Exactly how many of these signs are there between Heathrow express station, the lifts and the departure area that would have made any difference? I still think 35 minutes to board a flight is overly generous even at peak times and have always been able to do it quicker in the past. My point is that there is NO leeway and that if you are cutting it fine, as I was, then it's not a question of being late at the gate but of not getting through security. The arbitrary 35 minutes one size fits all is surely based on worst case and , at peak times it is sensible.
If you refer to BA standard terms and conditions and their specific information re T5B. The conditions state that pax meet the following criteria
1. Check in deadline( for first flight) at T5 this closes 45 before deprature - I was checked in and had been for 24 hours!
2.Complete check in process - i.e you have a boarding pass. I had a boarding pass.
3. Arrive at the boarding gate on time - well I would have if BA hadn't barred my progress. Access to secuirty denied!
There is NO specific reference to Security screening. This is administered not by BA staff but an external contractor. As I was running only 2 minutes behind schedule I can see no reason that I wouldn't have made the gate by the cut off. 20 before departure. Clearly, whoever was given my seat at 1856 must have made it too.
I've just had a look at the BA live flight departures which I just don't believe. Not least that a colleague has been delyed getting to Geneva this morning and she said it was because the BA flight left late - well, not if you believe BA. It's down as an on time departure. Don't trust any business that produces its own reliability stats!
All in all , I found the BMI experiece refreshing and more positive than the Bl**dy Arrogant approach. If you take out the T5 conformance requirements I am giving myself a potential 15 extra to clear secuity and get to the gate, simply by avoiding T5. The Hex journey is shorter and you don't have to ascend the labyrinth to get through secuirty only to decend into the bowels of the building to get to departure. T5 , it s like crossing the f**king alps. Its all up to check in and departures and then all down to get on the flight. I've been to some crazy airports but when you look at the amount of wasted airspace inside that building you do wonder what recreational drugs were in use when BAA and BA got together in its design. No wonder it cost what it did.
Rant over
I would commend BMI to anyone disgruntled at all with BA.