@good egg - re baggage,it's not that pax are checking luggage. It's because gate staff are insisting on tagging cabin acceptable wheelie luggage,for pax to dump at a/c steps when boarding.
Same carry-on luggage is stuffed in the hold. On arrival the hand carry-on luggage used to be left for pax to pick up at base of steps.
However, now this doesn't happen anymore. All luggage goes onto the belt, leaving hand luggage only pax shuffling around at a belt for 30 mins whilst handlers shunt luggage around.
It's a bloody ridiculous service level when vast majority of pax flowing through City are traveling light with cabin compliant carry-on baggage.
The bus shuttle is a new added delay to pax disembarking.
City is definitely going backwards. Pax flowing through City want fast in-and-out, traveling light majority of time.
The new approach routes are adding to flight time durations, it's another step backwards. Gone are the days you can approach heading south right turn over Lakeside for ILS establish. It's nuts now with the sight seeing routing around the Essex coastline.