Heathrow T5A - T5B British Airways
 

Hi there,

Just a quick question.

I am flying into London Heathrow from Manchester on a Shuttle from Manchester on July 14th to then fly from EGLL-CYYC on BA0103. I was wondering (As it is not very clear) how I get from Terminal 5A to Terminal 5B which is a completely separate building.

If someone could let me know I would appreciate it as the Heathrow T5 maps are not very clear.

Thanks

Hi,

It's really pretty easy. Based on my ABZ experiences, you get off the MAN a/c and there should be a desk for connections just as you get out of the jet bridge.

There is an underground people mover that connects the satellites (B &C) to the. Main building. The train is well signposted within the terminal and is pretty much impossible to miss. You won't need to worry about going outside and getting busses or anything, it's really a stress free and simple connecting experience. :ok:

Thanks very much for your quick reply. Sounds nice and easy.

Thanks again.

The BA103 can go from T5A, B or C and it varies from day to day. The Flight Information Displays will tell you where to go. Don't leave T5A until the screen indicates which gate.

Stupid question maybe, but why not extend this underground people mover to T1/2/3 for Transfers? Certainly make a lot of sense over a bus round the houses.

Heathrow T5A - T5B British Airways
 

Money, I expect!

Quote: "Stupid question maybe, but why not extend this underground people mover to T1/2/3? Certainly make a lot of sense over a bus round the houses."

Yes, it is common sense, particularly linking up oneworld carriers BA and IB in LHR5 and the rest in LHR3. Perhaps when LHR1/2 is completed and LHR3 is rebuilt.....

The the people mover seems like it's halfway there already, clearly T4 would be a bit further, but makes even more sense bearing in mind the distance they have to travel round the outside.

One hopes that with the acquisition of BD, BA and BAA are seriously reconsidering which terminals they will be using. If the fuel farm were re-located, and a further satellite (T5D) were constructed, could BA fit all it's newly enlarged operations within the one terminal?

Before veering off-topic completely, if the OP fancies stretching his or her legs, the people mover is complimented by this pedestrian tunnel between the satellite terminals:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3644/5...d8a86ff9_z.jpg
Tunnel between T5C and T5B by businesstraveller, on Flickr

wow! only 32 years after Atlanta showed the way to go with a modern airport layout...................................

You should be check in all the way through at MAN so all you need to do at LHR is walk off one plane, hang around for a bit, keeping an eye on the screens and then head off to the next gate. The gate numbers will appear roughly one hour before departure time, and like others have said definitely do not get on the train unless your gate number is in one of the satellite buildings!

I am told that when the new T2 opens it will also have a similar underground train which will link the satellite buildings (one of which is already in use as gates 31-47 in T1, but at the moment involves a long walk!). Perhaps that will be linked up to the T5 system in time...although at the moment you do also have the Underground which links the terminals in only 3 stops as well as the Heathrow Express and Connect services so there is probably not much room for another train service under Heathrow, although one which serves airside and transit passengers would be nice!

Quote: "The the people mover seems like it's halfway there already, clearly T4 would be a bit further, but makes even more sense bearing in mind the distance they have to travel round the outside."

Quote: "One hopes that with the acquisition of BD, BA and BAA are seriously reconsidering which terminals they will be using. If the fuel farm were re-located, and a further satellite (T5D) were constructed, could BA fit all it's newly enlarged operations within the one terminal?"

Suspect (hope) that this the long term plan, with a link to the rebuilt LHR1/2 and LHR3. A link to LHR4 might be more problematic.

For now, between LHR5 or LHR4 and LHR1/2/3, take the train it's free, the tube costs.

Quote: "Before veering off-topic completely, if the OP fancies stretching his or her legs, the people mover is complimented by this pedestrian tunnel between the satellite terminals:"

Is that the emergency evacuation route, ara01jbb? Good photo!

You only need to take the train if you are landside. Airside there is a good bus network for transfers.

Quote: "You only need to take the train if you are landside. Airside there is a good bus network for transfers."

Yes, sorry, should have made that clear!!

Many do the landside transfer by bus (also free) rather than by train where it's a case of just using the lifts.

Who knows why: it takes much longer, they're exposed to the elements and potential traffic jams, and they have to lug baggage on and off buses that are not designed for it.

Not my photo, sadly. A journo from Business Traveller found it before being flown out on the inaugural LHR-SAN press junket. I don't think it's emergency only, but it has quite an incline on it to pass beneath the taxiways between the satellites.

Given that the architectural and planning quality of most major public infrastructure jobs in the UK get gradually valued engineered out of the equation, I'm delighted to see LHR's tangle gradually be rationalised with the "toast rack" of T5, T2/LHR-East and hopefully T3 as well. As edi_local has reminded me, it's also quite incredible to see that T1 gates 31-47 (opened in 1996?) will indeed become the northern half of LHR-East's satellite terminal. Who thought such sensible forward planning would be possible in this country? :D

Gates 47-49 only opened in early 2010 or thereabouts,31-33 some time later. These are stands 247-249 and 231-233 of the new T2 satellite building and were needed for capacity as the southern wide body gates on the Europier were closed. They are currently linked by the Europier to T1, but this newish part of T1 will be demolished before T2 is opened and the new transit system in in play.

Quote: "I'm delighted to see LHR's tangle gradually be rationalised with the "toast rack" of T5, T2/LHR-East and hopefully T3 as well."

Yes, this is essential to make the best use of limited space.

Quote: "Gates 47-49 only opened in early 2010 or thereabouts,31-33 some time later. These are stands 247-249 and 231-233 of the new T2 satellite building and were needed for capacity as the southern wide body gates on the Europier were closed. They are currently linked by the Europier to T1, but this newish part of T1 will be demolished before T2 is opened and the new transit system in in play."

AFAIK, the existing LHR1 will be demolished once the new LHR2 is open and will be rebuilt as part of a new LHR1/2. Without this, the new LHR2 would not be big enough.

After this, logically, LHR3 would also need to be rebuilt and "toast racked" to make the best use of space and to fit in with LHR1/2 and in particular to be aligned with LHR5. In these circumstances, there could see some "satelite sharing" between the 2 oneworld terminals (LHR3 and LHR5) if the transit is extended.

Hi Frank, the quote function is second from the end on the RHS when you reply. Copy (CTR+C) what you want to quote then tap the QUOTE function then paste (CTR+V) what you copied into the middle.
VOILA :
Once the new T2 is open, T1 is coming down to allow T2 to be extended. Indeed the North wall of the new terminal bulding looks to be temporary.

When you say T1 do you mean all of T1 or just part of it? I'm not familiar enough with LHR as I used to be and I'm curious to know if they are going to knock the entire metal tubing that is T1 and stiffling hot during the summer. The memories of flying back and forth to Ireland in the 90's and early 00's.

The diagrams at the bottom of this newspaper image should explain the sequence:

http://im.media.ft.com/content/image...6&title=&desc=

The old T2 having been demolished, the southern half of the new "LHR-East" / T2A is now under construction. When complete, T1 will be demolished. The northern half of the new terminal will then be built in its place. The existing stands 247-249 and 231-233 (the furthest reaches of the current T1) will become the northern half of satellite terminal 2B parallel to the new "LHR-East" / T2A. I'm not sure whether a further satellite T2C (as shown in the diagram) is certain to be built or not, but LHR surely needs it.

What will remain is a significant improvement: one large terminal ("LHR-East" / T2A) and one or maybe two parallel satellites (T2B and T2C) perpendicular to the runways. The satellite(s) will be connected by an underground tunnel / people mover, allowing for a full sized taxiway between them.

Whether T3 ever gets rebuilt like this is another matter...