Transferring At LHR from T1 to T4

[Brian21156]

Ok I need some assistance. My sister is flying to Oz tomorrow evening and her employers are not giving her much of a chance. She is leaving Dublin at 7pm with EI arriving T1 LHR @ 8.15pm. She is on Qantas QF010 from LHR T4 @ 10:05pm. Her employers are not willing to change her Aer Lingus flight. I have checked the BAA website and it is telling me in order to transfer she has to get the Heathrow Connect to T4.

Can she not use the Flight Connection Centre or must she get the Heathrow Connect to T4?

Much appreciate any suggestions.

[raffele]

It's very simple - if the company has booked her whole journey on one ticket (not one itinerary - it has to be one ticket), then she will be able to use Flight Connections. If she is unsure of whether this is the case, she can look on her documentation for the ticket number(s), as well as whether her luggage is through-checked in Dublin.

If she is not eligible for Flight Connections she will have no option but to collect her bags, go to T4 and check in again. Heathrow Connect is easiest solution - the transfer is free, takes just a few minutes, but there is only one train every half hour. There are a number of bus services that provide free inter-terminal transfers too. She can alternatively take the Tube, but there would be a charge for this and would involve her going to Hatton Cross, then the Tube back to the airport as it loops round to T4, then T123.

It will be a tight connection in either case, however she should have just enough time to make it. Heathrow has become somewhat quieter since the reshuffle.

[Brian21156]

Thanks for the information. My sister did make it in the end with time to spare. The flight was early into LHR. However she did point out that once she came through Arrivals door all signs for Flight Connections Centre stopped. She asked a member of staff who told her to get the Heathrow Connect and another told her to go back through Departures.

With only two trains per hour to T4 I presume the Flight Connection Centre is your best bet. Can anybody tell me how you actually get to Flight Connection Centre after you come off Dublin flight? Is it through Arrivals door and back through Departures?

[raffele]

No it's not - you break off down a little back passageway well short of arrivals, and then you come into FCC right into the area with the airport desks. I'm guessing the lack of signage at the moment is because they're remapping it across Heathrow to make it easier - it's usually very well signed

FCC is your best bet - much simpler as you either walk across a bridge, or catch a bus. Mind you, saying that, since the reshuffle at Heathrow, the whole place has quietened and calmed down. Still, FCC still takes an element of hassle out

[WHBM]

Between T123 and T4 on the Connect is every 15 minutes, not every 30 minutes. The Connect trains from Paddington are indeed every 30 minutes, but when they terminate at T4 they then do a shuttle back to T123 and return to T4 again before returning to Paddington to give a 15-minute interval between these points.

It is still a pathetic approach as the only landside connection between terminals. If the train from Paddington is more than a few minutes late arriving the shuttle is cancelled to let them get back on schedule again. Due to the vagaries of railway franchising the service to Paddington is counted in the statistics reported to the government for punctuality, which impacts on the payment received from the government for the commuter side of the operation on the main line of the railway, whereas the shuttle is not counted, so that is the first to go in times of disruption.

[JayPee28bpr]

Glad your sister got her flight, but that transfer is a nightmare. The fact is you cannot get to Flight Connections (FCC) from the Aer Lingus arrival gates in T1. You simply get sent out into the main concourse. I had that nightmare 2-3 years ago transferring from EI (Dublin) to a BA flight from T4 (pre-T5 opening). The Heathrow Express wasn't working, and we had to get the Tube to Hatton Cross, then one back to T4. The T1/T4 transfer took longer than the entire time we spent on the plane from Dublin.

Solution? Fly Dublin - Amsterdam or something like that, and pick up the long haul from there. Much easier.

[Skipness One Echo]

The fact is you cannot get to Flight Connections (FCC) from the Aer Lingus arrival gates in T1.

Yes you bloody well can!

[JayPee28bpr]

This is what the BA web site says about transferring to T5 (and T4 is no different) from gates 80-90 (ie the Ireland arrival gates) in T1 Domestic.

"You will arrive from Ireland between gates 80 - 90 in Terminal 1. From here you should make your way to the main terminal, following the signs for the exit or baggage reclaim. Once you are in the main terminal you should make your way to Terminal 5 using the Heathrow Express, the Heathrow Express runs between the Heathrow terminals and then onto London Paddington."

The above is in line with what I was told by Aer Lingus after I'd spent over 2 hours transferring between T1-T4 about three years ago. Needless to say, I've never used LHR as a transit airport since! My own experience was made worse because the Heathrow Express wasn't working. Well why would it be? It was only the Easter weekend we were travelling over. Not a busy time or anything, right?

[Skipness One Echo]

I apologise. I'm sure it was possible to access Flight Connections from arriving airside atTerminal 1, though on delving through my muddled and often alcohol muddled memories, I recall coming back from Shannon in 2007 , we did come out a different way than the T1 route I was used to.

Heathrow Website suggests the following :

BAA Heathrow: Terminal 1 Domestic, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man flight to Terminal 5 Domestic, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands or Isle of Man flight (http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/page/Heathrow%5EGbl%5EHeathrow%5EGeneral%5EAirport+information%5E Flight+Connections/c5a0e73955c28110VgnVCM20000039821c0a____/448c6a4c7f1b0010VgnVCM200000357e120a____/)

Is there a reason why ROI Arrivals are treated differently from UK Arrivals given the common travel area?

[JayPee28bpr]

I don't know why Irish flights are treated differently. But the route out from the gates forces you into the Irish baggage reclaim area, even if you don't have bags to collect, then through UK baggage reclaim, from which you cannot exit into the UK departure gates area, and into arrivals. The T1 entrance to FCC is near gate 5 (the BA domestic gate). If you arrive on a UK flight, you exit this route too, and pass the FCC entrance before getting to domestic baggage reclaim.

There is a FCC entrance just outside the arrivals door, but you can only use it if you already have boarding passes for the connecting flight. The problem I had on my stressful journey through LHR was that we were booked on two different booking codes for DUB-LHR and LHR-BOM. Aer Lingus couldn't give us our BA boarding cards in Dublin, and BA wouldn't give them to us. Even in T1 BA wouldn't give us our cards because we were leaving from T4. The whole thing was/is a joke. Schipol is tons easier to get through.

[Globaliser]

Is there a reason why ROI Arrivals are treated differently from UK Arrivals given the common travel area?Before BA moved from T1, there was a clear answer.

The direct route from T1 domestic to the FCC bypassed security. This was because all UK domestic arrivals have by definition been screened to UK standards and therefore (like most domestic-domestic connections) do not need to be re-screened before departure from LHR.

However, ROI arrivals were not UK security-screened. It must have been thought not cost effective to build a link to the "international arrivals" side of the FCC, so ROI arrivals were just tipped into the baggage reclaim area, from where you must exit to landside as you are by definition insecure once you have had contact with checked baggage.

I don't know whether and how the recent building works have changed anything, though.

[Globaliser]

The problem I had on my stressful journey through LHR was that we were booked on two different booking codes for DUB-LHR and LHR-BOM. Aer Lingus couldn't give us our BA boarding cards in Dublin, and BA wouldn't give them to us.If you do it again, you could probably check-in online for the BA sector and print your own boarding pass before depating DUB.

[WHBM]

I wonder if the impending transfer of the various SkyTeam member carriers to T4, many of whom have been located in the centre at T2 previously, will have a significant negative impact on their business from transfer passengers from other UK/Ireland originating points. They will certainly be out on a limb over there.

Why did BA not find this when their long haul was in T4 ? Well they DID find this, and it was a major impetus behind the T5 project. Also when T4 opened the transfer arrangements were much more straightforward, they were steadily whittled away over the years. I recall going in a standard London red bus through the cargo tunnel from T4 to T1 without problem, later this was regarded as a Horrendous Breach by the security mob.

I am sure that the walking distance at both T1 and T4 to get to/from the Heathrow Connect train is more than the actual direct distance between the two terminals. To only quote the train time as the time taken to connect between the two is grossly misleading.

[apaddyinuk]

Before the current refurbishment of T1 began once you exited the baggage reclaim (into the meet and greet area of Domestic and ROI arrivals) there used to be a little door to the left which brought you back through domestic security and allowed you access to the Flight Connections centre!

NOW if you are already in possession of your onward boarding pass you can indeed access the Flight Connections Centre however you will need to pass through the terminals main security area and follow the airside signs for Flight Connections which happens to be near the access point for the Domestic and ROI gates.

If you do not have an onward boarding pass or need to recheck your luggage you will need to take the alternative public routes to your respective terminal.

I am commuting BA crew and I travel the DUB-LHR route a few times a week. I have actually made it to T1 from T5 (and vice versa) using the LHR EX before many people using the Flight Connections centre and it is far more civilised then being squashed into a coach! A perfect example, a few months ago I was operating a BA flight to CAI. My EI flight to LHR was running very late meaning I arrived in T1 just 30mins before my report time (which was 1hr 30mins before STD of my CAI flight). I managed to collect my suitcase in T1, board a train and then recheck my suitcase again in T5 prior to making my briefing! On the EI flight there was another passenger due to be on the CAI flight and even said "good luck" to me when I was racing off to make the trip. He never arrived on the flight!!!!! I can only assume he miss connected!

[dubh12000]

NOW if you are already in possession of your onward boarding pass you can indeed access the Flight Connections Centre however you will need to pass through the terminals main security area and follow the airside signs for Flight Connections which happens to be near the access point for the Domestic and ROI gates

I've gone that way just showing a printout of my booking.....no boarding pass.

[apaddyinuk]

I've gone that way just showing a printout of my booking.....no boarding pass.

Excellent, even better! LOL!

[Brian21156]

Based on the above am I correct in saying to get into Flight Connection Centre you go through Departures? You then go towards the second security set (where they check the photos) for Uk & Ireland flights and just follow the signs for Flight Connection Centre.

I have to make the connection next week. From what I hear that since the baggage system was upgraded in Dublin Airport some time last year, Aer Lingus can now print boarding passes for connecting flights. They printed boarding pass for my sister two weeks ago for her Heathrow flight and Singapore flight.

[apaddyinuk]

Brian, Aer Lingus have always been able to print boarding passes for onwards flights but it depends on firstly the airline you are travelling with and secondly whether or not the two flights are all on the same booking!

Some airlines do not have an "interline" agreement with EI allowing them access to through checkin. Also sometimes the onwards airline may block EI from checking in passengers for whatever reason (flight could be overbooked ex LHR or whatever so they want to manage the flight from point of departure) so a boarding pass may not be issued!

[Skipness One Echo]

Couple of questions on this I noticed coming back with Aer Lingus from Dublin last night. Why do they close the arriving passengers off from the rest of the pier on arrival at Heathrow as I think this is new? Don't remember this coming back from Shannon and the only passengers in the area would be either UK domestic passengers or passengers who could simply walk out of UK arrivals.....

Also when one gets to UK Baggage reclaim, there is a security man sitting at the exit desk from the domestic pier, just beyond which is the direct access to Flight Connections. Given that I am still airside until I get out of the doors into the main Terminal, why is it an issue to allow people to access Flight Connections via the domestic pier?

The UK is so regulated and fussy, Ireland is so much more relaxed, I got some lovely ramp shots of the A321 as I boarded and no one bothered that I was shooting on the ramp, or that everyone walked under the wing heading for the rear steps. I have been *screamed* at by people in dayglo yellow here in Britain for daring to behave in such a manner.

[daz211]

I am taking National Express from STN to LHR [T123].
My flight to MSP with Northwest Airlines departs from T4 ...

What is the best way to get to T4 from the coach station at T123 ?

I did look at taking National Expess to T4 but this takes 7hrs from STN :eek:
with a change at cambridge :ugh:.

Just to add there will be 2 of us with 4 large bags :{.

[BAAdboy]

If you are arriving in the Central Bus Station on a National Express coach, you have two 'free' options:
a) Catch one of the local buses (Route 555) from the Central Bus Station. It goes to T4 and costs nothing for that local journey but takes about 25 mins and is not particularly frequent
b) Go into the main Bus Station building, take the lifts down into the Subway system and follow the signs for 'Trains' or 'Terminal 4'. You can catch the Heathrow Connect train from T123 to T4 for free and it goes every 15 mins (Leaves at 14 - 36 - 44 - 06 mins past the hour)

Given you have large amounts of baggage, the bus option may be unattractive as it is just a little bus with no real storage for cases.
You will at least be able to load your bags on a trolley and take the trolley close to the platform using the Connect train and then reload onto a trolley at T4, up in the lift to Departures and away you go.
So not great, but perfectly doable if time is not too tight and the travel gods are smiling upon you! :ok:

[Globaliser]

Couple of questions on this I noticed coming back with Aer Lingus from Dublin last night. Why do they close the arriving passengers off from the rest of the pier on arrival at Heathrow as I think this is new? Don't remember this coming back from Shannon and the only passengers in the area would be either UK domestic passengers or passengers who could simply walk out of UK arrivals.....

Also when one gets to UK Baggage reclaim, there is a security man sitting at the exit desk from the domestic pier, just beyond which is the direct access to Flight Connections. Given that I am still airside until I get out of the doors into the main Terminal, why is it an issue to allow people to access Flight Connections via the domestic pier?Neither of these is new.

Arriving pax from the ROI have been segregated from UK domestic pax for as long as I have been flying to/from the ROI. As I understand it, this is because UK domestic pax are UK-security screened, so can make a domestic-domestic or domestic-international connection without a further security screen. However, arrivals from the ROI have not been UK-security screened and must therefore be security screened before any further flight. Hence, they cannot mix with UK departing pax whether domestic or international.

That resulted in the design of the ROI arrivals stream directly into the baggage reclaim area. And once you have got as far as baggage reclaim, you are by definition no longer sterile (having had access to checked baggage) so must be security screened again. The same applies to UK arriving pax who get beyond the security guard you mention and get to baggage reclaim - no going back into the airside area.