Heathrow Airport
I am a bit of an anxious traveler so any info would be appreciated from those who may have traveled through Heathrow on British Airlines. I will be traveling from USA to Milan on BA- we stop in Heathrow and have a connecting flight also with BA from Heathrow to Linate in Milan. I have not traveled through Heathrow or with BA. My questions are related to both. I have a two hour window from arrival into Heathrow to departure of my next flight. What should I expect as far as getting my passport checked and getting to next gate for flight to Milan. Would someone be kind enough to explain the process if you have traveled this route. Thanks in advance for helping out a novice traveler!
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Heathrow, you have to walk comsiderable distances and usually find yourself in long security lines, so walk briskly when you get off the plane so you are less likely to miss your flight, we have missed connections several times. You will have Togo through security, even though you are 'Airside'. Obey all posted security rules with regard to what is required, this is more strict than in the US but the lines usually do move faster but are longer. Don't be afraid to ask staff questions if you don't know where to go, there are plenty around and they are helpful. Other than this, it is a good Airport with good Facilities.
You have one thing going for you, and that is since you are flying BA all the way, your bags can be checked through, and you shouldn't have to mess with them until you get to Milan. To help out further, don't take a carry-ons, just take personal bags with at most reading material, expensive items (camera, iPad, etc.), and an emergency set of clothes/underwear, etc. in case your main luggage gets waylaid for a day or two. That is what we have done on our last 7 Tauck trips. It really makes it easier getting around the airport and getting through security. We never fly with carry-on luggage.
Another thing you can do is prepare yourself- search Google, TripAdvisor, etc. to learn what days/ times are best and worse to transit Heathrow and what, if anything, you can do to make it easier on yourself and maybe reduce the possibility of delays. Some suggestions- don't take fluids, change, metal objects, and double check your personal bag to ensure you don't have nail clippers, pointy objects, or anything that could be faintly misconstrued as some type of weapon, etc.; wear slip-off shoes; don't wear a belt or jewelry (or just take it off and put it in a ziplock bag in your personal bag while in line/before you get to security.) Study and become familiar with the airport layout and location of BA gates. Go to Flight Tracker and see which gates your flights usually use and once you get actual gate assignments map out your route so you know where you are going and how to get there. Some airport websites will have a text or an interactive guide to help you do just that.
Again, since you are are flying BA all the way, you shouldn't need to hassle with baggage, so I would think, a two hour window would give you plenty of time. If you are flying business that may help as well.
Maybe a recent traveler will weigh in and give you a blow by blow report.
Go to the "Connections" tab at http://www.heathrow.com/ .
Most important for BA is knowing what terminal your flights will be arriving and leaving from --- 1,3, or 5.
Good luck and have a great trip.
Maybe "carry-ons" is an American term which we Brits just don't understand, but I wonder what additional items one would want to carry-on other than the sort of things you list. My policy is to get as much as possible checked in so I have the absolute minimum to cart around with me.
There was a whole thread (argument) about this months ago and whether it was okay on a Tauck trip to take a checked bag and the largest carryon. Especially for land tours. I remember one lady strongly defending the use of her big wheeled carryon and checked bag. I think they overly complicate life. A few weeks later we were in an airport and I watched a mother and daughter pair - both with big wheeled checked bags and wheeled carryons - trying to hustle to the check-in desk. They both kept tangling them selves and their bags up, then had to stop and get straight again. I sailed right past them.
RE Heathrow, if you are just leaving London from there catching a flight back to the states, how much time should you allow for clearing security, customs, check in, etc?
That is what I was referring to. Usually Business passengers deplane first so can get to to the next hurdle sooner. The airline may have special security lines for Business Class passengers as well. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't, depends on the airline and airport. When we transited Charles DeGaul enroute (Classic) Italy this year, Delta had a separate security check line for Business Class passengers. The normal line wasn't too slow at that time, but as it turned out, the Business Class line, with less passengers, was!!! Go figure! The end result is it was no quicker than if we had gone through the regular line! At the Venice, Italy airport the Delta Business Class check-in line was MUCH shorter and quicker than coach- it took us just a fraction of the time to check in as it would in the other line.
We try to do everything to make it easier on ourselves. For US citizens TSA Pre-Check is more convenient and will normally save you time when flying within in and departing from the US (you often can keep shoes and belt on and only need to go through the metal detector and not the full body scanner), but I've heard lately that it can be slow too. We also enrolled in the US Customs & Border Protection Trusted Traveler program (Global Entry) which allows you to go special or no lines and directly to kiosks, no paperwork, reduced wait times, etc. at airports of entry when you arrive back in the US. It is also available at some European airports like Dublin and Shannon, 8 Canadian airports and a few others like Abu Dhabi. You pass through US CPB formalities their before you leave instead of at a stateside airport. That is great if you have short connection time in the US. The US trying to expand this program to other overseas airports but progress has been slow. Here is the list, current as of March 2016. If you didn't get it through your airline's frequent flyer program, you are eligible for TSA Pre-check when you enroll in Global Entry.
We are glad we enrolled in both programs. FYI, Global Entry is not free and requires an interview!
I've certainly been through Heathrow more times than Alan and as mentioned, several times we have missed flights because it is so busy, lines are long and there is a lot of walking and changing of terminals involving a bus ride sometimes because the terminals are spread out. I recommend again being aware of all of this, so to not have o pull a large carry on and wearing shoes you can run in, to me is an advantage over slip on shoes, and anyway, you rarely have to remove shoes at security in other countries. Yesterday was very tiring and when we got to our destination airport, we circled and circled and then had to wait and wait for a gate. When we got off the plane, we walked extra briskly, passing dawdling passengers and beating passengers from another flight that had just deplaned, getting to passport control ahead of what became a very long line, outside and meeting our Tauck director and fortunately we were the only Tauck people on that flight, on to the hotel and bliss. Now if only I had not been awake for the past two hours! Oh and Internet is sporadic!
Most of the international carriers have some sort of economy comfort seat class - in between economy and business. The costs and perks are different. It's worth looking at.
Delta now has: Basic Economy, Main Cabin, Delta Comfort +, First Class, Delta Premium Select (new, available on select overseas flights), and Delta One! You need a special guide to figure out what each means!
Also, there are many YouTube videos of travelers maneuvering through large international airports like Heathrow. If we are going somewhere that isn't fresh to us, I always spend a little time reviewing a few of them to get a better sense of the space before we have to zip through it. Again, it is just a confidence-aide thing...
Last, assuming you have a little time to spare, use your business class status and pop into a BA lounge. Even if you don't want to eat or drink anything, the agents at the front counter are usually extremely sharp, and are quick to check your next flight, advise where it likely will depart from (if not yet posted), and then give you good advice on the best route to take.
WOW- love it- will do each of your suggestions- THANKS!
The attempt to just copy (auto-translate?) English, "and being cognizant of the protection glitches that others have American statentioned" was quite amusing! Did you see the spam from a few days that was a full page of non-travel related (baseball?) blathering in a single post (with a few links hidden in the text at the bottom)? Tim deleted that one quickly.