To think it may be possible to land in Gatwick from a Transatlantic flight...

[Iffy2014]

... and be on time for a departing internal flight two hours after?

Is DP mad to think he may be able to do this? Or is it reasonable to believe you can make it through the Gatwick arrivals procedure, collect hold baggage, and make it on time to an internal flight which leaves exactly two hours after landing? (assuming no delays on the transatlantic flight)

I've not had much experience of Gatwick, I just know it's VERY BIG. Would he be unreasonable to book this flight, or should he put up with waiting ten hours at Gatwick for the next internal?

Without delays it would be fine, but are delays likely?

Booking separately or as one ticket?

I'd risk it if you could check the bags through, no chance if you need to collect and recheck baggage.

Thanks for response. It's a direct flight from Vegas (going over for a friend's wedding), so not sure of the possibilities of delays. He complains that he can't wait for the next internal, as he will be "wrecked"!

Well, you usually end up getting bused from the plane to the terminal when you land which takes a while. And Gatwick is fairly big.

But, if the flights are on time, and he's already checked-in to the second flight, is entirely doable in 2 hours.

I'd take the risk rather than spend 10 hours in Gatwick TBH, it's pretty grim!

Hmm volcanic dust maybe?

Would it be better to get a train? The stress would get to me I think, delay in taking off, baggage delay, trying to find where to get the connecting flight etc. but then I don't like flying.

Booking separately, it's two different airlines, Virgin flying from Vegas, Flybe internal.

Don't think so.

Even if the flight lands on time, it'll be at least 20 mins before you get off the flight, then through passport control and baggage reclaim, you're looking at the best part of an hour. If the check in for the internal flight closes an hour before boarding, you are cutting it very fine.

Same terminal? I'd risk it. Can't he do hand luggage only?

Hope there won't be volcanic dust when he flies! (November)

He's scared of taking trains! Sounds pathetic, but his dyslexia means he finds it very difficult to read timetables and process information about platforms, etc. I've received panicked phone calls from medium-sized train stations because he's had to change trains and can't figure out where he is.

He's having a think about hand luggage only, since he's only going for three days, and can get toiletries, etc, out there. He's just concerned about what to do with his suit for the wedding. Thanks for the suggestion!

He would have to have hand luggage only to have any chance, and have checked in online.

He may need to wear his suit to travel in.

I wouldn't risk it, especially at Gatwick.

DH got stuck in customs at Christchurch, NZ Airport coming back from Australia with a two hours in-between as three international flights arrived at about the same time and we almost missed our internal flight- got there on final boarding call after running to the gate with our luggage (DD and I were ok as we were on our NZ passports and got to join the NZ queue but DH was on British so he had to join the queue with everyone else from around the World)

Trying to persuade him to go hand luggage only and get a suit rental out there. I reckon you guys are right, and his only chance will be with hand luggage only.

I was coming home to Dublin from Dallas with a two hour delay. Our flight out was delayed and by the time we landed and got our bags, the gate had closed. We had to wait for 8 hours for another flight. I wouldn't risk it again.

Surely 2 hours is pretty standard for a connection?

Two hours is fine if you're booking a flight as one but with two segments, your bags get checked straight through so you only have to get yourself from one gate to another and if you're late and you miss your connection the airline has a responsibility to sort it out (although often I've been in situations where they've held planes for connecting flights).

Booking two flight tickets separately is a different story.

Yes I didn't RTFT

take hand luggage only, fold the suit up and get it pressed when he gets to vegas (all the hotels will have laundry type services)

Two hours is fine if it's a connecting flight or he's already checked in on the second, but otherwise I wouldn't risk it. If he misses it, he might not get a seat on the next internal flight and he'd be stuck there for longer than ten hours!

Can't he fly in, get a hotel room and shower/sleep/eat, and then catch the next flight ten hours later?

Don't underestimate the time it is going to take. For starters, it's unlikely that his flight from Vegas will come into the same terminal as his Flybe flight will depart from. So he'll need to use the monorail to transfer between South and North Terminals and then look for the relevant check-in desks. Both terminals are large and not brilliantly well signed!

Then there's passport control. He'll have a machine readable passport (you can't go to the US without one) but he'll still join a massive queue at Gatwick. The quickest way through the queues are to use the e-passport desks but with more and more people having machine readable passports, there's still a queue.

I think 2 hours is cutting it very fine. If he's delayed at Vegas or arrives at a particularly busy time at Gatwick then he'll be stuffed. Also, if he finds using trains confusing, getting through Gatwick is going to be a challenge too.

Sounds weird but could he fly into another airport, eg Amsterdam Schipol, where there are more options for connecting flights? He may then be able to leave a little more time between flights?

I don't think that would be possible Dolly, but thanks for the suggestion. The internal is to Newquay airport, so not many options at all really.

I'd also add that things would be different if your DH was booked on a through ticket. But he's taking 2 entirely unconnected flights. So everything counts as a separate journey.

My DS has an American wife and they fly out to the US quite regularly. They always have to transfer at a US airport because there are no direct flights from the UK to where her family live. But their ticket is bought as one flight with two segments so they are fast-tracked through the connecting US airport.

The same would be the case for your DH if his flight was booked as Vegas to your local airport via a connecting flight. But it isn't so there will be no fast-tracking.

I did suggest that, googoo, about staying overnight/a few hours in a London hotel, but he insists that he'd rather "just get home" and not spend the extra money.