Connecting flights with different airlines

rbulph

I'm looking at booking a return flight from London to Islamabad, and, bizarrely, it works out about £60 cheaper to book a return flight to Dubai with BA and a return flight from Abu Dhabi to Islamabad with Etihad than any result that I can get by doing a search on the Internet for return flights from London to Islamabad. So in true money saver style, I want to take advantage of this.

My questions are, how long should I allow between arrival and departure flights at Abu Dhabi, and what happens if the first leg of either flight is delayed causing me to miss the second one. Anyone know?

joepubli

rbulph

you shouldallow three hours.Unless all of your booking is on one ticket, if your flight to Dubai is late you are stuck. Etihad dont have to allow youon the next flight unless you have flexible tiket. If you actually miss it they may be nice but dont bank on it

rbulph

It sounds as if you're right, joepubli, I just have to rely on the goodwill of the second airline to let me on a later flight. From BA's General Conditions of Carriage:

"10b) Involuntary fare refunds

10b1) We will pay fare refunds as set out below if we:

- cancel a flight;
- make a significant change to a flight time which is not acceptable to you;
- delay a flight by five hours or more;
- fail to stop at your place of destination or stopover;
- cause you to miss a connecting flight on which you held a confirmed reservation; or
- refuse to carry you because a banning notice is in force against you.

10b2) If you have not used any part of the ticket, the refund will be equal to the fare and any surcharge and any taxes, fees and charges you have paid.

10b3) If you have used part of the ticket, the refund will be equal to at least the difference between the fare and any surcharge, taxes, fees and charges you have paid and the correct fare, surcharge, taxes, fees and charges for travel between the points for which you have used your ticket."

So if I arrive in Abu Dhabi too late for my connecting flight I can get a refund for the return portion of my BA ticket. Fat lot of use - I still have to come back somehow. I don't imagine that Etihad's terms will be any more generous. Perhaps I'd better just take a stopover in Abu Dhabi each time.

apcorbett

and indeed what this doesn't actually say is that the refund is only if the airline itself is at fault.

If the delay is due to, for example, Air Traffic Control delays, then they won't pay out!

martindow

Would travel insurance cover you for any extra expense if a connection was missed?

littlereddevil

i missed a connecting flight after being delayed in Bangkok for 5 hours but the airline I came off just put me home with a different airline so I didn't lose out. I think a lot of airlines now are quite accomodating it is only the likes of Easy jet who won't help you.

andrewmoorcroft

I travel to remote areas of the USA and Canada several times per year and have had connections with only 1hr. This has got more difficult with increased security and i have missed connections occasionally. My hotel stay has always been paid for (if required) and i have always got on the next flight. Sometimes they put me on a partner airline flight or a totally different company. I can't guarantee this is the case for all airlines in all countries though. One other thing to consider is that the more connections the bigger the chance of lost baggage. Mine has been delayed several times but always turned up eventually but is very inconvenient.

rbulph

apcorbett wrote:

and indeed what this doesn't actually say is that the refund is only if the airline itself is at fault.

If the delay is due to, for example, Air Traffic Control delays, then they won't pay out!

Well yes, the wording is surprisingly vague:

"If we cause you to miss a connecting flight"

If there's an air traffic problem causing BA to delay the flight causing me to miss my connecting flight, have BA caused me to miss my flight or not? You could argue over that for ever.

rbulph

martindow wrote:

Would travel insurance cover you for any extra expense if a connection was missed?

Clearly this would depend on the policy, but I looked at one and it will give you £20 per 12 hours compensation for delay from the original departure point and will cover you for missing your original flight because of public transport delays etc. So not really what I would need.

khizman

yes, what about travel insurance?

bazza1603

Hi,

I would allow a minimum of 5 hours.

I bet it will take an hour to get your baggage and clear customs And then you have to allow for the minimum check in time at Dubai which I would recommend no less than 2 hours. This gives 2 hours if things go wrong.

Travel insurance doesnot normally cover you if you split ticket and the connections miss each other.

Could you not fly Etihad all the way? They fly from London and are a decent airline.

I would not chance it myself for £60.

Best Regards

Barry

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