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Hi.
I’m currently looking to book GLA-MCO-GLA in club world using my BAPP companion voucher.
I’m looking to stay overnight as I’m traveling with my elderly parents and there’s only a single feeder flight each day from GLA to LGW which is early in the morning and it’s often delayed or cancelled. My parents have difficulty walking distances and fast etc and so looking to make the connection a bit easier. If I could guarantee the feeder flight was on time there is plenty of time with the connection.
When I search flights on the exact dates extra availability shows on the long haul but the feeder flight requires a change of airport in London from LHR to LGW which would be tight with traffic. Searching flights the day before with an overnight stopover seems to get rid of the extra availability which appears to be on the inbound leg as I can get the outbound with stopover working if I select a different return date but this doesn’t work for me as it’s not the date I want to return.
Is it a glitch that the extra availability disappears with the stopover or is this not permitted? And if not can the call centre see see and book the additional seats even if they don’t show up perfectly online?
Thanks
Try the call centre but it’s probably the married segments (as in effect) of BA’s availability management that we’re observing. In that long haul awards are available from the regional start points, connecting in Heathrow, but the same longhaul destination not available wbere the ticket starts from Heathrow.
So the moment there’s a gap in Heathrow between the arrival of the domestic flight and the departure of the long haul, that goes over 23hours 59 minutes, it becomes a stopover (and not just a connection) and so the availability for Heathrow to longhaul destination is searched for by the system as a standalone leg and no availability found.
I’d get the call centre to first find the flights with a less than 24hr gap then continue in same call and change the second flight (better than first flight if you can) to the more-than-24-hrs gap one you prefer. It just might stick or the operator might voluntarily override a failure.
Whilst calling mention your parents issues with walking and ask for the PNR to be noted as disabled passenger. May possibly help if early connection flights get cancelled nearer the time by BA and passengers moved across later flights in the day if BA doesn’t just cancel all connecting flights on your way back except the last one. As has been reported multiple times by passengers on HfP through the summer and possibly still going on.
Not sure how to pre-arrange assistance at airport as well but would consider it.
How long does the schedule give between LHR arrival and LGW departure?
There are usually 3 national express coaches an hour (sometimes ore) between the airports. I’ve done the trip numerous times with very little traffic disruption and more often than not have arrived before the scheduled time.
Try the call centre.
However I just had a look on flightradar24 and actually it’s a very reliable flight – hasn’t cancelled in the last 90 days and hasn’t run late for over a month. It’s primary reason to exist is long haul connections, especially to Orlando so it’s a big headache for BA if it doesn’t run. Book assistance for them as the transit is a bit of a pain as you need to reclear security both ways. Some days there are multiple Orlando flights so you could try pick the ones that offer the longer connections.
On the way home I wouldn’t worry too much, if you miss it you’d get rebooked from LHR anyway
Booking assistance at LGW for your parents sounds sensible. As you may know, some gates at LGW are a long walk from the flight connections area. One of the side effects of booking assistance should be being able to book seats for your parents without a fee, unless you are already able to do this through status. This can really make a difference for elderly passengers for several reasons. For instance a seat closer to the front can makes it easier to get on or off the plane, or an aisle seat could be useful for someone who someone who finds it difficult to get up out of their seat.
My experience with traffic delays on the National Express coaches between LHR and LGW isn’t nearly as positive as BAFlyer’s. It does tend to depend on the time of day.
Booking assistance at LGW for your parents sounds sensible. As you may know, some gates at LGW are a long walk from the flight connections area. One of the side effects of booking assistance should be being able to book seats for your parents without a fee, unless you are already able to do this through status. This can really make a difference for elderly passengers for several reasons. For instance a seat closer to the front can makes it easier to get on or off the plane, or an aisle seat could be useful for someone who someone who finds it difficult to get up out of their seat.
My experience with traffic delays on the National Express coaches between LHR and LGW isn’t nearly as positive as BAFlyer’s. It does tend to depend on the time of day.
No flight connection at LGW anymore unfortunately – you go through arrivals and then back upstairs through security. Ideally they’d have an arrangement to let Glasgow – Gatwick passengers with connecting BPs into the terminal directly like they do at LHR T5 but doesn’t seem like that’s something they’ve been able to do
Try the call centre but it’s probably the married segments (as in effect) of BA’s availability management that we’re observing. In that long haul awards are available from the regional start points, connecting in Heathrow, but the same longhaul destination not available wbere the ticket starts from Heathrow.
So the moment there’s a gap in Heathrow between the arrival of the domestic flight and the departure of the long haul, that goes over 23hours 59 minutes, it becomes a stopover (and not just a connection) and so the availability for Heathrow to longhaul destination is searched for by the system as a standalone leg and no availability found.
I’d get the call centre to first find the flights with a less than 24hr gap then continue in same call and change the second flight (better than first flight if you can) to the more-than-24-hrs gap one you prefer. It just might stick or the operator might voluntarily override a failure.
Whilst calling mention your parents issues with walking and ask for the PNR to be noted as disabled passenger. May possibly help if early connection flights get cancelled nearer the time by BA and passengers moved across later flights in the day if BA doesn’t just cancel all connecting flights on your way back except the last one. As has been reported multiple times by passengers on HfP through the summer and possibly still going on.
Not sure how to pre-arrange assistance at airport as well but would consider it.
Thanks I’ll try the call centre. It’s technically not a 24 hour stop over I’m looking for it’s just an overnight connection ie landing at c7pm and flying out the next morning/early afternoon from LGW. And yes I already book them assistance which is a life saver.
Booking assistance at LGW for your parents sounds sensible. As you may know, some gates at LGW are a long walk from the flight connections area. One of the side effects of booking assistance should be being able to book seats for your parents without a fee, unless you are already able to do this through status. This can really make a difference for elderly passengers for several reasons. For instance a seat closer to the front can makes it easier to get on or off the plane, or an aisle seat could be useful for someone who someone who finds it difficult to get up out of their seat.
My experience with traffic delays on the National Express coaches between LHR and LGW isn’t nearly as positive as BAFlyer’s. It does tend to depend on the time of day.
Yes I already do with assistance and fortunate we book club so are at the front and comfortable for them as well. I’m silver too so get the free seat booking which is useful for helping them with bags etc. What time of day were the delays? My concern is the connection would be at 8/9am which I imagine is peak traffic time.
Sounds like the call centre might be the best bet though to see what they can do. Thanks all. Was hoping someone had come across it before and could’ve saved me the call if it wasn’t possible but will give it a go
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