Originally Posted by
ExXB
Jack of all trades. Part of the problem in the UK is the expectation that all of the passengers speak perfect English and can decipher a broad Gordie or Scots accent with no problem. Swiss (LX) do a bilingual announcement at Heathrow, but I can't recall anyone else doing one.
Frequent flyers know the system (they also know they need to get on early to get their carryon stored) and they know the worse thing that will happen if they try to get on before their turn is being told to wait. Non-frequent flyers don't know the system and just move with the crowd. Why not use that monitor hanging over the desk to tell the punters how boarding is going to happen rather than surprise eveyone at boarding time.
Some other airlines, such as OZ, OU, LO, TP, LY and JJ will do announcements in other languages too in T1. It depends on the staff at the gate and airline requirements. I hardly ever travel through the other terminals but T5 (as well as EDI) has that automated voice which speaks several languages. That does mean that announcements by real people are limited. This means that announcements on specific boarding instructions in the gate areas are often only done in English, although to be fair most airlines do have signs now which clearly state who can use certain lanes.
I've heard that in Terminal 2 there will be no foreign languages on the announcements and there will be no bi-lingual signs. This is a big failing for LHR. Go to airports in almost every other country and you will see signs in the local language and usually English. Even Pyongyang International has more languages than LHR with English, Korean and Mandarin appearing on their handful of signs!