HELP - my friend is booked SYD-LHR-DUB and return with some issues

[luxury-lizard]

Help - a friend is travelling to Dublin for a family emergency - (departing this Friday and returning Dec 5) - due to the crazy business class flights she's opted for PE. The best price by far was on BA - I found the fights for her online but then she decided to let her adult son book it.

So now there are a couple of issues with her itinerary:-

• Her connection time in LHR is 70 minutes - will be a stretch but arrival and departure is both terminal 5 - I told her BA just put her on the next flight to DUB - there are plenty. Correct?
• Her return flight from DUB to London goes to the City Airport - cripes how could the son make this mistake (I warned him via an e-mail). Can any one tell me how this would work (i.e. is luggage checked through, presumably she need to clear immigration, etc) Is 3 hours sufficient ? she will book a car and driver.

Note trying to make any changes online result in a re-pricing of the whole ticket increasing the price by $1500.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Both of those things sound fraught with danger.

A 70 minute connection at T5 is doable if everything goes according to plan.
If not you are correct though and BA will put her on the next flight to DUB.

3 hours from LCY to LHR is also doable. Luckily there is no immigration for flights from Ireland. It’s just the same as Domestic arrivals. Land get bags and transfer in car.
I do not think the baggage will be transferred to LHR but others who have done this will hopefully chime in.

Again this booking is also protected if something goes wrong.

 

[puchu]

She will need to bring her own bags from LCY to LHR

 

[andye]

Agree with above
Taxi from LCY should take about 75 mins so would be tight but doable. Don't think that there is a straightforward train option. Shame the Elizabeth line doesn't give a direct connection

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Agree with above
Taxi from LCY should take about 75 mins so would be tight but doable. Don't think that there is a straightforward train option. Shame the Elizabeth line doesn't give a direct connection

I was thinking a connection from LCY DLR to Elizabeth line? Dunno how long that will take, but at least no traffic issues.

To the OP… any way you can change the ticket? Maybe calling BA would get them to make the change once they see the LCY connection?

 

[luxury-lizard]

@MEL_Traveller - there is no way my friend would take public transport in a "strange" (ie unfamiliar) city - will need to be taxi or car & driver. She is very 'frazzled' due to family issue.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

@MEL_Traveller - there is no way my friend would take public transport in a "strange" (ie unfamiliar) city - will need to be taxi or car & driver. She is very 'frazzled' due to family issue.

Understand… maybe try the change of ticket option?

 

[luxury-lizard]

online ticket change re-priced the whole ticket upwards by $1500 - well these are the times we live in.

 

[Sprucegoose]

@MEL_Traveller - there is no way my friend would take public transport in a "strange" (ie unfamiliar) city - will need to be taxi or car & driver. She is very 'frazzled' due to family issue.

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Here's an option at £100 circa, which from my experience of the City and private transport is quite reasonable.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

online ticket change re-priced the whole ticket upwards by $1500 - well these are the times we live in.

Maybe that’s why the connection was booked via LCY to start!

 

[Daver6]

DLR and Elizabeth line are by far the best option. I would be much more stressed going by car and hoping for the best with traffic,

Although these days with train and tube strikes happening the former option call fall in a heap too.

 

[luxury-lizard]

Totally understand your comment @Daver6 - it will be peak hour on a Monday. But trains aren't easy when you are lugging a large suitcase and hand luggage (particularly for a very petite older lady).

 

[andye]

Elizabeth also doesn't go to T5 so the quickest train route would probably involve an additional change at Paddington for the Heathrow Express.

 

[luxury-lizard]

I don't know London at all but what about taxi to Paddington then Heathrow express - would not be cheapest but maybe a bit easier and faster ....

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Elizabeth also doesn't go to T5 so the quickest train route would probably involve an additional change at Paddington for the Heathrow Express.

It does now, apparently! (go to T5) I think the services are slightly less frequent than other terminals though.

 

[andye]

It does now, apparently! (go to T5) I think the services are slightly less frequent than other terminals though.

My bad at not being up to date
Looking at the Transport for London journey planner, all trips from LCY to T5 would require 2 changes and sometimes modest walks.
There are some delays on the Elizabeth Line currently so times don't look any quicker than by car (might be a bit cheaper)
A taxi to Paddington wouldn't save any time either

 

[drron]

It does now, apparently! (go to T5) I think the services are slightly less frequent than other terminals though.

The Elizabeth line has a stop at T3. When we went in August every second train terminated there, the others went on to T5.

 

[Daver6]

Elizabeth also doesn't go to T5 so the quickest train route would probably involve an additional change at Paddington for the Heathrow Express.

It does now. Every second train goes to T5.

I don't know London at all but what about taxi to Paddington then Heathrow express - would not be cheapest but maybe a bit easier and faster ....

There would still be lugging a bag around Paddington station. Also, given Paddington is right in the middle of London, not sure how that would go with a taxi either. Might not actually be any quicker than just taking a taxi directly to LHR. I suggest using Google maps and selecting travel times to get an idea of traffic.

It does now, apparently! (go to T5) I think the services are slightly less frequent than other terminals though.

Correct. Every second train.

 

[dajop]

I’m normally an advocate of public transport as it tends to be more predictable but for someone with luggage who doesn’t have confidence in navigating the system, one wrong turn during a connection could add a lot of time. Definitely wise to favour the vehicle transport .

The only other suggestion is to arrive at Dublin a good hour and a half in advance of an earlier flight to LHR and ask nicely at checkin if they could reroute to LHR to avoid changing airports. They’ll almost certainly say no or want to charge a humongous amount extra, but no harm in at least asking (assuming there are humans helping with checkin at Dublin). Worst case stuck with Plan A.