Time to Arrive at Airport (Domestic AND International)

[Pcfriar11]

Hi All,

 

We're on Serenade of the Seas out of Stockholm on July 14.

 

We're departing from Boston Logan on July 13th at 7:30 AM we then have about a 12 hour layover in London and then we proceed to depart London Heathrow at 7:05 AM on July 14th.

 

We're wondering/nervous about what time we should be getting at the airport for both flights?  It's looking like 2-3 hours for domestic (so would we be looking at 4:30-5:30 in Boston?)

 

And then does anyone have any experience with early morning international flights out of Heathrow Terminal 5?  We're staying at the on-site Sofitel Hotel for our long layover, so it's our understanding that our bags will NOT be there for us to pickup in London and that we'll receive both our boarding passes in Boston so we won't have to "check-in" again for our flight from London to Stockholm, are both correct?

 

 

 

 

[Flymia]

Confirm with British Airways regarding that your bags will continue and be held there. With a 12-hour layover on one ticket it likely will. You can confirm when you check in. 

 

Boston to London is an international flight. At the minimum I would say 2-2.5 hours before. Though the airport likely won't be crazy busy that early so lines should not be too bad. If you were leaving in the evening I would say 3-hours. 

 

If your bags will not need to be re-checked and you have your bordering pass, then 1.5-2 hourss enough to get through security, passport control and over to your gate at terminal 5. But you want to be walking into the airport 90-mins before. 

 

If you need to check bags, I would try to do 2.5hr before. 

 

[fbgd]

Arriving at BOS 2hrs before departure should be plenty. If you're in the Club/First cabins then you can probably cut this even finer. Terminal E isn't hugely busy in the morning.

 

Have taken plenty of early morning flights out of Terminal 5. Security opens around 4.45am with the BA lounges, if you have the appropriate status or are in business class, at 5am. BA will check your bags through to CPH automatically (and issue boarding passes for both flights) but with the overnight you can request they only be checked as far as LHR. The Sofitel now has a check-in facility for BA flights so you don't have to lug your bags to the terminal. 

Edited April 29, 2019 by fbgd

[Pcfriar11]

Thank you!

 

And there's no separate check-in process, right? We'll get both our boarding passes in Boston and there's no check-in for London to Stockholm, right?

[Zach1213]

17 minutes ago, fbgd said:

The Sofitel now has a check-in facility for BA flights so you don't have to lug your bags to the terminal. 

 

Or do what I do - wake up, go check in your bag(s), then head back up to the room to shower and get ready before heading back over to T5.

[Pcfriar11]

19 minutes ago, Zach1213 said:

 

Or do what I do - wake up, go check in your bag(s), then head back up to the room to shower and get ready before heading back over to T5.

 

That's A LOT of steps, haha.

 

We're a group of decidedly NOT early risers.  Getting there in time is going to be enough of a struggle for our group!!!

[Globaliser]

6 hours ago, Pcfriar11 said:

And then does anyone have any experience with early morning international flights out of Heathrow Terminal 5?  We're staying at the on-site Sofitel Hotel for our long layover, so it's our understanding that our bags will NOT be there for us to pickup in London and that we'll receive both our boarding passes in Boston so we won't have to "check-in" again for our flight from London to Stockholm, are both correct?

 

The first thing to note about this is that you must be checked-in (including online check-in, or a through-check from the day before) by 60 minutes before the flight (ie 0605), you must have dropped your bags by 45 minutes before the flight (ie 0620), and you must have entered the security channel by 35 minutes before the flight (ie 0630). These are hard deadlines, but they should be easy to meet if you are staying at the Sofitel. Consequently, there is no need to get into the terminal hours before the flight. If you aim to enter security by 45 minutes before the flight, you should have no trouble making it.

 

When you drop your bags at Boston, you will have the option of having them checked through to Stockholm if you wish. The connection is 12 hours (exactly) and so BA will hold the bags overnight for you if you want. (This is available for connections of up to 24 hours.) If you do this, then you will not have to bother with bag drop in the morning. You should also have the option of claiming them in London if you prefer, but then you will have to drop them again by that deadline.

 

You should be through-checked, as you say, and get both boarding passes in Boston. If for some reason you don't, you should be able to pick up the London-Stockholm boarding passes from any kiosk or desk as you pass through the check-in area to get to security.

 

There is, as fbgd says, a remote check-in facility currently operating in the Sofitel for hotel guests, so that you can check-in and drop your bags at the hotel before making your way over to the terminal.

 

Are you flying in business class to Stockholm? Or do you have higher-tier frequent flyer status with BA or another oneworld airline? For someone staying at the Sofitel who won't have a lot of time (and no need) to linger in airport lounges before the flight, if you're entitled to use Fast Track security then North Security is the obvious thing to suggest to a Sofitel guest. But it's not 100% obvious, so if you think you'll be entitled to this and want a description of where the entrance is to North Security Fast Track, let us know.

[Pcfriar11]

Sadly we are not flying business class to Stockholm!  We're in coach.  Two of us (my parents) might have TSA pre-check prior to this, but it won't be unanimous and I'm not sure if it applies to overseas anyway?

 

If we land in Terminal 5 and have no bags to collect, should we be able to walk from gate to hotel no problem?  A few years ago we had a layover at Heathrow and we still had to take a bus tram to get to our connecting gate, so I'm just curious.

Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, but there's really nothing that we can do besides hope/pray on our Stockholm flight getting in in time, right?  For a cruise departure, landing at 10:30 AM seems like plenty of time, but I've been delayed enough times that...well, it's not a pleasant thought.

[fbgd]

No TSA PreCheck outside the US.

 

Arriving from BOS you'll arrive at either a remote stand and will take a bus from planeside to Border Control or you'll walk into the terminal and take the train. There is a way to walk through the underground passages to immigration instead of taking the tram but I don't think it's worthwhile unless you know what you're doing and if you were to walk from T5C it feels a very long walk indeed.

[Globaliser]

3 hours ago, Pcfriar11 said:

If we land in Terminal 5 and have no bags to collect, should we be able to walk from gate to hotel no problem?  A few years ago we had a layover at Heathrow and we still had to take a bus tram to get to our connecting gate, so I'm just curious.

 

31 minutes ago, fbgd said:

Arriving from BOS you'll arrive at either a remote stand and will take a bus from planeside to Border Control or you'll walk into the terminal and take the train.

 

There's a pretty good chance that you'll be walking into the terminal. But the default route is then to jump on the train/shuttle, so it really isn't much hassle. Usually it is faster than walking, although I sometimes choose to walk just to have a walk. But as fbgd says, you do need to know where you're going if you want to do that, so post again if you want directions.

 

After you've cleared immigration, you'll go one floor down to baggage reclaim and then walk out through customs into the landside greeting area. Just follow the signs for the hotel. It'll involve you going back upstairs and then going through the walkway to the hotel.

 

3 hours ago, Pcfriar11 said:

Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, but there's really nothing that we can do besides hope/pray on our Stockholm flight getting in in time, right?  For a cruise departure, landing at 10:30 AM seems like plenty of time, but I've been delayed enough times that...well, it's not a pleasant thought.

 

I can't see anything obvious that you can do at this stage other than to change your flights to arrive in Stockholm a day earlier. The chance of a delay that's big enough to cause you to miss your cruise is small, but it is there.

 

If your flight actually gets cancelled, then I think that the only other viable option for you is SK526, departing Heathrow at 1035 and arriving Stockholm at 1405. However, that departs from Terminal 2, and I suspect that being re-routed onto that flight would involve you retrieving your bags at Terminal 5 and making your way across to T2 by the landside train. Depending on how long it it is before your flight gets cancelled, doing that in time could be either very tight or simply impossible.

 

The next BA flight departs at 1320 and doesn't arrive until 1655. With an 1800 sailing, I suspect that's not workable.