6 hours early to Heathrow. What do we do with our bags?

[elsplace2]

I'm not sure where to put this Topic.  I put it in Cruise Air, but thought it may get more action here.

 

We are coming back from our cruise (Anthem of the Sea) on a Friday, July 12 in Southampton.  We are taking the Stonehenge excursion with the ship and will be getting dropped off at  Heathrow, around 1:30p - 2:00p.   Our flight isn't until 8:00 pm. 

 

I assume we can't check our luggage 6 hours early......or can we?  If we can't, any suggestions of where we can go with our luggage until we can check them in?

Sorry if this has been asked before...I couldn't find anything on it.

 

Thanks in Advance!

[markeb]

What airline? That might help with likelihood of checking the bag early, and give an indication of what terminal and what's available near departures if you have to kill an hour or two.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, elsplace2 said:

I'm not sure where to put this Topic.  I put it in Cruise Air, but thought it may get more action here.

 

We are coming back from our cruise (Anthem of the Sea) on a Friday, July 12 in Southampton.  We are taking the Stonehenge excursion with the ship and will be getting dropped off at  Heathrow, around 1:30p - 2:00p.   Our flight isn't until 8:00 pm. 

 

I assume we can't check our luggage 6 hours early......or can we?  If we can't, any suggestions of where we can go with our luggage until we can check them in?

Sorry if this has been asked before...I couldn't find anything on it.

 

Thanks in Advance!

Have you considered using a tour with International Friends? They might have a tour that gives you Stonehenge plus something else and gets you to Heathrow at a time better suited to your flight.

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html#tour-tab2

[lamb616]

1 hour ago, gnome12 said:

Have you considered using a tour with International Friends? They might have a tour that gives you Stonehenge plus something else and gets you to Heathrow at a time better suited to your flight.

https://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/shore-excursions-and-cruise-transfers.html#tour-tab2

 

This.  They offer tours that will drop you at Heathrow later in the day.

[gumshoe958]

4 hours ago, markeb said:

What airline? That might help with likelihood of checking the bag early, and give an indication of what terminal and what's available near departures if you have to kill an hour or two.

Yes.

 

All the big airlines with transatlantic service at Heathrow have multiple daily flights so keep their check-in desks open all day.

 

But how early they let you drop bags may depend on their individual policy, your class of travel and your status with them so it’s best to check with them.

 

That said, I concur with the advice above to check out International Friends for a longer tour which would be a far more pleasant way to kill time than waiting around Heathrow for hours.

 

Edited May 15 by gumshoe958

[markeb]

5 minutes ago, gumshoe958 said:

Yes.

 

All the big airlines with transatlantic service at Heathrow (American, Delta, United, BA and Virgin) have multiple daily flights so keep their check-in desks open all day.

 

But how early they let you drop bags may depend on their individual policy, your class of travel and your status with them so it’s best to check with them.

 

That said, I concur with the advice above to check out International Friends for a longer tour which would be a far more pleasant way to kill time than waiting around Heathrow for hours.

 

 

I also agree that's a better idea. The cruise line will have a set tour aiming for the most common flight times. International Friends should be more flexible. I'd rather sit in a pub in Salisbury or Windsor than the Nero Cafe at Heathrow...

[princeton123211]

On 5/15/2024 at 10:01 AM, elsplace2 said:

I assume we can't check our luggage 6 hours early......or can we?

If its British Airways (and presumably American Airlines as their codeshare partner) you can drop bags off as early as the night before. So zero issue dropping them off 6 hours early. Other airlines and terminals you'd have to check. 

 

Where you run into the issues, as mentioned, is not with the airlines that have hubs there and operate hundreds of flights a day, its with the ones that have 1 or 2 daily departures and only staff their desks at certain times. Heathrow doesn't have many of these so you should be fine. 

[elsplace2]

Thanks everyone, all this information is good to know and a relief that we can drop them off early..

 

So I just want to clarify, we would go to British Airway to drop off our bags and getting our boarding passes  NOT American Airlines.  As mentioned, we purchased our flights through American Airlines (wanted to build points with them),

[Cotswold Eagle]

You check in with whoever is operating your flight, which I think from what you have said is BA.

 

I am not as confident as others in this thread. Officially the 'anytime on the day' bag drop policy applies to those in Club or First or with BA Executive Club status. If flying economy (or economy plus) long haul, bag drop is from three hours before the flight.

 

https://www.britishairways.com/content/information/airport-information/london-heathrow-airport/heathrow-t5 (see the 'Bag Drop' section)

 

I am pretty sure I have heard that this may not be strictly enforced, particularly at quiet times and at the self service bag drops, but I have no experience of this. 

 

 

[gnome12]

10 minutes ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

I am pretty sure I have heard that this may not be strictly enforced, particularly at quiet times and at the self service bag drops, but I have no experience of this. 

 

 

The automated bag drops that Air Canada uses at Pearson airport in Toronto will reject your bag if it is more than 4 hours before your flight. It has nothing to do with being busy or not.

[Cotswold Eagle]

6 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

The automated bag drops that Air Canada uses at Pearson airport in Toronto will reject your bag if it is more than 4 hours before your flight. It has nothing to do with being busy or not.

The OP is flying from Heathrow, not Toronto. 

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

The OP is flying from Heathrow, not Toronto. 

I did realize that.