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For the whole picture: I am looking for an option to get from Oslo to Aberdeen in time to catch the 17:00 ferry to Kirkwall without having to spend a night somewhere on the way. I will likely not be able to be early enough at Oslo Airport to catch the 6:00 flight with a feasible transfer in Bergen, onward to Aberdeen.

Another option would be to fly to London Gatwick with a scheduled arrival 10:00 and continue with the 12:15 EasyJet flight to Aberdeen. I will have checked luggage. Is it realistic to have time for passport control (arriving on an international flight), pickup luggage, probably change terminals, check-in for the EasyJet flight, go through security and be in time at the gate with just 2 hours and 15 minutes between arrival and departure?

Edit: I didn't really mean this to be a question about other ways to get from Oslo to Aberdeen, but since people have started to suggest other alternatives, if anyone has an idea, that would of course also solve my problem. I am however planning to travel on December 29th and LoganAir does not have a direct route from Oslo to Aberdeen that day.

Other options I have considered:

  • Flying from Oslo to Aberdeen via Stavanger with arrival 15:25. Since the ferry check-in closes at 16:30, that does not seem feasible.

  • Flying from Oslo to Edinburgh and go by train to Aberdeen. There is a flight from Oslo arriving in Edinburgh 12:25, but since I would have to catch the 13:35 train from Edinburgh Haymarket to be in time in Aberdeen, that does also not seem feasible.

  • British Airways has a connection via London departing Oslo 07:00 and arriving in Aberdeen 12:40. Going by public transport, I am however not able to be at the airport before 6:17 and will not likely catch that flight.

  • The only other earlier flights from Oslo to Aberdeen are with KLM via Amsterdam and quite expensive.

  • The only earlier flight from Oslo to Edinburgh is via London with arrival 12:20, which is not much better than the direct flight arriving 12:25 and I would here also have to start with the 7:00 flight to London, which I will not likely be able to catch.

  • Flying all the way to Kirkwall instead of taking the ferry from Aberdeen. I wanted to avoid this option, since the LoganAir flights from the mainland to Kirkwall are very expensive.

  • Taking the ferry from Scrabster to Stromness instead of Aberdeen-Kirkwall, but I can also find no way to get to Scrabster in one day by 18:30 to catch the last ferry departing 19:00.

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    Rome2Rio says you can fly direct from Oslo to Aberdeen. Isn't that possible? Google flights shows a non-stop route with LoganAir.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 15:44
  • LoganAir shows a direct flight from Oslo to Aberdeen at 11:40 daily except Saturdays.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 16:04
  • @WeatherVane I am planning to travel on December 29th and LoganAir does not fly Oslo-Aberdeen from Dec 23rd to Jan 4th.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 16:37
  • LoganAir are a traditional airline, so it might be worth checking whether booking a return is cheaper than a one way.
    – djr
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 20:40
  • @djr No, it is not. I am going back as well, but taking the ferry instead of flying would save me about 300£.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 20:56

3 Answers 3

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Is it realistic to have time for ...

I give it a 50/50 chance. If all things go well, you can probably make it. At the gate at 10:00am, through immigration and customs by 10:45am, transfer to North Terminal, arriving at 11:00am, at the EZjet check in counter by 11:15am. Bag drop closes 40 minutes before departure, so 11:35am.

However, any hiccup will throw you off. Flight delay, weather, long line at passport control, slow or lost bags, taking a wrong turn or bus, long check in line, etc.

My personal minimum connection time for self transfer is 4 hours and more if immigration, customs, or terminal changes are required.

Given the very real risk missing the ferry that does not sound like a good plan.

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  • Is it really necessary to go to a check-in counter? Can I not just check-in online and go directly to an automatic bag drop?
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 20:59
  • That should be fine but depends on easyJet's policies in Gatwick. Lines at bag drop can also be long.
    – Hilmar
    Commented Oct 24, 2022 at 12:40
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While it will not be impossible to make the connection but there are many ways it can go wrong.

Several people here tell they will not self connect with less than 4 hours. I will not even do it with that much time but I avoid risk.

If you are willing to take the risk consider the options if you do miss your flight. Likely a new ticket at last minute price and still having to overnight somewhere.

If you can get a direct flight, as indicated by the other answer(s) and comments you will have an easier travel and less risk for an unexpected financial spike.

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  • The real problem if missing the flight is that the Aberdeen-Kirkwall ferry only runs two or three times a week and missing the ferry would cause a delay of several days. Having to pay on short notice for a new plane ticket would only be a minor hassle compared to that. But as I also pointed out in other comments, the direct flight from Oslo to Aberdeen does not operate when I am planning to travel.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 16:43
  • In that case I personally would plan to have a night somewhere on the way, maybe even two.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 16:46
  • Which is unfortunately time I do not have. I could also in theory fly all the way, in which case there are usually several daily flights both from Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Inverness to Kirkwall, but since only LoganAir is flying to Kirkwall, their tickets are very expensive. Flying from Oslo via Amsterdam and Edinburgh to Kirkwall is right now 750€ on the 29th of December.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 23, 2022 at 17:08
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I’m surprised a regular user like you even asks the question.

Can you make it? Sure, if all goes well and you believe in Santa Claus, it should be pretty straightforward.

Will you make it? I wouldn’t bet much on it.

In normal circumstances the odds are already pretty bad. Even a small delay will cause you to miss your connection.

But you are telling us you want to do it December 29th. No no no. No way.

  • it’s holiday season. Flights are full, which means more chances for delays. Airports are full, which means more chances for lengthy queues.

  • it’s holiday season. Somehow people manage to bring on board twice their allowance, and on top of that, it’s probably cold, so they all have huge parkas. Overhead bins are full, they have to gate check stuff, delays, blah.

  • it’s prime season for snow and ice. A little runway closure here, a small de-icing delay there…

  • we’re still in post-Covid recovery. Summer was a meltdown. Hopefully this winter will be better, but would you bet on that?

  • It’s holiday season: flights are full and expensive. If you miss your connecting flight, it could take a while to find a new flight, and it will cost you an arm and a leg. Alternative routes may not be easy to find either.

  • It’s holiday season, which is Network Rail’s favorite time to perform track works and shut down lots of services with extremely poor alternatives. Less trains, more people on flights, more delays, less alternatives.

Hey, December 29th is a Thursday, it’s probably not the worst of the worst days for this. But still, I personally wouldn’t dream of booking this.

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  • I am of course fully aware that the connection is not ideal, but I am asking because it is the only option I can find and yet avoid an overnight stay somehwere, for which I really don't have the time. I know airports where I would definitely risk the transfer, even on a day between Christmas and new year, and I know airports where I know that I would have absolutely no chance to catch an onward flight in just 2:15. Since I've never flown through Gatwick, I was hoping for an answer from someone with experience in travelling through that airport.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 24, 2022 at 7:12
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo haven’t flown through Gatwick in a while, but in my experience it’s not quite a model in efficiency. There can be extremely long walks to/from gates, bag delivery can be quite slow. For security I usually have fast track, don’t know how bad it can be without, but I would expect pretty long lines during the holidays. IIRC they also force you to make a detour through the duty free after security. Note also that the Norse airlines flight you are considering in already frequently late these days, it will probably be worse during the holidays.
    – jcaron
    Commented Oct 24, 2022 at 8:55
  • @Tor-EinarJarnbjo options I would consider: sleep in OSL to catch an earlier connecting flight, ideally all the way to Kirkwall. It may be more expensive, but you have better chances of getting to your destination on time or relatively close to that. Logan Air also have flights from Edimburgh (and other places), that may be another option.
    – jcaron
    Commented Oct 24, 2022 at 9:00
  • As I already mentioned in the question, the LoganAir flights to Kirkwall are very expensive, which is the reason I wanted to take the ferry instead. If I want to be sure and buy a through ticket from Oslo to Kirkwall by plane, I seem to have two options. I can fly with British Airways via London, depart Oslo 07:00 and therefore need a night in a hotel at the airport. That will cost me about 650€ (hotel and flight). The other option is to fly 12:40 with KLM via Amsterdam, which is about 750€. That is simply beyond my budget for this trip.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 24, 2022 at 9:15
  • As a comparison, flying to Aberdeen or to Edinburgh with a train to Aberdeen and continue from there with the ferry will cost around 200€. That means also, that I am willing to at least take a slight risk that something goes wrong. If something goes wrong, e.g. the connection in London should fail, I will probably still on short notice be able to get a train to Thurso and take the ferry from there, get to Kirkwall a day later and still pay less for new tickets than I would originally for a 'safe connection'.
    – Tor-Einar Jarnbjo
    Commented Oct 24, 2022 at 9:17

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