[Anonymous]

[Bullfrog]

‘I’m always a great believer that the only thing worse than a wrong decision is indecision.’ So my dilemma is as follows :

I’m planning to fly Brive to LCY on Mon Sep 5 from where I need to get to New York. Fight is scheduled into LCY at 15.35, leaving only 25 minutes until the BA flight to JFK via Shannon.

I am currently holding an F ticket to Newark using BA miles ex LHR at 18.15.

Returning, I am departing Montreal Thursday September 8 on a different ticket in CW using BA miles, arriving LHR 09.15 Friday morning. This means an overnight stay in London which is fine so that I can return on the 08.00 ex LCY to Brive on Saturday September 10.

Feedback would be appreciated on the most suitable / least hassle route from LCY to LHR on Monday Sep 5 circa 4pm.

I am also debating on whether there is a more optimum routing for both flights, even if it is a paid ticket. I’d love to try the A318 BA service to JFK, but 25 mins connection on way out, 45 minute connection landing back at LCY if I route my YUL departure via JFK, and of course a ticket price circa £ 4500.

I looked at Open Skies one way to JFK ex Orly, as there is a flight from Brive to Orly. The one way fare was € 2,500.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

[StephenLondon]

Wow. It sounds like quite a stressful itinerary. That said, LCY check-in closes 20 mins prior to departure for JFK flights – would Brive to JFK be on one ticket? I use LCY-JFK often, and have seen pax rushed from Luxair onto LCY 8 mins prior to flight departure. You may get the same treatment provided they know you are coming.

Least hassle route from LCY to LHR would be by chauffeur car, but it wouldn’t be the fastest. You’ll need the DLR to Canning Town, change to Jubilee Line to Baker Street, cross the platform and take the Bakerloo Line to Paddington and take the Heathrow Express. That would be the fastest route, for which I’d leave two hours. Given conformance at T5, you’d be cutting it slightly fine for even your 18:15 EWR flight. Should your Brive flight be slightly late, you could be stuck for either the LCY or EWR flights.

What would your Orly connection time be on Openskies? Note they operate into EWR, not JFK. Should you have time, that routing – to me – would be the least hassle. It isn’t the best of the three products, but certainly is lovely enough. You could do BizSeat vs BizBed as it is a day-flight – that should be cheaper than 2,500EUR.

On the way back, transfers at LCY aren’t seamless. You have to go thru immigration, collect your bags and check-in for the Brive flight. The other day, we landed 25 mins early on the LCY service, and I was out of the airport 9 minutes later, including bags, which was impressive. But any delay at JFK, and you could be looking at trouble for your connection. Is Openskies an option for your return? You might get a better deal doing Openskies round-trip or doing BizSeat out and BizBed back.

Hope this helps.

[Bullfrog]

Thanks StephenLondon

Orly connection time is one hour.

My return routing is ex Montreal. Currently non stop to London in CW on a one way BA miles. It would give me 23 hours in London, so I could stay in my London home, before the next day flight LCY – Brive.

OpenSkies on the return via EWR and Orly is not that urgent. The return flight out on BizSeat and returning BizBed is quoting € 4,000.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

Bullfrog

I support Stephen’s comments, there is no easy/fast way to connect to Heathrow at that time.

IMHO, the best thing to do would be to adjust your travel from Brive and get to Heathrow, not City.

As an alternative to flyng, have you considered taking the train to Austerlitz and then connecting to CDG, using the RER C to St Michel and then the RER B?

Pain in the a** to take a 4 hour train ride from Brive, but taking the hit upfront might be preferable to hacking across London in the late afternoon.

[CallMeIshmael]

Bullfrog – LCY to LHR in an hour or so is risky as DoS and Stephen note. If you decided to try and are fairly light on luggage then I reckon limo bike will be quicker than DLR,Underground to Paddington for the15 min Express train ride to LHR.

http://www.virginlimobike.com

http://www.passengerbikes.com/luggage.html

[KeaneJohn]

Can you not play it by ear.?

I am sure that your Brive flight will arrive into LCY early. Head to the BA check in desk and see if there is space on the flight from LCY. They might just switch you over. You could try the lines of well I was wondering if it would help you by releasing a seat on the LHR route following disruptions due to Hurricane Irene.

[Bullfrog]

Thank you for all input to date.

Having just read about BA’s flexibility on another topic, I doubt an inflexible First Class ticket would be changed to the BA Club World service from LCY if the Brive flight lands early enough.

‘Perceived stress levels’ will be high enough in my quest to get to T5, and the last thing I would need is a few minutes queueing, followed by an unhelpful clerk. After all … my First Class ticket is inflexible.

[KeaneJohn]

If you get the Heathrow Express here is 25% for you or anybody else that is travelling in the next few days.

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/LandingPages/summer-sale-search-outbound?tid=summer28&gclid=CPSIh-7Y-qoCFaQmtAodJBg_Ig

[KSHaggag]

Hi BullFrog!

Let me tell you that I am a BIG fan of the Openskies product ..It is one of the most hassle free travel experiences you can ever have over the Atlantic ….a round trip fare in Biz seat from Orly to Newark should set you back with 1275 Euros ….all in all ,including all taxes and surcharges ..embarkation and disembarkation are like a breeze ..moreover u collect your luggage in minutes …..vs the dreadful wait upon getting off a B744 with 400 fellow travellers !!!…it does make a difference ..!it is also worth getting out of your way to fly them from ORY …..a hassle free airport ..not necessarily a beautiful ,elegant one but functional ………….

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