Orlando with Expedia flight stop over change

Ginger_Nut

Hi all, I've done a search can't get an answer.

I booked a package deal through expedia (flight, hotel and car). However on the booking they did not make it clear that there would be a change of airport on the way home. Our flight lands into Gatwick at 08.35 with Virgin and we are expected to make our own way to Heathrow to get the return Aer lingus flight to Dublin at 12.00. To say i'm panicked about this is an understatement.
I rang expedia to ask could the flight be changed and they said there would be a £300 charge as well as the flight difference. I'm enraged with this. They did not make any of this clear at the time of booking!

Will I make the return flight?

Also will I have to pay for baggage with Aer Lingus?

When I rang about the baggage the agent with expedia said they would transfer them but how is this possible on the return flight when there is a change of airports?

Bannerman7

This is common when you book with Expedia, Lastminute etc.. :mad:
The price might seem good but you end up arriving in a major airport & fly out of a different airport in the same city.
I can only suggest you contact the airlines you will be flying with & have your Expedia confirmation to hand & hopefully all your questions will be answered.

iusedtoknow

I don't know about the baggage (however if it is on the same booking you shouldn't have to pay), but that connection is pretty tight. There are a lot of holiday flights coming in at that time so there will be a bit of a wait at the border.

The journey from Heathrow to Gatwick is c75 minutes (and 25 pounds per person!) on the national express bus, either that or get a car service (if there is a few of you it might be worth it). I've had to do it three times coming back to the US (transiting in from Spain) and each time I've had to get the next flight to SF. At least with Aer Lingus, if you miss your 1200, they will put you on the next one.

Ginger_Nut

Thanks for your replies.
I rang Aer Lingus and they said that they have a deal with Virgin so there should be no further baggage costs.
What annoyed me when booking was it never displayed at any stage that there would be a change of airport. It just said outbound Dublin - Orlando Connect in London (LGW) and return Orlando Dublin Connect in London (LHR).
It wasn't until it was booked and I got the confirmation email that it had in red writing "Note: arriving London, England, UK (LGW-Gatwick) departing London, England, UK (LHR-Heathrow) "
There was no mention of it before. I just presumed the flight home from orlando was to Heathrow and there was no way to check that it wasn't!!
So frustrated and annoyed!!

I have never booked with Expedia before (and never will again)! They have only sent me a confirmation email. Am I suppose to check in online or anything?

Dave1442397

Ginger_Nut wrote: »

Thanks for your replies.
Am I supposed to check in online or anything?

Yes, you should have a confirmation code for your itinerary. You should be able to check in online 24 hours prior to your flight.

It's sometimes cheaper to pay for luggage when you check in online than when you check in at the airport (depends on the airline), so that's also worth looking into.

endofrainbow

Ginger Nut - when you were booking the flights, was there a drop down option to say *flight details* ?

with regard to checking in online, you should have a reference number that will allow you to do it. It should give you boarding passes for both flights. You will not have to pay for bags at olci as you have already paid.

I would double check the transfer of bags from LHR to LGW as I dont see this is feasible.

Ginger_Nut

Just to update this.
I had a great holiday!!
On the way home they weren't able to send the bags straight to Dublin so I had to pick them up in LHR and bring them to LGW myself.
The flight was delayed by several things on the way over and had to circle the airport before we could land, delayed taxing up the runway etc. etc.!
Anyways we missed our bus to LGW but there was no problem at all getting on the next bus... which also got delayed. So needless to say we missed our flight!
When we got there aer lingus were very helpful. Put us on the next available flight, only had 1.5 hr wait and even checked in our hand luggage for free. We had two large suitcases and 2 cabin bags!!
I was very impressed and couldn't believe all the stress I put myself under for nothing!