Heathrow conformance / positive boarding
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Heathrow conformance / positive boarding
I need to fly from Heathrow T4 to Paris-CDG on an EU passport in several months time with just hand luggage. In Paris-CDG I plan to catch a connecting flight the same day with a non-Skyteam airline. And no, I can't book it all on a single ticket - GDS are not set up well for this route and are asking a silly amount of money compared to tickets booked separately with each airline.
There are 2 flights in the same evening from Heathrow on Air France. I would much prefer to catch the earlier flight but think I'm going to be right up against the deadline for conformance / positive boarding entry to the security area.
If I check in online for both flights, have printed out boarding cards with me, and the security gates declined me with the bar code for the earlier flight but accept the bar code for the later flight, what would happen if I run and arrived at the gate for the earlier flight before boarding had been closed ?
Is the dispatch system clever enough to decline me, or would I likely still get onto the earlier flight ?
As an additional question, if the earlier flight is delayed, how intelligent are the security gates around conformance times ? Do they go purely for the scheduled departure time, or are they forgiving when a flight is delayed and there's still plenty of time to reach the gate before departure ?
There are 2 flights in the same evening from Heathrow on Air France. I would much prefer to catch the earlier flight but think I'm going to be right up against the deadline for conformance / positive boarding entry to the security area.
If I check in online for both flights, have printed out boarding cards with me, and the security gates declined me with the bar code for the earlier flight but accept the bar code for the later flight, what would happen if I run and arrived at the gate for the earlier flight before boarding had been closed ?
Is the dispatch system clever enough to decline me, or would I likely still get onto the earlier flight ?
As an additional question, if the earlier flight is delayed, how intelligent are the security gates around conformance times ? Do they go purely for the scheduled departure time, or are they forgiving when a flight is delayed and there's still plenty of time to reach the gate before departure ?
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 18th Jun 2016 at 20:29.
Paxing All Over The World
If I may say, dj6, you have come up with a question we have not seen on here before? Double check-in, so you have paid for both flights and will throw one of them away?
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In my experience the two systems are not linked.I used to work at LHR until late last year, although not for AF or any of their handling agents, but the compliance system is uniform throughout LHR as far as I'm aware.
The airline staff can see if you have come through security or not and what time you came through and it's up to them if they take you off at the cut off or not. If you've only got hand baggage then they are not likely to offload you until the last minute anyway, and even if they do and you still turn up in time they can always just put you back on the flight. Just kindly inform them to offload you from the later flight incase they are needing the seat or are waiting around for you.
I would say you've got a good chance of getting the earlier flight even if you just miss the compliance cut off. It was often the case that someone would show as not coming through security, but was in actual fact sitting at the gate. A common occurrence was that someone was arriving in to say, T5 and connecting to say, T2 on separate tickets and only got their boarding pass issued at the transfer desk once airside in T2. The compliance system would have no trace of them passing airside.
As for your other question, I am not 100% sure, but I don't ever recall people being rejected at security because of delayed flights and compliance rejecting them based on the STD. I am sure it works on a rolling time, but if this is automatic or updated by the airport ops department I'm not sure. I know I never had at input on compliance.
The airline staff can see if you have come through security or not and what time you came through and it's up to them if they take you off at the cut off or not. If you've only got hand baggage then they are not likely to offload you until the last minute anyway, and even if they do and you still turn up in time they can always just put you back on the flight. Just kindly inform them to offload you from the later flight incase they are needing the seat or are waiting around for you.
I would say you've got a good chance of getting the earlier flight even if you just miss the compliance cut off. It was often the case that someone would show as not coming through security, but was in actual fact sitting at the gate. A common occurrence was that someone was arriving in to say, T5 and connecting to say, T2 on separate tickets and only got their boarding pass issued at the transfer desk once airside in T2. The compliance system would have no trace of them passing airside.
As for your other question, I am not 100% sure, but I don't ever recall people being rejected at security because of delayed flights and compliance rejecting them based on the STD. I am sure it works on a rolling time, but if this is automatic or updated by the airport ops department I'm not sure. I know I never had at input on compliance.
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PAXboy - yes, your understanding is correct. The cost of an extra one-way from Heathrow to Paris booked months in advance minus the refund of taxes is small, compared to the potential cost to me (not just monetary) of not catching the onward long haul flight. The later flight to Paris would lead to a tight connection in Paris with two airlines on different tickets. The risk around self-connecting and the possibility of flight delays makes it possibly rational to buy a 2nd short-haul ticket at an earlier time as a form of risk-reducing insurance.
edi_local - many thanks for your very informative post
edi_local - many thanks for your very informative post
If you've only got hand baggage then they are not likely to offload you until the last minute anyway, and even if they do and you still turn up in time they can always just put you back on the flight.
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Just a minor point but on the basis of painful personal experience I wouldn't rely on being able to do that at all LHR terminals and with all airlines at LHR these days. Once the shutters come down at T minus X it seems to be increasingly difficult to get the computer to change it's mind....regardless of you being stood at the gate, with your hadn baggage, with the jetty still on and the aircraft doors still open.
It's a long story involving delays and people sticking to original (not the revised) timings. FWIW I was at the gate before boarding had even started..I aso know that in my case seats and payload were available, but it was a "no", they wouldn't re-open the flight and they wouldn't accept me as an LMC to the loadsheet..
Bit frustrating as at outstations when being on the other side of the flight deck door I have regularly signed for LMCs..that's a part of modern LHR and some airlines for you....process driven.
Bit frustrating as at outstations when being on the other side of the flight deck door I have regularly signed for LMCs..that's a part of modern LHR and some airlines for you....process driven.
