Fixed+Rotary (aircraft, not washing lines)
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Peak District, Yorkshire, UK
Age: 56
Posts: 357
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Its a funny old world. I'm sitting in the BA lounge at LHR T1 as I type. Awaiting my flight to MAN on BA having just flown in from BOS on Virgin.
I have two PNRs as stated earlier in this thread, one for Virgin, one for BA.
At Manchester BA check-in earlier this week I was told that they could see my final destination on my itinerary was Boston. However they couldn't check the luggage through and I'd have to collect it at LHR.
Checking in with Virgin in Boston yesterday I was asked if I'd want my luggage checked all the way to Manchester. Yes please, and it was all done and dusted. How can this be?
I really wish that the luggage had been checked through on the outbound leg. I had 2.5hrs at LHR to pick up my luggage @ T1, get to T3, do the bag drop, then security etc. etc. Nightmare, spent the whole time queueing and was one of the last to board the flight. I was still in the security queue 15 mins *after* the flight had closed :-(
Something else that puzzles me each time I transfer through LHR from abroad... I never go through customs. I pick up my luggage at MAN and exit through domestic departures. Is this a glaring omission that has been around for years? If I did have something to declare who / where would I go to?
Boston TSA were *excellent*. My best US airport experience in a very long time - both the immigration entry checks and the departure checks were courteous, efficient, orderly and relatively rapid.
And finally, LHR security lost some points... I have my small laptop in a small laptop bag which fits into an approved sized cabin bag along with other stuff such as books, earphones etc. Being the efficient traveller I am I took my laptop bag out of the cabin bag ready for the security scan. I was pulled over by over zealous security and told that I could only take one bag on board and would have to check one in. I explained that I'd just taken the laptop bag *out* ready for scanning. Nope, not good enough. I even showed the empty space in the cabin bag. Still not good enough. So I had to put laptop bag back in cabin bag. Walk past the security chap only then to open the cabin bag to extract laptop bag to extract laptop for his colleague at the scanner. Doh! Use some sense guys - it only adds to the delays and frustration!