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Transiting Through LHR


Keith1010
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Quick question that I should know the answer for but...........can't remember. :)

 

Arriving to LHR on a British Airways direct flight originating in the USA.

 

Changing planes to pick up a BA flight from LHR to FCO (Rome).

 

Do I just go directly to the other flight or do I need to go through passport control first?

 

I have done this other times but I can't remember how this worked?

 

Thank you.

 

Keith

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Here are the steps:

 

1) Get off the BOS flight and follow the signs to "flight connections". You'll likely arrive at T5B or T5C, meaning you'll have to take a train to T5A. This isn't a big deal and only takes a few minutes. Also, if you look at the connection board and see if your FCO flight is leaving from T5B; if so you can stop there. Odds are it will leave from T5A.

 

2) Assuming you have your onward boarding pass, you will hit a point just before security where they will check that and your passport to make sure you have the necessary documents to go to your destination (if you're a US citizen, they'll just look for your passport since you won't need a visa). This isn't immigration, but they do look at your passport and boarding pass.

 

3) You will clear security. This can take a while at LHR T5 in the morning without any expedited status.

 

4) You can head to your gate, or anywhere else. If you need to head to T5B or T5C, hop back on that train. There are significantly fewer amenities in T5B or T5C compared to T5A.

 

T5B has its own security check, which is why I say that if you notice your flight is leaving from T5B. If so, you can just go straight there instead of having to go to T5A just to backtrack. I am not sure if T5C has these capabilities as I have never experienced it (and, in fact, it has been a couple of years since I have done the T5B thing, but I am assuming it's still possible).

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T5B has its own security check, which is why I say that if you notice your flight is leaving from T5B. If so, you can just go straight there instead of having to go to T5A just to backtrack. I am not sure if T5C has these capabilities as I have never experienced it (and, in fact, it has been a couple of years since I have done the T5B thing, but I am assuming it's still possible).
Yes, both T5B and T5C still have their own security checkpoints.

 

AIUI, at T5B you can clear for any listed T5B or T5C flight; at T5C you can only clear for a listed T5C flight.

 

I can't improve on the following FlyerTalk posts, so I will just list them here:-

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If you do clear at T5B you'll only have access to a Galleries Club lounge (business class level). If you clear at T5C there are no lounges.

 

If you have oneworld Emerald status or are flying First and have a decent amount of time to kill you might want to head back to T5A and clear there so you have access to the Galleries First (for Emeralds) or Concorde Room (for First passengers).

 

It's been a while since I used the Galleries Club lounge at T5B but it's not a bad lounge at all (usually much quieter than the counterparts in T5A) it's just the Galleries First and Concorde Room are better.

 

2) Assuming you have your onward boarding pass, you will hit a point just before security where they will check that and your passport to make sure you have the necessary documents to go to your destination (if you're a US citizen, they'll just look for your passport since you won't need a visa). This isn't immigration, but they do look at your passport and boarding pass.

 

Are you referring to the conformance check? My understanding is that is just you have to be at conformance at least 35min before departure, there is no official document check there but it won't let you through if your booking doesn't have the right visa details attached and haven't been to the visa desk and need to. I've only ever scanned the boarding pass.

Edited by fbgd
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Are you referring to the conformance check? My understanding is that is just you have to be at conformance at least 35min before departure, there is no official document check there but it won't let you through if your booking doesn't have the right visa details attached and haven't been to the visa desk and need to. I've only ever scanned the boarding pass.

 

I never knew it had that name, but I'm guessing we are talking about the same thing. I've always just showed up there, they scan my boarding pass and check my visa (if necessary). Have only have to visit the visa desk once.

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Zach123 thank you for the details you provided and also to others for adding comments.

 

 

We will have four hours and twenty minutes between flights.

 

 

Flying First Class on the long haul BA flight and Business Class on the LHR to FCO flight.

 

 

Keith

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Great timing Keith! We are considering the similar flights/ connections from Seattle and arriving

in London then on to FCO.

I called "Choice Air" (Celebrity) and I was told that 1.5 hours layover would be ok since we arrive

in Terminal 5 and leave from Terminal 5 and BA would not set this up if it would not work.

Obviously, he did not fill me in on the details of Terminal 5.

And thank you to all other comments and links!

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Zach123 thank you for the details you provided and also to others for adding comments.

 

 

We will have four hours and twenty minutes between flights.

 

 

Flying First Class on the long haul BA flight and Business Class on the LHR to FCO flight.

 

 

Keith

You will definitely want to go to T5A for the lounges. I assume you can get in to the Concorde Room in between F and J flights, but haven't personally done it.

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Great timing Keith! We are considering the similar flights/ connections from Seattle and arriving

in London then on to FCO.

I called "Choice Air" (Celebrity) and I was told that 1.5 hours layover would be ok since we arrive

in Terminal 5 and leave from Terminal 5 and BA would not set this up if it would not work.

Obviously, he did not fill me in on the details of Terminal 5.

And thank you to all other comments and links!

 

1.5 hours is definitely possible, though it'll be tight in the morning with all of the transfer passengers going through T5. I would rather have longer, but I do know plenty of people who have made that connection without any expedited status. LHR gets a lot of crap, and T5 can be a zoo, but it really does flow fairly well considering its size and the shear number of people who descend upon its transfer areas between 6am and 11am.

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Flying First Class on the long haul BA flight and Business Class on the LHR to FCO flight.

 

Indeed, definitely head to T5A with that much time. After you clear security at T5A follow the corridor along and you'll see the entrance to the Concorde Room. It will probably seem as though you are going against the flow of people coming from departures security but you'll see the podium. Have your inbound First boarding pass and LHR-FCO boarding pass handy.

 

Alternatively if you follow the signs to "British Airways South lounges" then you'll come up an escalator and the Concorde Room backdoor will be on your right hand next to the Elemis Spa.

 

2ntwirn.jpg

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Are you referring to the conformance check? My understanding is that is just you have to be at conformance at least 35min before departure ...
I never knew it had that name, but I'm guessing we are talking about the same thing. I've always just showed up there, they scan my boarding pass and check my visa (if necessary). Have only have to visit the visa desk once.
I think that for connections through the official connections routes, the conformance deadline can be set for less than 35 minutes. So don't panic.

 

It is, however, a hard 35 minutes if you are entering security from landside.

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Indeed, definitely head to T5A with that much time. After you clear security at T5A follow the corridor along and you'll see the entrance to the Concorde Room. It will probably seem as though you are going against the flow of people coming from departures security but you'll see the podium. Have your inbound First boarding pass and LHR-FCO boarding pass handy.

 

Alternatively if you follow the signs to "British Airways South lounges" then you'll come up an escalator and the Concorde Room backdoor will be on your right hand next to the Elemis Spa.

 

2ntwirn.jpg

For the avoidance of doubt: the photo that fbgd posted is of the first door that he mentioned, on the same level as security. This is a direct entrance into the Concorde Room (only).
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Purchased our tickets yesterday! Phew!

We arrive at 8:30 am (Terminal 5) from Seattle. The layover is 1.5 hours

connecting to Rome from Terminal 5. At least we speak the language! :')

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Too tight a connection for me.

 

 

But I error on having more time than less.

 

 

Keith

 

Same here. I always worry about late arrival. Even with leaving a 2 hour buffer, when departing FRA last year, the plane was over 2 hours late pushing back from the gate. Consequently, I missed my connection at YYZ.

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Purchased our tickets yesterday! Phew!

We arrive at 8:30 am (Terminal 5) from Seattle. The layover is 1.5 hours

connecting to Rome from Terminal 5. At least we speak the language! :')

 

That's way too tight for me, even BA to BA. We flew LAX-LHR-JNB last year. I don't recall which gate we arrived in, but we had to backtrack to T5A and it took us a good hour to get though the passport check and security, even with Fast Track.

 

 

Having said that, it could be that we arrived too early to take advantage of the in-terminal security (we had a 4 hour layover) - we tried to go through but were waved off. We were on the same plane on both legs. But we're OWE, so it was nice to have access to the Galleries First Lounge for a bit.

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At least we speak the language! :')

 

I never understand this. Throughout the world, English is the defacto language of travel. Signage has English descriptions and staffs can almost always have someone who can assist in English. Go through AMS and there is more signage in English than in Dutch.

 

But somehow, this remains a concern....

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Go through AMS and there is more signage in English than in Dutch.
The ground staff at AMS sometimes seem to speak English better than the ground staff at LHR!

 

However, I could understand an English-speaking passenger's concern about language if connecting at an airport like, say, MIA.

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FlyerTalker-

"At least they speak the language".

It was a joke. Actually, I am pretty good in the "Romance" languages.

And, BTW, I do appreciate your knowledge and wisdom you provide

on CC. I have learned much from you. Thank you

P.S. Choice Air for Celebrity told me that the flights

end and begin in the same terminal. The person who booked us said that

the airlines would not do this if it was not "do-able". This is a first for us

and I realize that anything can happen, even with 5 hour layovers.

We had an opportunity to do a REALLY short layover in AMS of

only a 1 hour layover and that freaked me out, even though

the cost and the variables were very appealing.

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Choice Air for Celebrity told me that the flights end and begin in the same terminal. The person who booked us said that the airlines would not do this if it was not "do-able".
Both of these statements are true.

 

But making the connection is not guaranteed, different people have different levels of stress and risk tolerance, and the consequences of misconnecting may be greater for some journeys than for others. So it's a matter of personal choice.

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Globaliser-

Yes, thank you. At least these are flights are connected and purchased

together.

I did not "do my own thing" and purchase two separate flights because they

looked good. For example, I was tempted to book an Alaska flight to Oakland to get on a

Norwegian flight because they fly non-stop to Rome. That would have been way

too risky for us. I also read that Norwegian does not "play well with others" and if we

missed it, then it would have been interesting making a flight to Rome in a timely manner.

P.S. Thx for your flying wisdom as well.

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  • 8 months later...

Great thread of info.  Can someone please advise me as to ease of getting to/from the Concord lounge if I have to connect at A or C  gates (I've been tracking the flights for a month or so & these are the gates usually noted).

 

Itinerary is SEA-LHR-AUH on BA.  First Class SEA-LHR then a 5hr connection  Club World to Abu Dhabi. Both flights use T5.

 

Would I need to go airside and so clear customs to get to the Concord lounge? If so what route or processes would be involved to get back through security etc to A or C gates?  

 

I'd appreciate any feedback or advice. Thanks.

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