Flying Shanghai to Gatwick N -> Gatwick S to Dublin - advice for transfer

Supercell

My wife is flying back from China shortly and has never taken this particular route before and is anxious about the Gatwick North -> South transfer. the connecting Air China -> Aer Lingus flights are on 1:35 apart so its tight I feel.

My understanding is she needs to go through passport control (she has an Irish passport so not anticipating any difficulties there) in Gatwick North, exit the terminal and then take the ferry bus to the Terminal South, get her Aer Lingus boarding pass (not doable on this type of transfer apparently , at least it wasn't on the way out though Heathrow) and make her way to the departure area. Her luggage will be hand luggage as the her main bag will be checked through to Dublin.

Has anyone any advice on international to domestic flights though Gatwick like this?, specifically where there was a transfer between North and South terminals, does she basically need to run where possible? The Gatwick website indicates a 90 minute time is needed for this kind of transfer which is unbelievably tight for her if its accurate. She'll be arriving at 08:05 in Gatwick north on a Thursday assuming the flight from Shanghai is on time and her Aer Lingus to Dublin connecting flight is at 10:05.

Any tips/advice/comments welcome!!

Noxegon

Did you buy Shanghai->Dublin as a single ticket?

If you did, then the boarding passes should be provided in Shanghai.

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121597796#Comment_121597796

It was Dublin to Guangzhou on short notice due a family emergency so she went via Heathrow/Beijing on the way out (Heathrow was one terminal so easy enough for transfers and as she's Chinese by birth Beijing was straightforward for her) and will be via Shanghai/Gatwick on the way back. The Aer Lingus people in Dublin were very nice but said they couldn't give Air China passes for her outbound flight so assume on the way back the Air China ones wont give her Aer Lingus ones either.

gipi

Can she check in online via the Aer Lingus app?

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121598045#Comment_121598045

Nope, didnt work, we tried, seems like there isn't a close business link between the two airlines, though her baggage was tagged with Guangzhou on the way out so that part was grand thankfully. Aer Lingus staff were so nice and helpful at Dublin airport (we are not frequent fliers so i'm sure we asked them the same stuff they get asked a million times every day but they were brilliant), hope its the same on the way back with Air China for her.

Van.Bosch

It’s incredibly tight, I wouldn’t book a ticket like that but that’s no use to you now.

there are multiple Aer Lingus flights to Dublin so worst case she gets put into one of those (assuming there is an empty seat).

hopefully she makes it - the China flight could be early, but she just needs to make sure she is ready as soon as plane lands and then move quick. Gatwick have a priority passport control you can book, think it’s about 9GBP which could speed up any lines but with an Irish passport, doubt that will be an issue.

steve-o

It's a automated shuttle between the 2 terminals in Gatwick. It only takes a few minutes. Just follow the signs for the South Terminal

Marcusm

If her baggage is checked through, she should use flight connections and transfer airside between Gatwick North and Gatwick South. It should not be necessary for her to use the landside train between the terminals.

Supercell

So there is no flight Connection sign in Gatwick if they are North to South?( In Heathrow it was simply follow the purple transfer signs). She needs to basically exit North like fully outside and re-enter South?, no connection smoothness? Her first language is Chinese, I'm stressing a bit. Her English is good but she struggles with accents.

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121598580#Comment_121598580

Thanks Marcusm, Is there a flight connection (visual) link from North to South that she can follow once off her plane from Shanghai? In Heathrow she just followed the purple "Flight Connections" signs for example.. What do you mean by transfer airside? (we are not frequent fliers so apologies if this is a dummy question).

Van.Bosch

Airside means similar to Heathrow, she should be able to stay on the “air” side of the airport. This means behind security etc, so she shouldn’t have to go out through arrivals.

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121599259#Comment_121599259

I’m sorry that I may have misled you. It is a few years since I connected at Gatwick (used to live in London but transited to Dublin on many flights from Caribbean). It seems that Gatwick has permanently discontinued “airside” connections including buses between terminals and all connecting passengers have to “land” proceed through the border, baggage reclaim and customs proceeding in the little train between the terminals with everyone else. The historic position was a bus between terminals with a limited security and immigration check.

The new arrangement is much less passenger friendly and recommended minimum connection time is 90 minutes. That is very short for Gatwick, in my experience as security queues can be lengthy.

goingnowhere

To be clear UK rules require all passengers to reclear security on transfer unless they originated from a UK airport

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121600093#Comment_121600093

Thanks, sounds like basically no internal transfer, have a feeling I'll be booking a last minute Ryanair on the day so! Won't be selecting this route again.

goingnowhere

If its all one ticket

Luggage will be checked straight through to Dublin, cannot be collected and rechecked at Gatwick

Its all one ticket Aer Lingus is responsible to rebook her at no cost to the next available flight to Dublin if the connection is missed

If you can find the Aer Lingus check in reference starting with 2 you should be able to check in via the app 24 hours before departure. Air China might be able to issue the boarding card but this typically only works if the is a seat assigned on the Aer Lingus flight

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121600093#Comment_121600093

That’s true and if an airside transfer was available, this would require clearing security in the flight connections zone or in arrival from the other terminal via airside bus and as the final destinationnisnIreland, the passenger would need to progress through the Border Force check as well.

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121600147#Comment_121600147

It is all one ticket, that's good news about Aer Lingus having to rebook heri if the connection is missed. We'll see how it goes on the day, thanks for the advice.

Supercell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121600147#Comment_121600147

It is all one ticket, that's good news about Aer Lingus having to rebook her if the connection is missed. We'll see how it goes on the day, thanks for the advice. We were not able to book a seat on the Aer Lingus flights but were on the Air China ones.