Leeds/Bradford to Heathrow and back.

consultant31

We have a holiday booked towards the end of March and are flying from Leeds/Bradford to Heathrow for an onward flight to Boston USA - this flight is included in the holiday price.

Now, according to the Yorkshire Post, all flights between Leeds/Bradford and Heathrow are to be stopped from 28th March.

We are travelling with Virgin and have tried 3 times to ring them and ask what will happen, but they have kept us on hold till the call was disconnected each time. An email to them has not been answered.

We are now past the point of frustration. We can't set off without knowing how we'll be getting back (or where we'll be getting back to) as I'm trying to arrange to be picked up by a family member.

Help please!

discoinferno_99

As your flights are with bmi, connecting to Virgin Atlantic, the re-accomodation policy announced by bmi is to put you on flights to and from Manchester airport instead on the bmi services from there.

However the above policy only applies to flights ticketed by bmi. You will need to get Virgin to confirm whether you are being sent via Manchester, or whether they are cancelling your connecting flights and offering a refund for that segment. You do need to pursue Virgin for an answer though.

consultant31

Thanks for the reply. We've been trying to get Virgin to sort us out but not having much luck to date. I shall not be a happy bunny if we have to come back to Manchester though!

omelette451

consultant31 wrote: »

I shall not be a happy bunny if we have to come back to Manchester though!

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but when bmi stops flying the route there will be no flights on any airline from London to LBA, so you're going to have to do something else. Your options are to get the train to London, take the flight from MAN to LHR, or ask to be re-routed so you go on transatlantic flights from/to MAN in the first place, thus avoiding London altogether. I think it would be fair to expect the airline to cover the costs of any extra transport required though. If you're desperate to fly to LBA itself you'll have to go via a European hub instead of Heathrow; the possibilities are Brussels/Copenhagen on a StarAlliance carrier or Amsterdam on KLM/SkyTeam. You may find the airline you booked with is willing to transfer you on to one of these routes (especially if you investigate first so know what to ask for) but it's by no means guaranteed.

consultant31

Thanks to the people who've taken the time to reply.

We've now been told that we will be brought back to Heathrow and are on our own after that.

As someone who's never flown into or out of Heathrow, we're panicing a little.

Is it far to the train station? Can we get a train straight out of Heathrow or do we have to go into London (aargh!!).

We want to end up in either Leeds or Doncaster, can anyone advise the easiest (and cheapest) way?

Many thanks.

blindman

consultant31 wrote: »

Thanks to the people who've taken the time to reply.

We've now been told that we will be brought back to Heathrow and are on our own after that.

As someone who's never flown into or out of Heathrow, we're panicing a little.

Is it far to the train station? Can we get a train straight out of Heathrow or do we have to go into London (aargh!!).

We want to end up in either Leeds or Doncaster, can anyone advise the easiest (and cheapest) way?

Many thanks.

Hang on, didn't you pay for a flight FROM and TO LBA??

I'd get back onto to Virgin and TELL them that you expect THEM to sort it out!

Even if they put you on the train from LHR then THEY should pay for it.

LHR to LEEDS

LHR Piccadilly line tube- to Kings X about 1 hour No changes.
Kings X to Leeds National East coast train 1.5 hours No changes.
Easy.

omelette451

blindman wrote: »

LHR Piccadilly line tube- to Kings X about 1 hour No changes.
Kings X to Leeds National East coast train 1.5 hours No changes.
Easy.

I'm with blindman here. That's the best and easiest way to get to and from Leeds, and if Doncaster is easier for you it's exactly the same route. You should be able to get a reasonably priced advance ticket (use the nxec booking site, and specifically ask for 'Heathrow Underground' as the destination; the ticket will include the tube fare). However, it IS fair to ask the airline to pay for it (in which case definitely get an open ticket) or at the very least to compensate you for the trouble caused. They're saving money by not paying bmi (and the govt in air tax), which if you don't get it back will mean they profit from your being hassled! Seriously, I'd push for it - they should either have to pay up or agree to re-route you from Leeds/Bradford via a continental hub.

P.S. Don't panic! Heathrow T3 isn't that bad really.

consultant31

Thanks to both of you, Omelette and Blindman - how on earth did people get info before this site opened?

Virgin have offered us £75 each refund, but everytime we ring them it seems that the call is routed through India or somewhere - we seem to be able to get very little sense from them.

To be honest, if the holiday had been initially from Heathrow, we wouldn't have booked. We're two friends in our 60s and not what you'd call seasoned travellers. The thought of being lost in Heathrow brings me out in a cold sweat

blindman

consultant31 wrote: »

Thanks to both of you, Omelette and Blindman - how on earth did people get info before this site opened?

Virgin have offered us £75 each refund, but everytime we ring them it seems that the call is routed through India or somewhere - we seem to be able to get very little sense from them.

To be honest, if the holiday had been initially from Heathrow, we wouldn't have booked. We're two friends in our 60s and not what you'd call seasoned travellers. The thought of being lost in Heathrow brings me out in a cold sweat

It's is very easy from T3 to get to the Underground so don't panic.

richardw

What time is your departing flight from Heathrow T3?

consultant31

richardw wrote: »

What time is your departing flight from Heathrow T3?

We're not departing from Heathrow (thank goodness, the flight goes from Leeds/Bradford) but we come back to Heathrow, getting in at about 7.30am on a Sunday.