and by then, she will be an experienced traveller! My girls came home rock stars with navigating airports after study abroad!
2 Likes
I agree - and then she’ll be able to give me pointers when I go over in April.
I booked her flight today and she is going through LHR, but with a 3.5 hour layover. I was limited with airlines because her and her bf want to fly home together and he is booked on a specific airline. I checked into doing 2 one-way tickets so I could have more flexibility with connecting airports and get her on a European airline on the way out, but the one-way fares were crazy!
I will definitely take everyone’s suggestions into account when I go in April and have more airline flexibility.
No direct flights from anywhere in the US except one that Delta runs from NYC but only from May-Oct.
1 Like
Transatlantic flights on legacy airlines still work like in the olden days, where a return, including a Saturday night stay, is much cheaper than a one way flight or a return during the same week.
There are a few low cost carrier exceptions, like JetBlue and some smaller European airlines, but most of these airlines have struggled to make money in long haul. Norwegian was big in transatlantic flights before the pandemic but went bust in 2020 and refocused on short haul.
1 Like
Even if you don’t want to specify the destination country - is it an E.U. country (or more specifically, a country in the Schengen zone)?
Basically, your “border control” (customs) will happen at the first “European” city (which is not the U.K.)
So, if connecting through Frankfurt, or Munich, allow extra connecting time for border security (“immigration”), processing luggage through customs, after which it will be routed to the “intra-European” flight.
However, if connecting through Heathrow, it would be an international connection. E.U. Border security/customs would not take place until having arrived at the final destination (assuming a direct flight from Heathrow).
And yes, Heathrow, can require athletic abilities! I once arrived late on a last flight from Munich, sprinted for about 15 minutes from the gate, the length of the first terminal, to a different terminal, managed quickly through the security there, and then sprinted the length of the terminal to the gate - where the gate agent at the still-open door shouted from the distance for my name. They closed the door behind me - and I know along the way I had passed several of fellow NYC hopefuls.
2 Likes
She’s going to Prague (in Schengen). So no customs at LHR?
They are going to be tight on the way back (2 hour layover) but they will be together and out of Schengen once they reach London (they are limited to 90 days in Schengen without a Visa), so if they end up missing their connection and have to rebook, it’s not the end of the world.
Assuming both flights are on a single itinerary, and the airlines can “check through” your luggage all the way to Prague, their luggage should move between the two flights without your travelers laying hands on them.
They will go through customs and E.U. immigration in Czechia.
However, if they have to move between terminals, there will be a “security control”, including carry-on inspection, when entering the new terminal. If they are lucky and both airlines are part of the same association, there is at least a chance that they could remain in the same terminal - a big time saver.
I have done it in less than 2 hours (due to weather/traffic delays with the inbound flight) - but I was by myself, not having to worry about anyone - and was lucky to be just in front of that ONE person, who felt they had to throw a scene with security personnel why her carry-on was going to be inspected again, when she was already late – which brought everything to halt behind me.
2 Likes
You still go through security again at LHR, even when connecting within the same terminal. There is strict separation of inbound and outbound passengers in the UK and all European airports. The US is unusual in not separating passengers (because they are mostly domestic, international arrivals are still segregated). The only time saving is in travel between terminals.
And you had better make sure you have through checked luggage. Otherwise you will have to go through passport control at LHR to collect luggage, exit through customs into arrivals and go up to departures to check in again, before going through security. That will likely add an hour or more to the connection.
2 Likes
My dd is currently doing a post grad year in the UK (year 13) and have learned a lot about booking flights for her in the past few months. Heathrow is huge and it can take awhile. My ds and I were just there over the weekend to see her for thanksgiving and on our way there, the e gates were not working, so everyone had to wait in a huge line to go through passport control (it took an hour). I would allow for at least a 3 hour layover. Also, I learned is that using credit card or frequent flyer points is the way to go as because of the academic calendar we can’t take just any flight that’s the cheapest. With credit card points you can shop around and it’s usually a flat rate and you’re not penalized for doing a one way fare. I recently booked her going back to London after Christmas for just 10K points one way on Virgin (non stop flight). Additionally, chase was offering a 30% transfer bonus, so it was just 8k points one way. Your dd wil be an expert international traveler at the end of her study abroad!!
3 Likes
Agreed. Miles tickets are the way to go if you need a one way journey.
Also note that the UK has relatively high departure taxes, which are not levied on connecting flights. A stopover of more than 24 hours in London (or using separate tickets) will mean you are liable to pay the departure tax.
Just passed thru Heathrow a few hours ago. Last time we visited was 2016 - so pre-Brexit.
Post Brexit was SO much easier. If you have one of the following passports
“a national of an EU country, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the USA”
you now go thru the fast biometric lane. In 2016 we were stuck in the non-EU immigration line which took forever. Yesterday (albeit it is a low travel time) we breezed thru.
4 Likes
This assumes the biometric machines are working. Ask me how I know ;).
1 Like
My son just connected through Heathrow. He lives in Pittsburgh and that’s the only European destination from Pittsburgh.
Said that Heathrow wasn’t bad at all. He booked a long layover because of fear of being stuck, but said it wasn’t bad.
2 Likes
I’m British so I connect through Heathrow frequently. It used to take a minimum of 90 minutes to get through security and immigration. However when I traveled this October we got through both legs of our trip within 20 minutes. It was a nice surprise.
2 Likes
Just had a connection through Heathrow. It was a 2 hour connection, which we made, but with not that much time to spare even travelling business. We had to change terminals to get from BA to to an AA flight, and it was quite a walk to the gate after the tram stop. The flights were on time, but it seems a lot of flights board/disembark on the tarmac, requiring a relatively long bus ride to get to the terminal after a long disembarkation process to load the buses.
4 Likes
Although not a function of “Brexit” timing, but rather the prevalence of biometric passports and devices in the years since.
3 Likes
For me personally, I would not transit at Heathrow, AMS or FRA especially during peak seasons. MUC is smaller and more manageable, fewer flights, fewer passengers. I would allow at least 3 hours for connections to avoid anxiety.
3 Likes
This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. If you’d like to reply, please flag the thread for moderator attention.