Anybody Gone Through LHR T5

[jacko 8,815]

I have just been mooching around the BA website and they are making some serious claims about how wonderful things are working there in T5 and elsewhere in LHR. Anybody confirm or deny?

 

I must admit to being a little confused by the process of moving flights into T5. I was under the impression that T5 would make transfers a dream... I would walk directly from my domestic BA flight onto the Bangkok bound plane carrying a complimentary glass of champagne. And visa versa....

 

I see my ex Manchester planes indeed now do land at T5 ....? Used to be T1.

 

The Bangkok bound plane still leaves from T4... but many longhauls have moved to T5, and others follow in September and October... not my Bangkok plane though, of course that means Sydney too, Singapore also for some reason.

 

But in January 2009 these remaining ones move. ......, not toT5, but T3?

 

Ah well, if I am crazy enough to go BA, and so utterly mad as to try Heathrow, at least I will land and take off from the same airport... if not the same terminal. For now...

 

So I get off at T3, need to head to T5 for Manchester (or visa versa)... do I still have to go through the dreaded CONNECTIONS CENTRE...aaaaarghhh

Edited August 12, 2008 by jacko

[Chivas 0]

People should be more grateful that they live relatively near airports like Heathrow,Gatwick or Manchester.

 

Try living in Cornwall and talk about flight connections,trains or coaches.

 

My next trip will see me arrive home after landing at Heathrow at best 9 hours after - at best !!

Edited August 12, 2008 by Chivas

[Big_Brian 179]

People should be more grateful that they live relatively near airports like Heathrow,Gatwick or Manchester.

 

Try living in Cornwall and talk about flight connections,trains or coaches.

 

My next trip will see me arrive home after landing at Heathrow at best 9 hours after - at best !!

 

Tell me about it! I'm in Snozzel.

Edited August 12, 2008 by Big_Brian

[glynbuk 29]

I flew from T5 a couple of weeks ago to Berlin, wonderful experience.

 

However, the terminal does not seem to be very full and i wonder if it will

be the same when they move the rest of the planes to T5.

 

From what i could see before security, there is only one tiny little cafe area with limited

seating, so if there are any flights delays and people have to wait to get through security,

it's going to be a nightmare to get a drink or a sandwich.

 

From entering the terminal, dropped off my bag and passed through security check was

less than 5 minutes, the queue at WH Smiths after security took 10 minutes to get to the

front of the queue and be served

 

Coming back, we landed early, walked about 800 yards( i was about 15th off the plane)

and arrived at baggage reclaim after passport control(about 7 minutes total time) and my

bag was just arriving on the baggage conveyor, can't fault that.

 

Only problem is, my next flight out of heathrow is to Thailand and i am going through T3

and this happened yesterday

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7562526.stm

[jacko 8,815]

Great feedback glynbuk......

One quick question....

Coming back, we landed early, walked about 800 yards( i was about 15th off the plane)

...that's a half mile..sounds a long way and a cracking pace you made (7 minutes)..120 yards/ minute... I'd be out of breath!

 

I am still interested to hear how transit works at T5... that was always one of the most infuriating things about LHR.... being forced through repeated security checks...as if Manchester couldn't do the job.

[Chivas 0]

Tell me about it! I'm in Snozzel.

 

Well somebody had to live there..................

Edited August 18, 2008 by Chivas

[vegaheart 0]

Yes, I work at LHR and can confirm that the BA (and also Qantas) flights to BKK currently leave from T4 but will move to T3. They were initially to move to T3 in oct/nov 2008, but that was moved back due to the intial problems at T5. I went over to T5 a while ago and everything seemed to be working ok.

 

Just remember if you are connecting through T5 (arriving in T5 and departing from T1, T2, T3 or T4 and vice versa) you now need at least 2 hours minimum connection time as T5 is the other side of the airport and u have to take a fairly lengthy bus ride. You will not need to go through the 'dreaded' FCC (Flight Connections Centre) which was a connections mini-terminal in between T1 and T2 as it does not exist anymore. You will get a bus straight to your departing terminal as each terminal now has it's own connections desks as you arrive there.

 

Also:

 

Connections within T1 are now down to 1 hour, connections between T1, T2, T3 and T4 have stayed at 90 mins.

 

Thai Airways, Eva Air, Emirates, Qatar and Gulf Air all remain in T3.

 

United Airlines and Air New Zealand have now moved to T1 (from T3).

 

For what it's worth IMHO Thai Airways is the best airline operating on the non-stop LHR-BKK-LHR route.

Edited September 10, 2008 by vegaheart

[jacko 8,815]

Well thanks Vegaheart... always great to get feedback from someone 'on the ground'....

Are there any plans to replace the bus service with something more 21st century. Being herded and bussed around like sheep was always an annoyance at LHR? Plus 2 hour transfer times BA-BA is really quite hopeless.

 

Why are BA flights to BKK/SYD/SIN moving to T3 rather than T5? So is it an airport or a bus terminal?

[vegaheart 0]

No, no plans to replace the bus service with anything more high tech I'm afraid.

 

The original plan was to have all BA flights operate out of T5, but toward the end of construction, they realised that they had too many flights, and they would simply not fit them all in. So they chose to put a few flights in T4 and T3. The only reason I can think why they chose BKK/SIN/SYD routes for T3 is that if the flight gets cancelled due to mechanical or other reasons, it would be so much easier to move those passengers to THAI, Eva Air, Singapore Airlines and the like (if they had available seats of course). It is very annoying for staff when a flight cancels, and there is an alternative airline operating the same route, but because of time constraints and the logistics of moving all those people and their luggage to another terminal, it proves impossible, and so we have to send everyone to a hotel for the night and try again the next day. I would imagine moving these flights to T3 are to reduce these type of problems. Qantas are also moving to T3, which would be BA's 1st point of call if say their BKK flight was to cancel.

[jacko 8,815]

After all that time and planning.... they didn't make it big enough!!!! When does T6 start?

The explanation wrt why the BKK/SYD/SIN flights surely could be applied to other long-haul destinations. Accepted the USA being different, they could probably re-route cancelled passengers to alternate BA-USA flights. But BA-India (eg) could be transferred to Air India in T3?

 

I always saw the BA-SYD/SIN route as major earners for BA. Perhaps they feel all of those passengers are ex-London and will not be requiring domestic or European transfers.

 

It really is no way to treat say a 1st Class passenger Glasgow-Sydney, packing him in a bus for a long drive and having the aggravation of terminal changes.

 

I saw a BA top man on TV recently lamenting how the opening day of T5 was 'the worst weekend of my life', although I hazard it was worse for the long haul passengers travelling coach with 2 or 3 children who had the misfortune to be treated as unpaid guinnea pigs.

 

Interesting to talk to someone who works there at the dreaded LHR.

Edited September 12, 2008 by jacko