Transit through LCY ?

[toryjim]

I am planning to transit through LCY in a couple of months time and it's just dawned on me that I don't think there's any way to transit like you do at e.g. LHR by following "Flight Connections". My flights would be

arrive 1825 from ARN
depart 1920 for FRA

which sounds fine, doesn't it ... (??!) but I think I will have to go through passport control and then back in again through security ... and suddenly 55 mins doesn't seem that long?!

[Skipness One Echo]

It's rush hour and if your flight is delayed in any way you won't make it. UK Border is quite busy at that time as well. Surely BA didn't let you book a through ticket over LCY!

All things being to schedule you can do it but it's leaving no room for error as you will need to clear customs, go landside, re-check any bags then get back through security at the busiest time of day.

[750XL]

If you've got bags to checkin then I can pretty much tell you now you won't make it

[5711N0205W]

Odd choice;

Flights from Stockholm, Sweden (ARN) to Frankfurt, Germany (FRA)

Non-stop flights: 6–8 per day, 2h 20m duration
Airlines: Lufthansa, SAS

would that not be a better option?

[toryjim]

Surely BA didn't let you book a through ticket over LCY!

They certainly would sell me this (I wouldn't have come up with it on my own!) - ba.com lists it as the final connection of the day from ARN to FRA - BA8492 leaves ARN at 16.55, in to LCY at 18.25, out again at 19.20 on the BA8736, arriving FRA at 21.50.

The previous connection leaves ARN at 15.40 (over an hour earlier), via LHR (in 17.15, out 19.10) and arrives FRA at ... wait for it, 21.55 (five minutes after the LCY flight).

5711N0205W, I take your point about flying direct with Lufthansa but (a) it suits me to collect the BA miles at the moment, (b) the one-way fares from ARN to FRA with LH are a bit breath-taking .. just over 8000 SEK one-way "Economy Flex". For that price I can fly Club Europe with BA ... return ... twice! (almost)

[towser]

Anytime I've operated the ARN flight it's usually been early into LCY. Let the crew know the situation when you get on board and I would hope they woud make the ground crew in LCY aware so they can assist with your transit. Provided the ARN is on time you should make it but it will be tight.

[Hotel Tango]

If it's a through ticket with the same carrier and it's indicated as a connection than I can only conclude that it is possible. Perhaps BA have some sort of transit arrangement at LCY after all.

[farci]

Minimum connection time at LCY

Not sure where this website sourced the information but it lists these minimum connection times:
LCY (City)
Domestic to Domestic - 30 minutes
Domestic to International - 30 minutes
International to Domestic - 30 minutes
International to International - 30 minutes

so the OP's connection appears to 'legal'

[WHBM]

Being a regular at LCY, although I've accordingly never done a transit there .....

You can be from aircraft steps to the immigration desks in 30 secs-2 minutes, depends on the gate but is v quick.

The IOs seem to work a sight more efficiently than those at Heathrow - you get the impression they can bang through the regulars in a flash but nothing untoward would ever get past them.

The baggage claim is right behind these desks and can be there within a few minutes of doors open - in fact you normally see baggage being unloaded before doors open.

From baggage claim there is no transit desk but it's just 30 seconds out of the door which leads straight to the check-in area/bag drop.

Up the escalator, through security at the top, and into the lounge.....

55 minutes; more achievable than a 3 hour transit at Heathrow I would say.

[Octopussy2]

As has been mentioned, the physical distance you need to cover is very short and baggage comes out quickly. The real variable is queueing time at passport control and security (and possibly baggage drop). At a quiet time, you would have time to do all of this and still have a couple of drinks in the bar before departure; on a bad day, those queues could take 20 mins each.

I've never noticed a separate passport queue for transit passengers, but maybe they'd let you use the non-EU queue, which is usually v short?

Am I being naive in assuming that if BA are willing to sell a through-ticket, it must be achievable most of the time?

[Rush2112]

Originally Posted by Octopussy2

Am I being naive in assuming that if BA are willing to sell a through-ticket, it must be achievable most of the time?

Well, that would be my thinking as well. Surely an airline is not going to sell a connection that cannot work under "normal" circumstances? I used to travel between CGK and BKK quite frequently for a few months and always used SQ with a transit time of 40 mins through Changi and never had a problem, however it was just a question of going from one gate to another, no need to go through immigration. My bags also always made it!