Man-lhr-lgw

[WendyWilson]

We have flights booked on this route in August and DH has started tracking them (already ). A couple of times the MAN-LHR flight has been late by an hour or more which would mean we wouldn't make the connection at LGW if this happened on our travel day. [There are 3 hours between flights which I know is a very tight connection - but the flights were v cheap, booked & paid for so we can't change them].

My question is, if the MAN-LHR was delayed and BA know this is going to be the case on the day whilst we are still at MAN, is it feasible they try and put us on another connection (not necessarily via LHR/LGW) or would they still put us on the MAN-LHR flight so we'd still have to make our way to LGW then they may try and put us on the pm flight to MCO. I know it's a lots of ifs, buts and maybes but I'm trying to cover all eventualities

Thanks in advance.

[srh]

We are also flying the same route in August.

We phoned BA and expressed our concern about the short transfer time.
We are now doing the Man to LHR leg the day before and spending the night at Gatwick.

Is this something you could do?

[WendyWilson]

How have you managed to do that? What did BA have to say? Did they offer to change the flights for free or did it cost a lot to change the MAN-LHR to the night before?

[brummymummy]

We did the route at Easter, we had 3 1/2 hours I booked a taxi in between and we made it without rushing after waiting ages for our luggage (or it felt ages)

BA would expect you to go to lgw and if you missed your connection they would sort out onward travel. Man-hrw really is a short flight though as soon as your up your landing again I think the actual flight time was around 1/2hr.

[POFQfan]

Originally Posted by srh

We are also flying the same route in August.

We phoned BA and expressed our concern about the short transfer time.
We are now doing the Man to LHR leg the day before and spending the night at Gatwick.

Is this something you could do?

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This is the route we did at Easter. It was great - flew Man - LHR on Saturday, got a private transfer to Gatwick (cheaper than three tickets on the bus), stayed over at the Premier Inn and flew direct to Orlando the next morning. Tickets were £811 for three of us as it looked like a long connection so was actually perfect! Would happily do it again.

[Peko]

As you say, there are a lot of variables here, and if delayed the outcome will depend on when a delay happens, how long it is, and the loads on the various alternate flights.

You could of course try to change the flights as the above poster has done, but if there are at least 3 hours between the scheduled arrival time of MAN-LHR and the scheduled departure time of LGW-MCO, the airline is not obliged to change this for free. It is makeable, but with checked bags the minimum could be a bit tight, depending on baggage delivery time and traffic.

If you are delayed and it is obvious while still in MAN that you won’t make the connection, the most likely options are:

1. Get rebooked on a flight from MAN (on AA) to another US gateway, connecting there to MCO.
2. Get rebooked on a connection to another US gateway from LHR, with a further onward connection to MCO.
3. Get rebooked on the later flight from LGW-MCO, as it appears you are on the earlier flight of two that day.

Being rebooked via DUB is another possibility. The chosen option will depend on how busy the alternative flights are, and how close to your original arrival time you can reach MCO. Of course, if the extent of the delay does not become clear until you get to LHR, option 1 disappears.

[srh]

We phoned and it was changed free.

Not sure if it makes a difference that we booked a fly drive or that there are 7 of us and quite a lot to re route.

[mickey99]

We've booked this for August but opted for the later flight to mco, currently sat in MCO awaiting virgin to manc which was diverted to Miami