maitaitom

Obviously I have been reading too many Heathrow stories so:

We will be taking American Airlines to London, and switching to BA for Prague leg.
We have 2 1/2 hours from time we land until departure time.

Does 2 1/2 hours represent a "safe" bumper to connect these days at Heathrow?

Thanks.

alanRow

Will your luggage be checked through?

Is this one ticket - US to Prague via London or is it 2 tickerts - US to London, London to Prague?

When (day, date & time) do you arrive in London?

Which terminals will you be using? (actually I know that one - T3 for AA, T1 for BA)

2h30m will normally be enough time if your luggage is checked through as you can use the Flight Connections Centre to stay airside for the transfer, thus avoiding the need to pass through UK immigration. If not you have problems

Do a search for "flight connections" on www.heathrowairport.com and you'll find the 2nd result onwards deal with how to transfer between terminals

maitaitom

Thanks Alan.

I checked with American, and they said our luggage will be booked through to Prague.

I am leaving next May or June (still do not have exact date, but will arrive around 12:30 p.m.

I looked at the Flight Connections Centre as you said, so everything looks good.

I appreciate the info.

LoriS

You "should" be ok as long as your inbound flight isn't delayed. If your in-bound flight is delayed by more than 1 hour, you could run into trouble.

Make sure that you only have one carryon per person within the UK size limits and pray that the lines at FCC aren't too long. If you're flying business class on BA, no worries--you can use the fast track line.

nbujic

we flew trough Heathrow in May, luggage checked trough and change of terminals; about 2 hours and 45 min. in between. the flights .It was more than enough time ( by more than an hour).

odyssey4

Maitaitom,
We just made a connection today in Heathrow, and were scheduled for a 3 hour layover. We flew BA from Vienna to LHR, then AA LHR to ORD. We were delayed leaving Vienna by 45 min, but they had padded the schedule so we were only 20 min late arriving in LHR (now we have a 2 hr, 40 min layover). We deplaned, walked (very fast using the moving sidewalks) to an area to wait for a bus to transfer us to another terminal (for the AA flight) using up 10 minutes for the walk, 10 minutes for the wait (now we have 2 hr, 20 min layover.)

Upon disembarking the bus, we stood in a very long line to be rescreened by security. They are serious about the one bag thing. They did allow a man with a breathing machine and a camera bag to carry both after the folks put up such a fuss and the security agent consulted with his supervisor. Then it turns out they were in the wrong terminal..Poor folks. Anyway, the screening line and procedure took another 25 minutes, leaving 1 hr. 55 min layover). Then we had to stand in line at AA to get boarding passes reissued. That took 45 minutes. I think they had a high number of misconnects they were trying to assist. BA had given us boarding passes in Vienna, but AA said we needed new ones. By then, we had only 1 hr. 10 min left and our gate assignment was not yet posted. We grabbed a sandwich, ate about half of it when we noticed all the screens with the departure information were not displaying any info. They were trying unsuccessfully to reboot them- over and over again.

So, we walked back to the AA counter to inquire about our gate assignment. We now had about 40 min. until departure. The agent told us the gate and it was a 20 min. walk. We went straight there, checked in and boarded the flight.

This was just my experience today. So, to answer your question, 2.5 hrs. should be enough time. Initially, I was thinking we would be very bored with our 3 hr. layover. I am glad we had it! Checking your bags all the way through is definitely the way to go!

Have a great trip!

losttime

Don't panic!

Each airport has something called "minimum connecting time".
This time frame will vary depending upon where you are coming from and where you are going to.
The MCT is listed in the airline/airport bible. If your travel agent or airline were to sell you a ticket where the connection time is less than the MCT and not tell you, then they are liable for all expenses you incurr as a result of missing your connection.
If you are not sure, get on the phone and ask them about the MCT at Heathrow with regards your flights.
I believe that BA & AA are One World partners so you'll be treated as if it was one airline.
If alanRow is right about the terminals, (and I don't doubt it), then you should be able to crawl that distance in 2h30m.

Enjoy.

Londonman

Next May/June all BA planes will be flying out of the new Terminal 5. A lot of the problems BA are currently experiencing with baggage handling is because of staff shortages as they train new people up for the opening of T5 next March.

I think you will be fine

Clifton

I've made a very similar connection, same airlines, to Budapest, with slightly less time. So it *can* be done.

However - "no one expects the Spanish Inquisition". Same deal with the Heathrow version.

suze

People always make a fuss, but I actually LIKE Heathrow, and have always had reasonably smooth and good experiences flying thru there.

Having your luggage checked thru will be a huge help.

xyz123

The big problem with Heathrow comes when you have to connect...then it becomes a nightmare.

Connecting in Amsterdam...if you're not entering the eu you simply wait in the departure lounge for the connecting flight.

If I arrive in terminal 3 at Heathrow, and am connecting at the same terminal, I just can't go into the departure lounge...no I have to go through another security check even though I went through a security check on the other end before I can enter the departure lounge. Changing terminals gives the extra problem of waiting for a bus and there might be a wait. Iat can be, as explained above, one royal pain in the butt.

maitaitom

"....then you should be able to crawl that distance in 2h30m."

After all the wine on the way over, that is a distinct possibility.

Thanks for all the replies. If AA is correct that our luggage will be checked all the way through Prague, I think we're looking good.

ethrush

There's no way to predict what it will be like next spring. There's some indication that they will be rescinding the one carry-on bag rule soon. But there are a whole lot of circumstances that could change the situation between now and next April. Heathrow used to be one of the easier airports to negotiate but has become a horror because of the security precautions.