Here's my experience/views.
Last Monday (March 31st) I took the BA0724 to GVA with a scheduled departure time of 06.30 and hold bags. Returning later in the evening, with hold bags.
It certainly is an impressive building.
Arrived at 05:00 to check my bags in for an 06:30.
I was almost the first person there. A group of check in girls were trying to log on, but no one knew the password. There was a lot of discussion between the girls and they shuffled through the paperwork they had. One of them said "I just picked up everything there was... but I can't seem to find the password". After five minutes (it seemed longer) someone (a supervisor ?) came along and helped my girl log in. She told her the password so that she could type it in. "How will I remember that?" she said. "Its obvious" I said, "Its **********", a word which is closely associated with the airline (no, not "crap"). Anyway, logged in we were, but she couldn't make the sign above her head change to "Desk Open" so she gave up on that. First bag tagged.... next problem, in what sequence does one press the buttons on the desk to make the bag disappear? After randomly pressing buttons for a couple of minutes, a techy chap came along and showed her what to do and my bags were duly swallowed by the T5 baggage machine.
The nice girl apologised profusely.... explaining that it was her first day and that she had had no training. I explained that I knew and that it was ok, it wasn't her fault. Its now around 5.15am. As I turned around the queue behind me must have been twenty deep.
Through security, that was ok, but it was early and I've got used to the whole routine of just "going quietly" and undressing - shoes, belt, jacket etc.
Next the lounge. Right by Security was the Concorde Room, but we couldn't get in that way as we were mere Club Europe pax. So we followed signs for the lounge (or whatever its called). The signs took us all round the shops (of course) and then down some stairs, back through some more shops before ending up near to where we had started. Then it was up several escalators to the First lounge, round and round a bit more, before getting up to the Club lounge.
The whole point of going to the lounge at 5.30 am is for a quick cuppa and a couple of bacon rolls. The bacon rolls were not quite ready when it flashed up on the screen "Go To Gate 10B". Not knowing how far that was, and not wanting to miss it, we set off towards the gate. As we approached the lifts in the central bit, which presumably take you down to get the train to the satellite terminals "B & C" we double checked the information. It was now saying "A10" .. not "10B". We didn't have much faith in the people with clipboards, but a lady said that shorthauls were going from the A gates, so we plumped for A10.
When we got down there, A10 was a whole host of gates... A10a, A10b. A10c etc etc etc. I have not been back to check, but is it a software error that the screens in the lounge only show three characters and so A10b was displayed as 10b? The people who didn't double check and went to B10 not A10 had their bags offloaded and were left behind.
Anyway, there were a lot of flustered gate staff around all bashing away at computers... one girl commented that this was the thrid job she had been given that morning (and it was still only about 05.50).
To be fair, the buses were all lined up outside and off we went. Arriving at the a/c we could see that the steps were too low to reach the a/c door. After a lot of faffing about, more steps were brought to the rear door and we all got on there. You could say not a T5 problem though. The big problem is that we were kept on the bus for 15 minutes whilst they sorted it out, packed in like sardines with the heaters on full (for the driver) was very unpleasant. (I hate being bused to the plane although I hear that 40% of T5 flights will need a bus).
We departed 30 mins late, due to the steps and the offloading of the bags for the people at the wrong gate.... so not too bad really.
Arrived at GVA and my bags were there too! Hurrah!
Return trip uneventful.
Got a pier at T5. Walked a million miles to baggage reclaim, although the bags turned up with in a couple of minutes. So can't really grumble.
CONCLUSION
I was surprised at just how much of it was unfinished. The signage is dreadful.... do people not go round and check what they drew out on paper?
T5 is just TOO BIG.
I'm sure if you use T5 once a year and are happy to turn up four hours before your two hour flight, you'll be fine. But for regular business travellers, I think the sheer size of the whole place will be a pain in the
I am sure that one reason the baggage system fails is because you could basically check in anywhere for any flight. Would it not have been simpler to split it in two - Long Haul and Short Haul, but all within the same building? That would surely have simplified the baggage system?
I don't think that its all the fault of the baggage system. How for example could BA have staff turning up on day 5 still not knowing how to log in? I think that clearly backs up everything that has been said on here about the BA and BAA management and their MBAs.
I am staggered at the incompetance of the BA and BAA management and if they thought that T5 was going to work with the minimal investment in training and staff that they have made, then clearly they are the most deluded people I have come across and are not fit to run a bath, let alone BA and BAA. Please can someone reassure me that WW has not cut safety and engineering to the bone too?
Today's annoying news is that the snow has been blamed for the majority of cancellations. Why? It was one inch at LHR, it wasn't that cold and melted almost as fast as it arrived. On top of that it had been widely forecast for the last week, so how could BA and BAA not have been ready?
WW and his chums are a disgrace. I'm just glad that I wasn't in T5 on Day 1, 'cos I'd probably have head-butted the snivelling lepricorn.
3Y