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Positioning flights are something I write about quite often and I’ve recently written a post explaining what they are and why they’re useful so I won’t go into details again…but what follows should help anyone booking a positioning flight to Dublin.
Recently I flew back to LA from London and even though I was booked in Economy Class I used a positioning flight to Dublin to save some cash.
On this particular trip I was traveling with two pieces of checked baggage (that’s unusual for me) so I thought it was a good opportunity to find out how long it would take me to…
- Disembark
- Collect my bags
- Clear customs
- Check my bags in for my flight to LA
- Get through airport security and into the sanctuary of the lounge.
Quite simply I thought I’d find out how much time you have to leave between flights if you’re flying to Dublin with checked luggage and with the sole intention of catching another flight almost straight away.
My Experience
My British Airways flight from London to Dublin was scheduled to arrive at 10:00am and, despite a late departure, we pulled up to our gate 7 minutes early (9:53 am) only to be told that there was no jet bridge so we’d have to wait for a set of steps to be brought over.
Apparently things run quite efficiently in Dublin (Heathrow could learn!) because, despite being in row 12, I was off the aircraft 5 minutes later (9:58am) and walking the short walk to the terminal (there was a small minibus waiting for passengers in wheelchairs).
Immediately inside the terminal I had to make my way up one level and I had the option of the stairs or an elevator…..
…before following a meandering walkway to another set of stairs which went down one level to passport control (there was another elevator here too).
For passengers with EU passports immigration is an automated process at Dublin Airport and was reasonably speedy on my visit….
…but things were noticeably slower in the non-EU lane.
I was through passport control by 10:04am (11 minutes after we had pulled up to the gate) and following the signs to baggage reclaim and flight connections.
It’s a very short walk from immigration to baggage reclaim so I was at carousel 3 by 10:07am and some bags were already coming out!
My bags didn’t have priority labels on them but that didn’t appear to be an issue as neither did anyone else’s.
My First bag appeared on the carousel at 10:11am and my second (a set of golf clubs) appeared at 10:15am.
I had been reunited with all my baggage 22 minutes after we had pulled up to the gate….and that’s not bad at all.
I was through customs by 10:17am and that’s despite having to stop to make notes and to take pictures for this post (it’s not a very big terminal).
After exiting customs I could see a sign for the check in area and departures to my left….
….and further investigation revealed that there was an escalator and an elevator I could take up to the departures level.
With two bags I elected to take the elevator up one level…..
…..and, from there, it was a short walk to check-in area 4 (where you’ll find the British Airways desks) – I was there by 10:21am.
There were two people ahead of me in the priority line (one was already being served)…..
…and there weren’t all that many more passengers in the non-priority line.
I had checked-in online in advance of all my flights that day but I still had to drop off my bags – I was being served by 10:28am.
After parting with my suitcase I had to drop my golf bag off at the oversize luggage station (which was no more than 30 seconds walk away) but I was still heading through the fast track lane by 10:32am.
Fast Track security at Dublin Airport was friendly and efficient and I was through to the duty free area and heading for the lounge by 10:36am (I’ll post a review of the lounge in the next few days).
From arriving at the gate to clearing security for my return flight took 43 minutes…and that was with checked-baggage.
My return flight to London wasn’t scheduled to depart until 12:55pm so I had plenty of time to relax and catch up on some work in the lounge before I was on the move again.
Bottom Line
I probably walk a little faster than most, I had access to the priority lane at check-in and I had access to Fast Track security too so take all those things in to account when deciding how long it may take you if you’re doing the same trip.
I’ve positioned through Dublin Airport a few times before (with and without checked baggage) and I’ve always found it to be an easy place to pass through when heading straight back to the UK.
Naturally there will probably be days when the weather is worse and timings are off so your experience may vary from mine….but overall there really isn’t much to be worried about if you plan to position through Dublin Airport.
Featured image courtesy of Wiki Commons Media
So there is a flight from Dublin to LA that is either quicker or cheaper or both than flying direct London to LA?
In this case definitely not quicker but definitely cheaper. I flew LHR-DUB-LHR-LAX-LHR for approx $250 less than LHR-LAX-LHR.