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Changing airports in London ? Help please


1stItaly
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My daughter and I are going on a Med cruise leaving from Barcelona in late May. Booked through a 3rd party travel agent, and just now realized that we arrive in London Heathrow airport, but our connecting flight to Barcelona leaves through London Gatwick airport. We have 4 hour layover. I see that you can take the National Express Coach. I am concerned about gettting my luggage, getting through customs and then on bus to different airport and checking in , going through security again and getting to gate. Has anyone ever had to do this? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. It is our first time in Europe, so don't know what to expect as far a customs. We have been through customs many times coming back on a ship, but never in an airport. Thank you in advance for your help.

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First off, do be aware that "customs" is different than "immigration". Immigration cares about you and your passport and your legality of entering the country...customs cares about what you are bringing in to the country (goods, food, etc.)

 

OK, so four hours is tight. I'm assuming you will arrive in to LHR in the morning on an overnight flight (just an assumption), and that is peak time for immigration. It usually takes me about 45 minutes to get from the plane, through immigration (with a non-EU/UK passport), wait for a bag, and clear customs. However, it has taken me over an hour before, and it has taken me 15 minutes before.

 

So then you need to make your way to the bus and take the ride - the ride itself is around 1h20 (but could be more), plus you'll need to be there 10 minutes before your bus leaves. And then walking on either end to get to/from the bus stop. So let's call it 1h45 to get from LHR customs to LGW check-in. We're now looking at 2h30 total time from your plane parking at LHR to you checking in at LGW. This leaves 1h30 to check in and clear security.

 

1h30 is fine. But...this relies on your LHR arrival being on-time and everything going smoothly. I certainly wouldn't want this connection, but I'm not sure what you can do at this point other than hope. The third party vendor is unlikely to change your ticket.

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My daughter and I are going on a Med cruise leaving from Barcelona in late May. Booked through a 3rd party travel agent, and just now realized that we arrive in London Heathrow airport, but our connecting flight to Barcelona leaves through London Gatwick airport. We have 4 hour layover. I see that you can take the National Express Coach. I am concerned about gettting my luggage, getting through customs and then on bus to different airport and checking in , going through security again and getting to gate. Has anyone ever had to do this? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. It is our first time in Europe, so don't know what to expect as far a customs. We have been through customs many times coming back on a ship, but never in an airport. Thank you in advance for your help.
What airlines are involved, and who's the third party TA?

 

While 4 hours might be "legal" in terms of published connection times, it's going to be an uncomfortable and hurried 4 hours, during which you're probably going to be jet-lagged and tired from a not-very-nice night on a transatlantic flight.

 

What I would do in this instance is contact the TA and ask to have the tickets changed to a departure from Heathrow rather than from Gatwick. There are numerous departures daily, and even if you have to pay a change fee, the savings in bus fare (on top of wear and tear on your brains and bodies) would be worth the difference IMO.

 

Plus which, are you returning through the same nonsensical route? If so, kill both birds with one stone.

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My daughter and I are going on a Med cruise leaving from Barcelona in late May. Booked through a 3rd party travel agent, and just now realized that we arrive in London Heathrow airport, but our connecting flight to Barcelona leaves through London Gatwick airport. We have 4 hour layover. I see that you can take the National Express Coach. I am concerned about gettting my luggage, getting through customs and then on bus to different airport and checking in , going through security again and getting to gate. Has anyone ever had to do this? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. It is our first time in Europe, so don't know what to expect as far a customs. We have been through customs many times coming back on a ship, but never in an airport. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Normally my TA doesn't recommend same day connections thru different airports in London.

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I’d agree that this is very tight indeed. You only need one thing to go wrong, for example an accident on the M25, and you won’t make the connection. I’d definitely try and change flights so either you come into and go out of the same airport, or have a considerably longer layover between the 2 flights.

 

 

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I've done it, long ago. I didn't have any other choice, it was the only way from my point A to B. It went smoothly for me. I was somewhat familiar with Heathrow so had a clue what to do and where to go. I was also in my 20s and a bit less jet lagged then I feel after overnight flights now 20 years later. The risk of a bottle neck at immigration, a wreck on the highway between airports, a delayed flight... would make me call that TA and demand she/he change my flight. I believe they were negligent in booking flights like that without your express approval first. If you had booked them yourself you would have seen a clear note of caution advising you that you must change airports. The airlines do that because they want you to know what you'll be dealing with and accept that risk if you book it. Shame on them for accepting that risk without your permission.

 

 

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SuzCruise

 

If it was quite a few years ago it would have been very different from today. There are far more people passing through Heathrow now, hence the long queues. Security was not so tight either.

 

The M25 is almost always very busy and is known as Europe's largest car park as often the traffic is at a standstill.

 

Seems like the travel agent wasn't very professional or had no idea of London airports to book those flights.

 

 

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At the very least I would book a private transfer between the two airports. You have very little 'wriggle ' room, and if you are travelling around the M25 during the peak morning rush, even with a private car, I would o ly give you a 50/50 chance of making the flight.

Definitely change your flights, either to a later one from Gatwick, or to a direct one from Heathrow. And sack your TA.

 

 

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Can I just add one other thing to the mix. The fact that you are flying from Gatwick, rather than Heathrow suggests that you may be using a low cost carrier, such as easyjet. Easyjet are fine, but their luggage allowance may not be as generous as that of your transatlantic carrier. You need to check which airline you are flying on from Gatwick.

 

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The fact that you are flying from Gatwick, rather than Heathrow suggests that you may be using a low cost carrier, such as easyjet.

 

British Airways regularly offers this combination of flights - NA into LHR with onward flight to BCN from LGW.

 

I'm a firm believer in the consumer needing to do their homework, and my mantra is 'never assume'... but even I think it's ridiculous that your TA booked this connection without telling you about the airport change. I would not be comfortable with 4 hours for this connection - and I speak as a person who has driven the M25. And down to LGW.

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British Airways regularly offers this combination of flights - NA into LHR with onward flight to BCN from LGW.

 

I'm a firm believer in the consumer needing to do their homework, and my mantra is 'never assume'... but even I think it's ridiculous that your TA booked this connection without telling you about the airport change. I would not be comfortable with 4 hours for this connection - and I speak as a person who has driven the M25. And down to LGW.

You are, of course, correct about the BA flights out of LGW. I just find it difficult to understand why any TA would offer this combination, apart from the cost implications, with only a 4 hour connection . At least there are a few flight options out of LGW to BFN when the original flight is missed, assuming seats are available. However, depending on what class of ticket the TA has purchased, there could be significant cost implications if a new ticket is required.

 

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I've done this connection many times. For travel on one ticket I lived at an airport exclusively served by LHR, and my brother lived somewhere exclusively served by LGW.

 

The good news is the National Express coach connections between LHR and LGW are frequent.

 

Personally my minimum between LHR arrival and LGW departure would be 5hrs for several reasons:

1) LHR is often congested in the morning with flights being held close to the airport in holding patterns. It's not uncommon to be held for 30mins or so....or to find your gate is occupied...or to find yourself being bussed from the aircraft to terminal...or to have to wait for bags.

2) Travelling from LHR to LGW puts you on one of the busiest roads in Europe with potential for severe traffic at all times. From Terminal 5 to LGW it has taken as little as 50mins on the bus but I have had it take almost 2hrs before.

3) I am generally quite risk averse when it comes to air travel but I have top tier frequent flyer status and fly business or first class so have access to the fastest check-in lines, security lines and in some cases priority immigration lines as well. Therefore if I leave myself some extra time it's not a big deal to hang out in a lounge for an hour or so,

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NO , we do not leave on cruise until the next day. Yes, i have learned my lesson on using an 3rd party TA!!!!

I will say there are plenty of very, very good third party travel agents. I personally don't use them, but they are out there. However, I'm worried the one you used isn't great, and that's the concern. Either they weren't aware of the airport change or were ignorant of the risks and time involved, and I'm not sure which is worse :cool:

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British Airways regularly offers this combination of flights - NA into LHR with onward flight to BCN from LGW.

 

I'm a firm believer in the consumer needing to do their homework, and my mantra is 'never assume'... but even I think it's ridiculous that your TA booked this connection without telling you about the airport change. I would not be comfortable with 4 hours for this connection - and I speak as a person who has driven the M25. And down to LGW.

Thank you so much for your insight. I have learned my lesson on using a 3rd party TA!! I made too quick a decision on this flight and it has come back to bite me! So now I am just trying to eliminate any problems that might come up. I do have travel insurance so a missed flight cost should be covered. I am calling British airways myself to see if they can offer any asistance.

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We have done it. Used the National Express coach.

 

 

We only travel with carry on so we are never concerned about waiting for luggage. I would say that it very much depends on what day and/or what time you plan to transfer. We did an evening transfer. It was fast. But the same 45 minute trip we are told can take as long as 2 hours.

 

The alternate way would be to take the tube and train, or train and tube depending on where you start. For us the coach transfer from GTW to LHR was fine. I would budget lots of time for this.

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I've done this connection many times. For travel on one ticket I lived at an airport exclusively served by LHR, and my brother lived somewhere exclusively served by LGW.

 

The good news is the National Express coach connections between LHR and LGW are frequent.

 

Personally my minimum between LHR arrival and LGW departure would be 5hrs for several reasons:

1) LHR is often congested in the morning with flights being held close to the airport in holding patterns. It's not uncommon to be held for 30mins or so....or to find your gate is occupied...or to find yourself being bussed from the aircraft to terminal...or to have to wait for bags.

2) Travelling from LHR to LGW puts you on one of the busiest roads in Europe with potential for severe traffic at all times. From Terminal 5 to LGW it has taken as little as 50mins on the bus but I have had it take almost 2hrs before.

3) I am generally quite risk averse when it comes to air travel but I have top tier frequent flyer status and fly business or first class so have access to the fastest check-in lines, security lines and in some cases priority immigration lines as well. Therefore if I leave myself some extra time it's not a big deal to hang out in a lounge for an hour or so,

THank you so much for your insight on my problem. A few facts I didn't put in original post--BA flight arrives at 06:40. Flight out of LGW leaves at 11:20. I am looking at a private transfer service. Are there any other routes they could take if the M25 others talked about is backed up and a virtual parking lot? I know this was a bad TA choice, and I will not use them again, but I am trying to just make the best of it and get any problems ironed out as best I can.

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First off, do be aware that "customs" is different than "immigration". Immigration cares about you and your passport and your legality of entering the country...customs cares about what you are bringing in to the country (goods, food, etc.)

 

OK, so four hours is tight. I'm assuming you will arrive in to LHR in the morning on an overnight flight (just an assumption), and that is peak time for immigration. It usually takes me about 45 minutes to get from the plane, through immigration (with a non-EU/UK passport), wait for a bag, and clear customs. However, it has taken me over an hour before, and it has taken me 15 minutes before.

 

So then you need to make your way to the bus and take the ride - the ride itself is around 1h20 (but could be more), plus you'll need to be there 10 minutes before your bus leaves. And then walking on either end to get to/from the bus stop. So let's call it 1h45 to get from LHR customs to LGW check-in. We're now looking at 2h30 total time from your plane parking at LHR to you checking in at LGW. This leaves 1h30 to check in and clear security.

 

1h30 is fine. But...this relies on your LHR arrival being on-time and everything going smoothly. I certainly wouldn't want this connection, but I'm not sure what you can do at this point other than hope. The third party vendor is unlikely to change your ticket.

 

Thank you so much for your insight on my problem. I made too quick of a decision and trusted my 3rd party TA, which believe me will never happen again. That said, I am doing my best to research and eliminate any potential problems. Additional information I didn't include in first post---My BA flight arrives in LHR at 06:40 from Miami. BA flight from LGW to BCN leaves at 11:20. I am looking into a private car transfer service as I believe that will be the least hassle. No, my 3rd party TA has been unable to do any change without just canceling ticket and buying new one. I do have Travel insurance, so I am going to double check on missed flight coverage. Any other insight you might have is greatly appreciated. Thank you for clarifying difference between customs and immigration. Do we have to go through both?

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