Quote: "who is the LBA-LHR schedule useful for?
I am new on here but have been reading the forum for a year or more. Putting the last three responses together and thinking of my travel patterns, I am having difficulty seeing what traffic that schedule post May is going to attract. Possibly some Yorkshire-US? Possibly some European and near East destinations? Possibly some high value meetings at Heathrow? Where is the traffic coming from?"
At a guess:
(1) those not travelling to/from the city centre at one or both ends;
(2) those making connections at Heathrow;
(3) those who may not wish to/be unable to drive;
(4) those who find it more convenient than travelling via Ringway;
(5) those who, in some cases, may find it it cheaper and/or more convenient than the train.
Quote: ""Not great for T5 connections"
Why not, albeit not same terminal but a straightforward internal coach transfer, better than no LBA route at all."
Indeed, so much better than no LBA route, so please use it! Many UK airports would benefit by having a route to/from LHR.
Quote: "The issue for me is the transit time difference between arriving in LHR ex MAN and ex LBA - for ex MAN I arrive in the north end of T5 Main, off the plane, a quick boarding card check and I'm in the departure lounge in less than 5 mins
Arriving in T1 I have to walk literally the entire length of the terminal to central transfers, be bussed to the south end of T5 Main then have to go through the full security process again"
If your baggage is checked through, it may be easier to do a landside transfer: take the train between LHR1 and LHR5 (and vice versa), it's free and four times/hour. By the way, the tube is not free. Even with baggage, it can be done relatively easily as there are lifts between the terminals and the platforms.
As for security, it makes no difference, airside or landside, it has to be gone through again.