Heathrow-3

[Fairdealfrank]

Checking Travelex in T5 for a departure in the next week: I see that they advertise as being Landside near Huxleys Restaurant but the LHR website has no knowledge of that restaurant - so it is probably closed. Travelex say that their Airside desk is 'Coming in Spring 2022'. So that might not be there. Either way, all branches close at 18:00. I was not expecting to get to the terminal until 18:00 so might now need to change time or plans. I see BA departures currently up to the 22:00 hour. Obviously those Pax do not want currency services ...

IIRC, Huxleys is/was airside, just beyond security and near the BA lounge and the escalators. Who knows if it is still there!

[BA318]

Originally Posted by PAXboy

Checking Travelex in T5 for a departure in the next week: I see that they advertise as being Landside near Huxleys Restaurant but the LHR website has no knowledge of that restaurant - so it is probably closed. Travelex say that their Airside desk is 'Coming in Spring 2022'. So that might not be there. Either way, all branches close at 18:00. I was not expecting to get to the terminal until 18:00 so might now need to change time or plans. I see BA departures currently up to the 22:00 hour. Obviously those Pax do not want currency services ...

Does anyone use currency desks in airports now? The rate is so uncompetitive it’s basically a rip off.

[bycrewlgw]

Originally Posted by PAXboy

Checking Travelex in T5 for a departure in the next week: I see that they advertise as being Landside near Huxleys Restaurant but the LHR website has no knowledge of that restaurant - so it is probably closed. Travelex say that their Airside desk is 'Coming in Spring 2022'. So that might not be there. Either way, all branches close at 18:00. I was not expecting to get to the terminal until 18:00 so might now need to change time or plans. I see BA departures currently up to the 22:00 hour. Obviously those Pax do not want currency services ...

to be honest there are much better ways of getting currency nowadays. I’m surprised that people still use the currency providers at the airport when you’d get a better rate / less commission else where.

[PAXboy]

Used the Post Office but found their rates worse than last time. Checked Travelex on line and their rate was better.

[davidjohnson6]

At the risk of going off topic, it's usually best to shop around for foreign currency
This may prove helpful
https://travelmoney.moneysavingexpert.com/

[Dave Gittins]

Couple of weeks ago the "official" exchange rate was £1 = 1.20 Euro At Gatwick foreign currency dealers were offering approx. £1 = 0.95 Euro. (buyback was around £1 for 1.50 Euro).

I used my Starling Card in a cash machine in Spain and received Euros at the rate of £1 = 1.20 Euros. I won't be using money exchange from anybody in any hurry.

Caveat:, the cash machine owner charged 3 Euros so get the biggest amount you can each time to increase the amount the 3 Euros is spread over.

[PAXboy]

In some countries you always get a worse deal - they know you are a tourist and travelling and an easy target. But you always need some cash with you when you start.

[lfc84]

Originally Posted by Dave Gittins

Couple of weeks ago the "official" exchange rate was £1 = 1.20 Euro At Gatwick foreign currency dealers were offering approx. £1 = 0.95 Euro. (buyback was around £1 for 1.50 Euro).

I used my Starling Card in a cash machine in Spain and received Euros at the rate of £1 = 1.20 Euros. I won't be using money exchange from anybody in any hurry.

Caveat:, the cash machine owner charged 3 Euros so get the biggest amount you can each time to increase the amount the 3 Euros is spread over.

Some Spanish ATM's are free for example Banca March

[AirportPlanner1]

Even better just get a Starling card and don’t bother getting cash out at all, within Eurozone. A lot of places are now card only anyway, very few don’t take card at all. Even the beach guy had mobile card device for the sunbeds in Greece last summer.

[PAXboy]

Whilst many countries do take card, you always need cash for tipping and other small things. Sometimes you need to give folding cash to your Great Nephews!

[Tech Guy]

Bloody nightmare at Heathrow last week. Over an hour for check in and an hour and a half for security. The security queue snaked arounf the check in hall and exited the building heading towards the drop off point. In security, only 3 of the 14 booths were operational and the airport was deliberately delaying flights to allow time for passengers to transit the airport.

Coming back wasnt much better. Almost 40 minutes for the passport queue. I have been to tinpot countries in Africa with better service and organisation.

I dont understand why the dont install more electronic gates rather than blame staff shortages which has nothing to do with the e gates apart from the one perrson pointing where the end of the monster queue is.

[SWBKCB]

The pictures in the linked article from yesterday are interesting...

A Heathrow spokeswoman apologised for the disruption. "Earlier today there was a technical issue with the Terminal 2 baggage system which has now been resolved," she said. "Passengers are now able to check-in as normal, but a number of passengers who departed from Terminal 2 earlier today may have travelled without their luggage. We are working closely with airlines to reunite passengers with their luggage as soon as possible. We're sorry there's been disruption to passenger journeys."

BBC - Heathrow Terminal 2 baggage piles up after malfunction

[Republican]

Originally Posted by Tech Guy

I have been to tinpot countries in Africa with better service and organisation.

Britain is itself a tinpot nation so why the derogatory insinuation towards African countries as if we're somehow better? We're not.

The pictures are insane!! The scenes I'd expect to see from an airport serving a tintop nation.

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

Just as a BTW, KLM and Air France aren't moving back to T4, they're staying put in T3, to connect better with Virgin and Delta. Seems connections over LHR are now a real Skyteam thing as well, with STAR offering options via T2 challenging the BA / Oneworld position.

[ZFT]

Originally Posted by Republican

Britain is itself a tinpot nation so why the derogatory insinuation towards African countries as if we're somehow better? We're not.

The pictures are insane!! The scenes I'd expect to see from an airport serving a tintop nation.

Assuming one gets through immigration queues and locates baggage, just getting out of Heathrow next week is challenging. Price gouging by pre booked taxis etc has reached an all time high with non availability of anything else making a visit to the UK a bloody nightmare.

The 3rd world is actually easier to navigate through now!

[Asturias56]

"The 3rd world is actually easier to navigate through now!"

Compared to LHR that's always been the case - who can forget the years waiting for a tube line or a railway line? And the genius of the tunnel to T1, 2 & 3 - and putting T4 on the south side without a decent link to the centre..............

[PAXboy]

The tube and LHR development is a legacy of the piecemeal building non-policy. The UK no longer plans a big enterprise, they chop it up into bits to get it through planning - then some bits can be cut off when they run out of money or political will (HS2) or be privatised but the end result is a mess.

I sit to be corrected.

[go-around flap 15]

Originally Posted by Tech Guy

I dont understand why the dont install more electronic gates rather than blame staff shortages which has nothing to do with the e gates apart from the one perrson pointing where the end of the monster queue is.

I think you'll find that the e-gates are quite misunderstood. They are still manually overlooked by staff - at most airports you can notice a bunch of immigration officers with a viewpoint over the e-gates. You can even see peoples photos and passports from the e-gates showing up on their screens if you get the right vantage point looking backwards. They are still being approved manually, only in a fashion that allows them to work more efficiently than at individual booths. If you ever get the dreaded red cross at an e-gate it's because the individual at the control station can't be 100% sure of something and wishes to send you to an actual desk.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by go-around flap 15

They are still being approved manually, only in a fashion that allows them to work more efficiently than at individual booths.

So the identification via biometrics is nonsense ? Really ??

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

Originally Posted by DaveReidUK

So the identification via biometrics is nonsense ? Really ??

Has been like this for years. It's not a computer saying yay or nay, that's why availability of e-gates is dependent on staffing levels.