Heathrow T5

[HZ123]

You can always use the Wetherspoons at the 'domestic' end. At the moment much of the time T5 has a steady flow of punters, I suppose the real test is when loads pick up and we experience a boom? Agree that the security area does not seem to have advanced much, the staff often seem curt and disinterested with the inevitable queues.

[Final 3 Greens]

Just experienced a departure at T5 for the first time.

I have to second the less than complimentary posts on this thread.

I queued for 20 minutes in the security 'fast track' and then followed the lead of a BA cabin crew member who said if we didn't change to non fast track, we'd never get through.

Added to the BA "customer service" last night, I doubt I'll be back any time soon.

I hate to say this, as a lot of people are going to be hurt, but the UK needs a hard recession to remind some companies of the concept of service delivery.

[L337]

What organisation provides security at T5?

[WHBM]

Originally Posted by Final 3 Greens

I hate to say this, as a lot of people are going to be hurt, but the UK needs a hard recession to remind some companies of the concept of service delivery.

Alas BAA, the principal company involved is Spanish.

[radeng]

> hate to say this, as a lot of people are going to be hurt, but the UK needs a hard recession to remind some companies of the concept of service delivery.<

I wonder if even a deep recession would make much difference. BAA have no idea of providing anything but minimum service at maximum profit, and so their response to fewer pax would probably be to reduce facilities further to make using the airports even more of traumatic experience.

[Final 3 Greens]

What organisation provides security at T5?

The relevant question is who is the prime contractor.

WHBM

You are right that Ferrovial is a Spanish company, but BAA plc is a UK company.

So is BA, which provides the 'fastrack' access to the customers.

Radeng

I do understand why you make your point, we'll see.

[L337]

So is BA, which provides the 'fastrack' access to the customers.

And it is the BAA that provide the staff to man that access.

Mr 3 greens, do you honestly believe that BA has any influence over the BAA? Do you honestly think that this issue has not been talked about with BAA over and over and over again? Do you think that BA deliberately want security to be an unmitigated pile of agro? Do you think that BA want the trains between terminals to be always broken, and overcrowded?

The list just goes on and on.

If BA could wave a wand and fix the BAA they would. If BA could wave a wand and make the BAA disappear into there own sunset they would.

As far as I can see the DfT and the BAA are determined to make the travel experience as uncomfortable as possible.

[Final 3 Greens]

Mr 3 greens, do you honestly believe that BA has any influence over the BAA?

You're having a laugh, right?

The major customer of Heathrow Airport Ltd doesn't have any influence?

[radeng]

3 greens,

I've been travelling through Heathrow on a regular basis for the last 30 years. It has got consistently worse since privatisation, with less and less maintenance - you can arrive on a Friday to see a moving walkway out of action and find it the same on Sunday. The T4 lavatories were a disgrace. Security lines at T5 are far too long, there aren't enough moving walkways on arrival - after all, arrivals don't pass shops - but I really don't see BAA having the will to do anything about the inconveniences to pax. Thay have a captive audience, and they DON'T CARE! So that's why I doubt a recession will make them improve.

[old,not bold]

I used T5 recently, for the 4th or 5th time since it opened. The bus ride we embarked on was the longest I have ever been on on any airport in the world. I know LHR fairly well as an ex-BAA manager, but after the first 10 minutes I was completely lost; well, it was night-time and raining!

Any use of buses with a new terminal, still nowhere near its capacity, is an abject admission of incompetence in planning and design and therefore comes as no surprise from BAA.

I thought for a while, as we drove round LHR, that perhaps there had been an aircraft change to one parked on another terminal. But no, we finished up boarding on a pan in what looked like an industrial estate, miles from anywhere.

And while we're on the subject of BAA; the Immigration waiting area at Gatwick South, last week, reminded me of a third world airport in a Police State in the Middle East in the 1970's, or perhaps of Domodedovo before they improved it. Overcrowded, unventilated, shored up by scaffolding and steel beams, too few staff, waiting times of 30 - 45 minutes, it was a disgrace of which I have never felt so deeply ashamed in my life, as a Brit surrounded by visitors and understanding their comments in several languages.

I have several pictures which are available to any journalist who wants them by pm. If the Spanish owners of BAA care so little about what they do they need to be exposed and hounded out of the country. BAA was never good, (hence the "ex") but since it was sold it has become the pits, useless, incompetent, run by morons, running the worst major airports in the entire world, bar none that I know of, and I know a good many.

PS I quit in disgust not long after the grocers took over BAA, in case anyone is thinking "OK, sacked and disgruntled".

[TopBunk]

Any use of buses with a new terminal, still nowhere near its capacity, is an abject admission of incompetence in planning and design and therefore comes as no surprise from BAA.

Correct, but T5 is already operating at design capacity. The busing situation will be improved when T5C is fully open.

[old,not bold]

Correct, but T5 is already operating at design capacity

If that's so, that really is an abject failure of planning! Are you sure?

[WHBM]

I wonder if there is another "brand new, world class" terminal anywhere else in the world where the principal tenant, who were to consolidate all their operations in one terminal (BA at T5) is unable to dock a significant type in their fleet (757) because the terminal designers (BAA) never took into account that the perfectly standard baggage facilities on the aircraft (bulk load) were incompatible with the terminal baggage system provided (containerised only, no bulk load). And so the aircraft, and the destinations they serve, have to operate from a different terminal (and soon be shunted on to a third one) separated by a half-hour transfer.

You couldn't make it up, could you ?

[Skipness One Echo]

Get real. There wasn't the room to do that in the time frame. Heathrow has always been constrained, they are doing the best under the circumstances, there will be a lot less bussing when T5C comes on line.

The 757 HAS been used at T5, but since it has been long known it was leaving the fleet, it's not an issue.

[Seat62K]

BAA is not owned by Ferrovial but by a consortium which includes Ferrovial. Canadian and other interests are also included. Nit-picking, perhaps, but necessary when one sees the "Spanish-owners" type of comment (possibly written to imply that things were hunky-dory when "we Brits" owned BAA, which, of course, is nonsense).

[old,not bold]

Amendment 200876/01/09

For "Spanish-owned" read "Spanish-controlled."

And I don't see anyone implying that things were hunky-dory before it was sold to Grupo Ferrovial and their henchmen.

It wasn't all that hunky-dory before that damned woman privatised it. But it soon got worse.

[Seat62K]

Heathrow's problems go back a long time. Post-Roskill and "The Four Site Saga", British governments should have bitten the bullet and constructed an airport on Maplin Sands. It's now too late (sorry, Boris). A third runway, if built, will not provide a solution - it's years away and Heathrow is full today. It's like terminal 5: a new facility which is actually too small to accommodate all the current flights of its sole tenant, let alone coping with future growth at BA. Says it all, really.
Leading business-persons have commented on the London region losing its economic pre-eminence. I wouldn't be surprised if this loss is now inevitable. This would have major consequences for the economic well-being of all of us, not just those who work in the travel industry.

[Globaliser]

In the last 6 months, I've flown from Heathrow on five trips which I thought were from the new Terminal 5. Certainly, it was from a new-looking building which seemed a lot better than the other bits of Heathrow. All my flights were on British Airways. And the trips all went smoothly and pleasantly.

But reading this thread, I see that clearly I've been sorely mistaken.

However, if I wasn't flying from T5, where was I?

[Shack37]

Ayes to the right 2, Noes to the left 36.
The noes have it, the noes have it............unlock.

[Final 3 Greens]

To be fair to Globalilser, as well as the other posters, you can only comment on what you experience.

The service delviery is probably inconsistent.