[George M]

Hi FF'ers,

First time poster - be gentle.

I am currently booked using QF FF points PER to Dublin via SNG LHR & Gatwick using 56,00pts and have paid about AUD$120 taxes etc.

I have to transfer from Heathrow to Gatwick using the Heathrow Express which is going to cost me about £15 and take me about 5 hours! Yuk!

I can get a BMI flight from Heathrow to Dublin for about £27+taxes which leaves Heathrow about 1hr after I arrive there and gets me into Dublin 3 hours earlier.

Dilemma: Should I officially cancel my LHR to Dublin leg and incur the 5,000 point penalty for changing my booking? Will I incur such a penalty? Or should/can I just not turn up at Gatwick?

[Dave Noble]

The Heathrow Express does not operate from Heathrow to Gatwick

The best way to Gatwick is by coach; they operate every 15 minutes and take about 50-60 minutes

I would not try booking a flight to DUB 1 hr after arriving from PER since 1 hour is not a sensible time to leave to connect between T4 and T1 and since you would be on a separate ticket BMI would be under no obligation at all to rebook you onto a later flight if you miss it plus since it is outside the minimum connecting time, I would not be surprised if QF are unable to check your bags through to the flight

Dave

[NM]

Also note that if you do not make the change (and incur the 5000 point fee), and you fail to board the LGW-DUB flight, then you are likely to find the airlines will automatically cancel the remainder of your itinerary, meaning you may be stuck in DUB with no ticket home.

Either make the change or fly as arranged. But as Dave noted above, 1hr is not sufficient for an inter-terminal connection at Heathrow.

[odoherty]

Originally Posted by NM

Also note that if you do not make the change (and incur the 5000 point fee), and you fail to board the LGW-DUB flight, then you are likely to find the airlines will automatically cancel the remainder of your itinerary, meaning you may be stuck in DUB with no ticket home.

I read it as being that the LGW-DUB is the last flight.
If this is correct, then it doesnt matter if you fail to board.
But, if you have other flights in the intinerary, then you need to take the flight or incur the 5000 point fee.

[NM]

Originally Posted by odoherty

I read it as being that the LGW-DUB is the last flight.
If this is correct, then it doesnt matter if you fail to board.
But, if you have other flights in the intinerary, then you need to take the flight or incur the 5000 point fee.

I think you must be correct there. Since the OP mentioned it cost 56,000 points, then that would be for a one-way PER-SIN-LON-DUB ticket. So long as there is no return ticket on the same itinerary, there is no risk to the ticket being cancelled.

Personally I would still plan to take the trip as booked since the BMI option is under the minimum connection time for inter-terminal transit at Heathrow.

Oh for the good old days when the coach trip was free for people with connecting flights. When I used it back in 1999 the trip took about an hour and the connecting flight boarding pass was sufficient to get a free ticket for the b*s. But things are different now .

[George M]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I take the point about the minimum connection times between flights. I think I will not take the risk and just stick with my original booking.

My LGW-DUB is the last leg of that booking. But I have another booking - under a different booking number - that is LHR-HK-PER about six weeks later. I wonder if they would have retaliated on the latter booking if I was a 'no-show' on the earlier booking?

[Lindsay Wilson]

No, they are two separate award bookings, no correlation between the two. You're protected. Still, better to take the original flight (and not spend any more money). I wouldn't like your chances to make the unprotected BD connection anyway...

[Kiwi Flyer]

I agree - the BD option is risky. Separate tickets so no protection. What if inbound is delayed? Wouldn't take much to miss the flight and IIRC there is a possible long walk between gates and security in the transfer.