Heathrow - is this possible?

amf

As has already been said 90 minutes might well be fine if the luggage was interlined and BPs issued at NCL. This is not the case, however, for reasons already stated. Even if luggage were interlined etc I would be allowing myself more than 90 minutes for the connection, despite the Minimum Connection Time being met.

Your parents will have to wait for their luggage at LHR. The quickest way to get from T1 to T3 is to go landside - it takes 5-10 minutes. By the time they get to T3 check in for the Goa flight will have closed.

An earlier flight or alternative travel arrangements are the only options.

Sam_Bee

Heathrow to Goa direct?? With Virgin???

You sure?? You doubly sure they are not flying you to Mumbai, and connecting from there? Mumbai which requires 4 1/2 hours minimum connecting time? I'd be more concerned about what happens to your bags at Mumbai.

I'd double check - if Virgin is taking you direct to Goa do let me know, but I don't think so.

BOAC

Your father is cutting it fine.

I work for British Airways and i have worked in the terminals and I suggest the following.

Get your father to change his NCL-LHR flight to an earlier flight , this will insure against any flight delays etc, this is the most cost effective solution.

If your parents miss their onwards connection the onus will be on them to pay for their overnight accomadation and any ticket charges.

As your father seems keen to keep his original travel plans his best bet is to check-in for BA flight online and drop his bags off at the Fast Bag drop at NCL airport.

You can find details on this here :
URL="http://www.britishairways.com/travel/managebooking/public/en_gb?eId=10450

Your father should also check-in online with Virgin and you can find further information here:


Once at Terminal One ,collect bags and walk to Terminal 3, this is the quickest option.This link provides a map :


Once at Terminal Three head to the Virgin Fast Bag Drop to check-in their bags.

Personaly I would rather spend a couple of hours at the airport then run the risk of losing my holiday.

Goodluck.

Becles

Thanks for all the tips.

The original BA tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. The agent he spoke to said they would have to cancel the flights (and get little or nothing back as the admin fee payable is of similar value to the tax refundable), then rebook on the new flights. The agent said he'd be looking around £75 each to do it.

They have the same time problem on return, but as they are booked on the last flight from Heathrow, they would need somewhere to sleep overnight and have to travel back to Newcastle the following morning.

I'll talk to Dad again and try and get him to change the flights.

Dad just referred to the Goa flight so I just assumed it was direct. It might be a change in Mumbai one though as they've done that before.

Ms_Chocaholic

Rather than spending £75 each on re-booking the flights, would it not be cheaper for your parents to book seats on the train direct to Heathrow, this way they are straight to T3 and don't have the worry of waiting for their bags on the carousel.

Becles

Thanks. I've had a look on trainline.com

There are no direct trains from the North East to London Heathrow. It would mean using a combination of trains and tubes to get to Heathrow. A Saver Return costs £103.30 each. They can't get back on the Friday night either, and the Saturday trains look a nightmare with changes and hanging around at other stations. I think it would be too much hassle with all the luggage keep having to change trains.

black-saturn

Becles wrote:

Thanks. I've had a look on trainline.com

Don't always take what it says on trainline.com to be gospel. I always check the times via that site but then ring the rail company direct with my debit card to book and it's usually loads cheaper than the website quote. For instance I'm spending xmas at my boyfriends. A return ticket for 1 adult and 2 children on trainline.com costs £57.80. I rang the rail company direct and got it for £24.

pin

black-saturn wrote:

Don't always take what it says on trainline.com to be gospel. I always check the times via that site but then ring the rail company direct with my debit card to book and it's usually loads cheaper than the website quote. For instance I'm spending xmas at my boyfriends. A return ticket for 1 adult and 2 children on trainline.com costs £57.80. I rang the rail company direct and got it for £24.

Personally I think Manchester to Heathrow would be a complete nightmare.

There are no direct mainline trains to Heathrow (apart from the direct services from Paddinton). Also I think the Manchester train gets into Euston or Kings X. Its no picnic getting from that part of London to Paddinton. And then there is the cost of the train to Heathrow.

I would take the £75 re-issue hit personally and fly to Heathrow.

blindman

pin wrote:

Personally I think Manchester to Heathrow would be a complete nightmare.

There are no direct mainline trains to Heathrow (apart from the direct services from Paddinton). Also I think the Manchester train gets into Euston or Kings X. Its no picnic getting from that part of London to Paddinton. And then there is the cost of the train to Heathrow.

I would take the £75 re-issue hit personally and fly to Heathrow.

Where did Manchester come in to this

Becles wrote
......then booked separate flights with BA between Newcastle and Heathrow.

blindman

Becles wrote:

Thanks. I've had a look on trainline.com

There are no direct trains from the North East to London Heathrow. It would mean using a combination of trains and tubes to get to Heathrow. A Saver Return costs £103.30 each. They can't get back on the Friday night either, and the Saturday trains look a nightmare with changes and hanging around at other stations. I think it would be too much hassle with all the luggage keep having to change trains.

I take it you've seen the Santa's Secret offers on GNER?