to know. Seriously my heart was racing there for awhile. I figured out & remembered that when we originally booked the flight waaayyy back in September it departed from Calgary an hour earlier than it does now. We did notice the change in scedule before Christmas but never thought how it might affect our next flight to Rome. I have a map already printed out & no one will be dilly dallying. We are traveling with 2 husbands who are never in a hurry to get anywhere & think the whole world would wait for them!!!

Just follow the signs for "Flight Connection Centre" and if the flight is running late have a word with the cabin crew before you land

And remember you WILL pass through UK security which means no bottles greater than 100ml and ONE bag REALLY meaning ONE bag.

See www.baa.com for the security rules

When I was worried about this last year I called BA to make sure it was still a "legal connection time." (I believe it is.) I also checked to see when the next flights to my destination were just in case (always a good thing to do).
But with map and directions printed out and getting into that expedited line (smile!), you should be fine. On the return flight I almost didn't get expedited because my connection was a different airline but booked by BA. When I insisted and showed a different agent the connecting flight, we were put into the expedited line (it was MUCH shorter). Good Luck!

ok- so I have been on the phone with BA & they told me that it will be fine. & IF the flight is delayed or late they will put us on the next available flight to Rome, which hopefully will be the one that leaves at 18:20 later that evening as we have a hotel room in Rome waiting for us & we can't get our money back on it.

If they can't then they must put you up in a hotel overnight and give you some "living" expenses - and contacting your Rome hotel would probably be a good idea as well as no-shows may find their room cancelled for the whole stay not just the one night

If you are late on the flight from US mention to the Cheif FA before you land and they will probably arrange for you to be fast tracked accross the tarmac to the next plane. This happened to me 4 years ago

I'm not from the US. I'm from Canada

The carry-on allowances are different leaving Canada and ex-LHR. Leaving Canada, you are allowed 2 carry-ons (case and personal item).
Once you get to LHR, you can ONLY have ONE piece, and only ONE piece, going thru security.
If you have a personal item and a suitcase, you have TWO items. If you have a purse and a case, you must be able to put your purse into your case. If not, you will have to check a piece.

I had 90min connection from terminal 4 to terminal 1, but I had only 20 min to departure, 10 min before boarding after going through transfer process and a security check at terminal 1. This was before the liquid restriction.

There were only two waiting lines I needed to worry about. One to get on a bus connection terminal 4 to 1 and another to go through the security line at terminal 1.

Last summer I had to change terminals within 70 minutes between flights ( neither BA) . Some officious blowhard would not let me go ahead of the line for security check .I had to run all the way and made the "last call".
Hope you have better luck.

I too am going through Heathrow but on to Munich. I went to the BA site and put in the flights which I will be taking next month and used tomorrow's date for the flight - they gave me the terminals and the gates for both flights and then they also included some where on the page a terminal map showing how to get from one terminal to the next and what you must pass through. I also talked to BA and they said because my originating flight is American that my bag restriction is based on AA not BA so you may want to double check on that - I know that I will call again to see who is right. You should be fine for your connections - you have more time than we do!

If your Calgary flight to LHR is a little late, there's a risk your bags won't make it to the Rome flight. Although carry-on restrictions are tight, make sure you pack the essentials for a change of clothes (e.g. socks, undies, tshirt) in your carry-on. It would also be a good idea to "cross-pack" a little - put some of your stuff in your travelling companion's suitcase and vice versa, in case one bag makes it and the other doesn't. (Although, in my experience, if my bag doesn't arrive, neither does my husband's.)

In future, I'd recommend budgeting at least 2 hours for an LHR connection. I can keep myself amused at LHR for 3, so often pick the longer connection.

Greg- so were you saying that your flight was late? That you had 20 minutes to make a 90 minute connection?

I know that we won't be over either way for Canada or UK as we are only taking one bag between me & my husband. If I take a purse it will fit inside the carryon as well. But even then- its only one bag for each of us.

bcirish- I think I should be ok as both of the flights are BA. I'm going to check all of our airlines & airports that we will be using (Alitalia, Aegean, & British Airways) & just follow the strictest one & hopefully I'll be OK.

kate W- your not kidding!! Next time I will know. I have been to Europe & the UK before but that was in grade 12 & we were traveling with a music group from school of about 90 people. It was all planned for us. I was young & stupid...I figured everything just worked out so why wouldn't it now?? LOL- but when my husband originally booked these flights there was more than 2 hours inbetween flights but than BA moved our flight from Calgary to leave an hour later so that cut down our connecting time. It was ths flight or stay overnight in London. My husband is adventurous but in a relaxing way. He'll go anywhere but don't make him switch between countries every 3 days. It was hard for him to accept that we were going to go to BOTH Italy & Greece!!! Nevermind when I tried to stick Paris in there!

Oh well- next time it will be England, Ireland, Paris, Austria....I don't give a rip what he says!

I wouldn't recommend one bag between two - if it goes AWOL you are in a small bit of bother.

Plus 2 bags are easier to carry / store and gives you space for all that shopping

the one bag they were referring to was a carryon.

alanrow- yes, as the above person stated, it is the carryon that we are sharing. We are each checking a suitcase, with lots of room for purchases left in them. Or did you understand that & you are still saying that one carryon between us is still a bad idea?