Indirect Flight Dublin - Gatwick - MCO. Advice please.

[Hodkys]

HI folks, we are 2A and 3C going back to WDW in August and flying indirect from Dublin. (On all previous trips we have flown direct from and to Manchester, but the cost of flights was too good to miss). Leave on the 7.35am flight from Dublin, land at Gatwick Terminal S at 9.05am and are on the 11.20am Virgin flight from Terminal S to MCO. We have reserved PE seats both ways. A few queries:

1. Has anyone else flown this route and has any advice?
2. Have been told we can check bags straight through to MCO when we check in at Dublin. Given the timings - is this safest option (thinking of a couple of cabin suitcases with a couple of days' clothing - just in case)? Part of me wants to collect suitcases and check-in with VA. Is this possible and how do we do this?
3. We've been told we can pick up our boarding cards for both flights when check-in at Dublin. (We have booked the whole journey using e-travel). Can anyone confirm?
4. Any other tips for making the transfer as easy as possible?
5. We are returning from MCO to Manchester and will not be making the onward flight to Dublin, so do we just check in at the VA desk for our Manchester flight only and tell them we are collecting the cases at Manchester? Therefore they will just issue boarding cards for the Manchester flight?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Woodview]

How are you travelling to Dublin ?

Which Terminal ?

Just make sure of the Checked Luggage weight . between carriers.

Your Luggage at Dublin ( Maybe in Manchester ) should be checked through to MCO.

You will have no duty free into or out of Dublin .

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

Virgin may not be able or willing to only check your bags in as far as Manchester on your way back assuming that your ticket is for Orlando to Manchester then Manchester to Dublin.
Ex EU flights as your routing is, has been a well known way of paying significantly less for transatlantic flights (Especially business & first class) on BA for years, but dropping the last leg of the journey on the way home has never been that straightforward & requires a degree of planning.
Airlines have got wise to people doing this & I know that BA are now actively refusing to part check in people on the way back to the UK & there have been reports of them invoking clauses in the T & C’s on the tickets to recalculate the cost of the flights if the last legs of the journey are not taken & then charging the extra to the card that was used to book the flights, they are also targeting travel agents who book these flights for their clients & who subsequently fail to take the last flight.
I’m not saying that Virgin will refuse to only check you in to Manchester but they are within their rights to do so.

I assume that your flights have cost significantly less than if you’d flown direct to & from the UK, partly down to lower departure taxes because you started your journey in Ireland but also because Virgin have charged less for the ticket to encourage passengers to fly indirectly to the UK.
If you were flying back into Gatwick & then transferring to say Heathrow for your next flight, then your bags would only be tagged as far as Gatwick & you would have to pick them up to clear customs & then make your way to Heathrow for your next flight.
If you “Fail to turn up” at Heathrow & the airline subsequently chases you on why you didn’t take it, all you have to say is that you got stuck in traffic & missed it.
Flying back into Manchester & having another flight booked leaving from the same airport on the same ticket could make it very difficult for you to explain why you only want your bags checked in to the first destination.
If you are up front about why you want to do it, the check-in person may take pity on you but you may find that the ticketing / check-in system will not allow you to do this.

Fingers crossed that you don’t have issues but please be aware that there is a chance so plan accordingly.

 

[Hodkys]

Thanks for the reply

Its worth saying we didnt book the end to end journey with VA. The travel agent booked us

Dublin to Gatwick - Aer Lingus
Gatwick to MCO - Virgin

MCO to MCR - Virgin
MCR to Dublin - Aer Lingus

Thanks

 

[chmurf]

Its worth saying we didnt book the end to end journey with VA. The travel agent booked us

Dublin to Gatwick - Aer Lingus
Gatwick to MCO - Virgin

MCO to MCR - Virgin
MCR to Dublin - Aer Lingus

doesn't make a difference re: short checking the bags.

at MCO Virgin will check your bags through to Dublin. You're not getting them back in Manchester.
Virgin will refuse to short check them to Manchester as it's against their policies. Worst case scenario if you're honest with them and tell them you get off in MAN, they can change your booking, and ask you to pay the real fare (for the day of), for your real trip, which would, of course, be very expensive. (you may get a sympathetic agent, but don't count on that, the system will print a DUB luggage tag)


so, unless the MAN-DUB flight is on a separate ticket, or part of a multi city itinerary (for example fly MCO-MAN one day, then MAN-DUB the next day) you're not getting your checked luggage at Manchester, and you'll need to fly to Dublin

the only ways to do what you describe at point #5 is to fly without checked luggage, OR have an overnight layover OR connect at different airports (example, MCO-LGW then LHR-DUB) in this case you collect bags at LGW and have to transfer with them to LHR.

99% chance you'll need to fly to Dublin.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

doesn't make a difference re: short checking the bags.

at MCO Virgin will check your bags through to Dublin. You're not getting them back in Manchester.
Virgin will refuse to short check them to Manchester as it's against their policies. Worst case scenario if you're honest with them and tell them you get off in MAN, they can change your booking, and ask you to pay the real fare (for the day of), for your real trip, which would, of course, be very expensive. (you may get a sympathetic agent, but don't count on that, the system will print a DUB luggage tag)


so, unless the MAN-DUB flight is on a separate ticket, or part of a multi city itinerary (for example fly MCO-MAN one day, then MAN-DUB the next day) you're not getting your checked luggage at Manchester, and you'll need to fly to Dublin

the only ways to do what you describe at point #5 is to fly without checked luggage, OR have an overnight layover OR connect at different airports (example, MCO-LGW then LHR-DUB) in this case you collect bags at LGW and have to transfer with them to LHR.

99% chance you'll need to fly to Dublin.

I thought as much "chmurf".
Better the OP knows this now, than end up in Dublin with no flight booked back to Manchester.

 

[Elise79]

I agree as well to get the cheaper fare it will have been booked on one ticket even though you have two airlines involved (which is just as well with the short connection at LGW).

They may short check the bags but they are within their rights to check them all the way to DUB.

The other issue is if anything happens to the VA flight they can put you on any reasonable route to get you to your final destination which is DUB. They don't have to get you to MAN.

Its a chance you take when you book flights like this. For us it isn't worth the hassle or the extra days leave required.

 

[Woodview]

The OP has not given the Info. on how they are getting to Dublin in the first place .

A 7.35 am flight From Dublin to Gatwick needs at least 45 min to change planes .

Aer Lingus is in Terminal 2 & RyanAir ... if that is the airline they are using , is in Terminal 1

They may have to Re enter security ( Not sure ) & have new boarding cards

The other way of travelling from Manchester to Dublin is by Coach ( Bus ) & then a bus to the Airport.

 

[MarkE83]

Where are you from? To me, this seems like a terrible idea- you can fly direct from Dublin to Orlando with Aer Lingus, and it's pretty cheap. If you're from Manchester, and wanted an indirect to save money, I'd have done Manchester - Dublin- Orlando.

Are you flying from Manchester to Dublin first? Who has arranged that for you?

 

[saintrob]

I fully understand why you've taken this route. We've saved thousands by booking the ex-Dub route in summer. We're travelling DUB-LHR-LAX. I've then booked an internal flight to MCO. The linked itinerary starts again with MCO-MAN-DUB however I've booked the Dublin flight for the next day so that we can collect the bags in Manchester.

We travel to Dublin initially on a separate Ryanair flight from Liverpool for £25 each and have all other flights with Virgin in upper class for approx £900 each! We're staying overnight in London but it's a small price to pay. Three UC flights from MAN -MCO were coming out at approx £7300 and that's without factoring in a leg to LA. It's a no brainer for us.

I have six weeks holiday in summer so the extra days aren't an inconvenience. Whether I'd choose this route during Christmas/Easter - I'm not sure but there's been some great prices for both UC and PE.

I doubt very much that you'll get your bags at Manchester although I have heard of people travelling to Manchester with Virgin who have managed to do this. Have you got transport back to Manchester?

 

[tinkerpea]

I was told very strictly when I asked this past wk with Virgin
As we was going to do the same leg, as even with the flight to dublin, it was saving us around £600 might not sound much but it was great for us.
However virgin told me they would not give us our luggage back in Manchester, or Gatwick when we looked at that flight.
So......
The only way that we could do it would be to book the flight that wants us to change from Gatwick to Heathrow! And this is what we're now looking at. Although our dates are finally coming up reasonable now so we may not do the in-direct option.

I must say that I didn't know all this until I posted on here, ans was told about them not letting us have the luggage or getting charged,
and then I checked with the virgin too.

 

[tinkerpea]

Can anyone on this thread answer, this for me please.
I know we would have to change airports on the way bk and have found a flight which wants us to do this. That way we just wouldn't get on the plane at Heathrow.
However? Can it work the other way?
Can I not get the plane from dublin to Heathrow, and just check in at Gatwick for the Gatwick-mco part.
Could I say I missed my flight, so arranged other means of getting from dublin to Heathrow then to Gatwick.
Hope this isn't to confusing haha

 

[Elise79]

If you miss any leg the rest of the ticket is cancelled.

If you book a ticket that starts in Dublin you need to take that first flight.

 

[ABZDisneyFan]

Can anyone on this thread answer, this for me please.
I know we would have to change airports on the way bk and have found a flight which wants us to do this. That way we just wouldn't get on the plane at Heathrow.
However? Can it work the other way?
Can I not get the plane from dublin to Heathrow, and just check in at Gatwick for the Gatwick-mco part.
Could I say I missed my flight, so arranged other means of getting from dublin to Heathrow then to Gatwick.
Hope this isn't to confusing haha

If you do not take the first flight your whole ticket will be cancelled.

 

[chmurf]

I know we would have to change airports on the way bk and have found a flight which wants us to do this. That way we just wouldn't get on the plane at Heathrow.
However? Can it work the other way?
Can I not get the plane from dublin to Hea

The 2 posters above are correct. If you don't board the flight in Dublin, your ticket is cancelled, you'd be denied boarding in London

For the way back, remember that your airline has only agreed to fly you from orlando to dublin. They have no obligation to make a stop in london.
If for any reason, your MCO-LGW is cancelled or otherwise rerouted, they will fly you to dublin.
You could be rebooked on an orlando-manchester-dublin for example, or you could be rebooked on a orlando-heathrow-dublin without an airport change, or even be rebooked on an orlando-dublin direct.
In all such cases you're going to dublin, ... your bags will anyway.
The odds of this happening are slim, but if booking an hidden city itinerary saves money, it's always wise to make sure there is enough on budget to book a one way ticket back home in case you finally end up where your ticket was supposed to get you to. Especially after the bank account has been sucked dry by a little Mouse and you find yourself stranded in an Irish airport on a bank holiday or a weekend

 

[tinkerpea]

The 2 posters above are correct. If you don't board the flight in Dublin, your ticket is cancelled, you'd be denied boarding in London

For the way back, remember that your airline has only agreed to fly you from orlando to dublin. They have no obligation to make a stop in london.
If for any reason, your MCO-LGW is cancelled or otherwise rerouted, they will fly you to dublin.
You could be rebooked on an orlando-manchester-dublin for example, or you could be rebooked on a orlando-heathrow-dublin without an airport change, or even be rebooked on an orlando-dublin direct.
In all such cases you're going to dublin, ... your bags will anyway.
The odds of this happening are slim, but if booking an hidden city itinerary saves money, it's always wise to make sure there is enough on budget to book a one way ticket back home in case you finally end up where your ticket was supposed to get you to. Especially after the bank account has been sucked dry by a little Mouse and you find yourself stranded in an Irish airport on a bank holiday or a weekend

That's what I thought,
Its fine we was planning on a few days in Ireland before we fly. So going doesn't bother me too much,
If we do decide to take this ticket, then I will take my chances with the who re-route right now it's only saving us around £50pp which isn't worth the inconvenience anymore and I will be flying to dublin.
If we land in Gatwick and change airports I'll just say we missed our flight.
And we will be able to go home from Gatwick instead of London.
Its flying with Virgin that I'm looking at.
At some of the direct flights for our dates are coming in at under £400 so we wouldn't bother with dublin

 

[Woodview]

Tinkerpea

You are thinking of staying a few days in Ireland .

Then buy a return flight from your home Departure date , 2 days before expected travel date to Orlando , AND

Return Date a few Hours After you arrive Back in Dublin from Orlando .

Ryanair & Aer Lingus or Ryanair and an airline going direct to USA & indirect to Orlando .

You would go through immigration & Customs in Dublin