Adequate time to change planes in London

[OhJinkies]

I'm hoping someone out there has done more international flights than I have (only 1) and can give me some advice...

 

I need to book my airfare for my Med cruise out of Rome (I was hoping to wait for some great sales but my TA says Carnival needs to know NOW) and I'm leaning towards British Airways based on comments I've read on various travel boards. I'm looking at the schedule right now. For my flight to Rome, there is a change of planes at London Gatwick and I only have 1 hour five minutes between flights. Do I need to go through Customs, and if so, is this enough time to make the connection? I don't want to miss my flight!

[Globaliser]

I need to book my airfare for my Med cruise out of Rome (I was hoping to wait for some great sales but my TA says Carnival needs to know NOW) ... For my flight to Rome, there is a change of planes at London Gatwick and I only have 1 hour five minutes between flights. Do I need to go through Customs, and if so, is this enough time to make the connection?

You don't say what your route is, or whether this connection is from the US to Rome, or from Rome to the US.

 

But assuming that you are arriving on a BA flight from the US to Gatwick, and departing on a BA flight from Gatwick to Rome - or the same in the other direction - then 65 minutes is a legal connection. This page gives you the official word about minimum connecting times between BA flights at Gatwick.

 

You will not have to clear either immigration or Customs at Gatwick, and your bags should be transferred automatically between flights if they have been through-tagged to your final destination. BA should be able to through-check you as well, so you would already have your boarding pass for the onward flight. This means that all you need to do when you arrive at Gatwick is to follow the signs for Flight Connections (North Terminal), clear security, and go to your next gate. This page is the airport's page about connecting within the North Terminal.

 

You won't have a great deal of time to spare, and of course if your inbound flight is significantly late then there will be problems (as much to do with getting your baggage connected as getting you to the next flight). Tight connections are always more risky. But if both sectors of the journey are on the same ticket, then you be entitled to fall back on BA's assistance if you were to mis-connect anyway - and BA would be likely to help you out to a large extent even if they were on separate tickets.

[Queenk2]

My question is...why not book a direct flight assuming you are leaving the US from a large city? Alitalia, Continental, Delta all go directly to Rome? If you have gotten a fabulous price, go for it,however if the difference is minimal, I would always opt for a direct flight..much less chance of lost luggage AND missing a connection! Are you planning a pre cruise stay in Rome?

[Globaliser]

Alitalia, Continental, Delta all go directly to Rome? If you have gotten a fabulous price, go for it,however if the difference is minimal, I would always opt for a direct flight..much less chance of lost luggage AND missing a connection!

Ah, but the prospect of flying Alitalia, Continental or Delta might be the only reason one needs to do it indirectly via BA instead!

[OhJinkies]

I'm flying from Orlando, so would either need to fly to Atlanta, Philly, or NYC for most domestic carriers. I've heard not-so-good stuff about Alitalia, and it looks like they codeshare with Delta for the transatlantic flights I've looked at.

I am booked on a pre-cruise package in Rome so if I am delayed, at least I won't miss the ship!

I checked with my travel agent and she believes the transfer time is adequate. My concern now is that if I buy this intinerary, the final leg of the trip is a connection from Philly to Orlando on U.S. Airways. This trip is in October and I have purchased trip insurance (which I'll need to bump up to cover my plane tickets). If they go belly-up, my hope is that BA would help me find an alternate way to get home.

Any thoughts?

 

Thanks!

Cathy AKA OhJinkies

[Globaliser]

My concern now is that if I buy this intinerary, the final leg of the trip is a connection from Philly to Orlando on U.S. Airways. This trip is in October and I have purchased trip insurance (which I'll need to bump up to cover my plane tickets). If they go belly-up, my hope is that BA would help me find an alternate way to get home.

Ask your TA whether all sectors of the air travel are on the same ticket, and if so, which airline is issuing the ticket. If you've got a through fare and BA is the governing carrier (because it's operating the longest sectors) and the ticket issuing carrier, then I believe the position is that your contract is with BA and BA would have to make alternative arrangements for your PHL-MCO sector. But you would be well advised to ask this specific question of your TA.

[OhJinkies]

Thanks Globaliser and QueenK2!

All this became moot when I attempted to buy my airline tickets. Although Orbitz continually posted this itinerary, when I selected it I was informed that it was "unavailable." I even tried clearing my cookies and using a different browser to see if they were playing some crazy game with me. Same thing happened. Weird. So I ended up booking with Delta/Alitalia. I fly into NYC and then direct to Rome. The schedule works out well. Hopefully the flights won't be too hellish!

Thanks again!

Cathy AKA OhJinkies