Is there enough time with 3.5 hours before next flight to get from London heathrow

[Milo13]

Hi Folks,
panic stations here! I booked Edinburgh to orlando and didnt notice the flight was to LHR then left LGW! Is there enough time in 3.5 hours to get to Gatwick? Bearing in mind we have our bikes to pick up from LHR as well? :-(

It's about 45 minutes in a taxi from Gatwick to Heathrow. If the M25 is running ok.

I would be nervous about a 3.5 hour gap.

If everything is running smoothly, then it would work but if there are any hiccups you'll be stuffed.

This is actually a good option and there are flights that would fit in, will need to find out to make sure they don't cancel the big flight! I will email them , thank you for the idea.

The driving time LHR - LGW varies tremendously on time of day. During rush hours the speed limits can go down to 40mph. There's also roadworks at the A3 junction.

I'm not going until next May.

Just to note @Florida2020 I have never transited through LHR/LGW and not had to collect my luggage. I could be wrong but AFAIK you always have to for a change of airport, even on a through ticket.

This would result in a no show for the first leg of the flight, then all onwards flights would be cancelled. Don't do this.
Ring the agent back and try to work through til you find a solution. This flight isn't going to work with outsize luggage.
Even though you booked with an agent, can you still try to ring BA or amend your booking online?

I think you could do it without the bikes, by coach transfer or taxi.

Can you leave them behind and rent at your destination? Would likely cost a fair bit less than £350 per person, so probably worth it.

It's is very tight.

BA are using Gatwick more and more now for long haul - but they sold all their Edinburgh slots to Easyjet and there is no indication they are reinstating them any time soon.

One flight once a week on a Sunday is all that's available now and that stopped this month.

BA don't give a toss about their Scottish customers. Not flying to Gatwick cuts out a huge number of routes for customers who don't want to risk an Easyjet connection (a huge risk for a costly long haul BA flight and also extra cost).

I would train to and from Gatwick. Change at Kings Cross for direct trains to Gatwick from St Pancreas.

We had to do this last year when Easyjet cancelled our flight home. It was okay- not great but okay.

Or Easyjet down the night before (as we did) and stay in the Premier Inn at Gatwick. Bikes on Easyjet are going to add £££ though.

I think that's too fine.
There are quite a few BA flights Edinburgh to Heathrow though so see if they will put you on an earlier one, or night before and Premier Inn which is what we are doing when we go from Edinburgh to Costa Rica as the transfer time suggested by BA was too tight.

Yes, already spoke with travel agent and BA , would be a large cost to amend and BA said there's nothing they can do! 😣

Do you have to take the bikes? There’s more chance of making it without. Also, hate to be the voice of gloom but I’ve had flight changes with skis (which are also outsize) a couple of times and not once did they make it onto the new plane. So if you can rent them there then I would.

Oh and 1 thing you definitely shouldn’t do is book your own Edinburgh to London flight- it’ll result in a no-show and you’ll get to Gatwick to find your onward booking has been cancelled.

if it is all on one ticket then perhaps see about switching from Edinburgh to Glasgow (as BA do fly direct to gatwick from Glasgow). If it is all on one ticket and there are unexpected delays on the Edinburgh leg, BA should be able to offer an alternative routing if you miss your connection. If it is not all on one ticket then you could find an alternative route to Gatwick, and not worry about being a no show.
When do you fly and who did you book through? If it is a while away there is a possibility the flight times change a bit, which may mean you can rebook for free.

It's all on one ticket and not till next May! I spoke with travel agent and his words were " well you booked it! " 😣

I think you’ll be fine, this FlyerTalk thread is the fountain of all knowledge. If any of the flight times do change between now and May you could use that to switch the flights.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1839753-heathrow-gatwick-missed-flight-what-happens.html

That flyer talk thread is 7 years old.

Op - it’s very unlikely you would make this connection. Also re Orlando the usual check in time is three hours before the flight departure.

It might be 7 years old but the minimum connection time is the same, as is BA’s obligation to get the passenger to their destination. Ultimately it could be tight, but it is doable and BA has a duty to get them there. I would probably have a couple of alternative route suggestions lined up in case there are any delays.

Surely no one gets to the airport 3 hours before a flight to the US? Check in on-line the day before, yes, At Gatwick, if I wasn’t in a premium cabin, I’d pay the £10 or whatever it is for fast track security and be happy enough to be there 75/90 minutes before departure.

But, I wouldn’t be trying that with two bikes - I think you’d struggle to find a taxi to take 2 bikes, and I am not sure the coach, which is the simplest way of travelling between LHR and LGW, would take them either. That’s the killer - with regular or hand luggage a 3.5 hour connection, while tight, would be eminently do-able. The OP could explore sending the bikes ahead separately by courier, or look at a flight from Glasgow direct to LGW. I think BA have dropped NCL LGW haven’t they?

Do coaches not have underneath storage in the UK? I've only really used coaches in Spain but they have massive bunkers under the passenger area and all luggage goes under there.

I've also taken bikes in flight cases there and they don't take any longer to emerge than standard luggage and not that much bigger than large suitcases or golf bags that will be a day to day occurrence at Heathrow and Gatwick.

The link above says there's 80 coaches a day between those airports, that's one every 15/20 minutes day and night which is astonishingly frequent. We don't have bus services between major cities that often in most parts of the country.

The OP has more than the minimum connection time so I'd just do it. If they miss the flight, BA will put them on the next one.

OP just make sure your travel insurance covers missed flight due to traffic in case the coach gets stuck in a hold up on the motorway. I also assume your bikes are covered worldwide on your home insurance?

Absolutely no way can you drive between LHR and LGW in 45 mins unless it is at 2am and no part of the m25 is closed for roadworks (unlikely). What Google maps say you can do and the reality of the m25 on any given day are 2 different things. The only hope you have is to get the train but both the Heathrow express and Gatwick express are c£25 a pop…and that also relies on no delays for your first leg. If you don’t get the first leg of through tickets, all other legs are cancelled including the return (I fell foul of this once before).

I’m afraid that the travel agent has sold you something that is simply not do-able. Were there any warnings at the time of booking regarding connections? I’d be approaching ABTA or your travel insurer if you didn’t book using a credit card? If you did, I’d be asking the cc company for assistance.

The only escalation they might have success with is cancelation of their tickets with refund (even if non-refundable). However, unless BA made changes to the flights times (or airports) after the OP booked, they are unlikely to get this, unless someone takes pity on them) as they accepted/purchased the flights, knowing the connection situation.

And yes many people are expected to arrive at an airport three hours before any long haul
flight (2 hours for short haul). Check in online 24 hours does not also account for people’s luggage that needs to be tagged physically . BA do not offer a twilight facility.st LGW as far as I am aware.

The gates also close 20 minutes prior to departure so ops time is very much limited.
I also would be looking to cancel the entire booking now given that op travels next May.

Used to do LHR-LGW or vice versa a fair bit with either a normal suitcase or preferably hand baggage, using the National Express coach service between the two and I agree with those that say it’s tight/probably not going to work with out of gauge baggage.

I think these days minimum check-in at Gatwick for BA Long Haul is 60 minutes…there’s no mandatory requirement to be there 3 hours ahead…

Not a chance, sorry.