Which Gate?

Does V-Flyer keep statistics on departure/arrival gates or is there a way to see scheduled departure gates for a flight on the day of departure?

Thanks...

You'll only be able to see the gates at the actual airport in the UK - some other airports abroad might show more info on their websites.

It's a little more common over here, if you go to most flight status pages for US airlines they will show gate info sometimes quite a bit ahead of time. It is subject to variation, of course, and it's funny that you might not have that info on a boarding pass you have. I often connect in Chicago or Denver, get my boarding pass in SF, which won't show the gate for the connection, but I can usually find it online. I'd say the info is accurate about 4 out of 5 times.

Stats might be meaningful at a terminal like the United one in San Francisco or LA, since gate size, ability to get into and out of the gates themselves, and other factors dictate where the planes can park, and since plane types tend to stick to routes, this will often profile where you will fly out of gate-wise. Doesn't work all that well with other airports. In LHR there are some regularities: in T1 for sure, BMI and UA seem to use the same gates quite regularly, and with A380s in T3 you also have a restricted number of gates they can fly out of).

VS flights in LHR were always a bit all over T3 for me, though very rarely departing from 13-22; I don't think I flew out of those gates more than once or twice, they seemed to serve primarily AA and UA, now maybe AA and BA.

MarkedMan - you need to take VS19 - I have gone from 17-22 my last 5 trips out here (all this year ...)

VS flights in LHR were always a bit all over T3 for me, though very rarely departing from 13-22; I don't think I flew out of those gates more than once or twice, they seemed to serve primarily AA and UA, now maybe AA and BA.

VS now currently operate the majority of their flights from gates 13-22 - it is now very rare (although it occasionally does happen) to get a gate elsewhere in T3. AA hardly use these gates anymore and I've yet to see a BA flight board from there.

[mitchja]

It's also quite rare for the gate number to be actually printed on boarding passes when you depart from LHR.

Just checked my boarding card stubs and all the ex-LHR flights just have '****' as the gate number.

Obviously gates at LHR are assigned to A/C at the last minute. I have also been departing from gates 13-22 for the last few of my VS flights.

The gates won't usually be on the boarding cards because usually at check-in you won't know which gate the aircraft will be coming in on, and even if you do it can change for whatever reason which could then cause confusion for the majority of non-seasoned travellers. Also it can be a case of not bothering to put the gate number in the check-in system to print out on the boarding card.

MarkedMan - you need to take VS19 - I have gone from 17-22 my last 5 trips out here (all this year ...)

You're quite right - and I miss it. Unfortunately I haven't taken a VS flight in well over a year ...

When UA's Red Carpet Club was located where the BA lounges are now, it seemed like it was mostly US airlines using those gates. I liked the new single digit gates, disliked the higher numbered gates, and the open ones right at the end were usually a bit of a mess. So the change is good, and 13-22 gates are also a lot closer to the CH than any of the others, right?

Which was my main point for asking the question. Basically, is there really a need to leave CH at first Call, 55 mins prior to flight when flying UC? Last flight from lhr on overseas on vs was in january, so has slipped my mind.

Thanks for replies and interesting Reading...

[honey lamb]

Which was my main point for asking the question. Basically, is there really a need to leave CH at first Call, 55 mins prior to flight when flying UC? Last flight from lhr on overseas on vs was in january, so has slipped my mind.

Thanks for replies and interesting Reading...

Oh definitely not! The recommendation here is at first call you order a mojito and leave after the second call. There are at least two other calls after first call.

I've sometimes left at second call only to find boarding has only just commenced - so no rush!

Great, it is an evening flight, so a mojito is certainly ón the radar!

.. Basically, is there really a need to leave CH at first Call,

I think it all comes down to personal preference. There are those that are happy to stay in the CH enjoying a last champers (or mojito if you like that sort of thing) until the very last minute then march to the gate and board feeling the closing door on their rear.

But there are others who prefer a more leasurly stroll to the gate with time to board and get themselves sorted into their suite and maybe even change in to their 'flight wear' so leave at 1st call

Personally I'm some where in the middle - using 1st call to order a last drink, nip to freshen up and gather stuff together then start the walk to the gate at 2nd call.

The gates won't usually be on the boarding cards because usually at check-in you won't know which gate the aircraft will be coming in on, and even if you do it can change for whatever reason which could then cause confusion for the majority of non-seasoned travellers. Also it can be a case of not bothering to put the gate number in the check-in system to print out on the boarding card.

I don't get this for VS, with a small fleet, set rotation (unless something goes awry), and turnarounds of 3/4 hrs at LHR, most planes are at their gate when most passengers check in. So I assume it's either a quirk of VS or T3.

Which was my main point for asking the question. Basically, is there really a need to leave CH at first Call, 55 mins prior to flight when flying UC?

Unfortunately, VS's gate to clubhouse co-ordination is sometimes so chaotic that my advise is to never leave on first call. I've left the clubhouse after my mojito and last call on numerous occasions to find boarding hasn't even started. In which circumstances the 16-22 gates are the worst places to be at Heathrow!

[honey lamb]

The gates won't usually be on the boarding cards because usually at check-in you won't know which gate the aircraft will be coming in on, and even if you do it can change for whatever reason which could then cause confusion for the majority of non-seasoned travellers. Also it can be a case of not bothering to put the gate number in the check-in system to print out on the boarding card.

I don't get this for VS, with a small fleet, set rotation (unless something goes awry), and turnarounds of 3/4 hrs at LHR, most planes are at their gate when most passengers check in. So I assume it's either a quirk of VS or T3.

I don't think it's a quirk of VS or T3. I've just looked at my last boarding pass from EI where the check-in agent handwrote "Gates 77-84" on it. In the past it used to read Gates 80-90 so one hovered somewhere in the middle of that ghastly tube waiting to see where the plane would end up. It's probably a LHR thing. It's not as if they don't know well in advance. They do. I arrived at the departure gates early for an EI flight and heard the security people at the entrance to the area discussing the afternoon flights and which flight was going to which gate

[Neil]

I always thought the reason why they didn't put the gate numbers on the boarding passes was because they wanted people to hang around in the main terminal area with the food/shops for you to spend money in, rather than heading up to the gate area early. The gate areas at LHR are quite small, with no real refreshment facilities or staff until close to boarding time.

I always thought the reason why they didn't put the gate numbers on the boarding passes was because they wanted people to hang around in the main terminal area with the food/shops for you to spend money in, rather than heading up to the gate area early. The gate areas at LHR are quite small, with no real refreshment facilities or staff until close to boarding time.

That makes sense to me y)

I always thought the reason why they didn't put the gate numbers on the boarding passes was because they wanted people to hang around in the main terminal area with the food/shops for you to spend money in, rather than heading up to the gate area early. The gate areas at LHR are quite small, with no real refreshment facilities or staff until close to boarding time.

Ah yes but no one forces you to spend any money though lots of people feel they 'have to' !

[Neil]

Of course no one forces you to, but by keeping you in that area, there is a lot of temptation, unlike at a gate area!

There's a lot to be said for Neil's point. Still, communications between gates and airline staff in the rest of T3 seem less than ideal, even in the CH, where the "stick around and shop" argument is less compelling. As Slinky points out, we all had the experience of walking away from the CH on second call only to get to long lines at the gate, no boarding beginning in sight, and even the occasional delay announcement, inevitably followed by the realization that one could even have had a FURTHER glass of choice in the CH, instead of hanging around a cramped area waiting for it all to sort itself out.

They don't call you when it's too late to make the gate

So basically, until you hear the "This is the final call for flight VSxxx to wherever", you don't have to go. You might want to be ready to go by final call, ie don't wait for the words then realize you have to pick up your gear from the cloakroom, make one last pit stop in the lav, etc etc. But you certainly don't have to go.

I myself subscribe to the school of thought that says you should have time for at least a couple of pre-departure beverages on board, so I did not often wait for final call. I paid for that more than once though