There will be a Hell of a lot less bussing which is good but I agree with the above. T5 works well with those who are familiar......

I imagine that out troops fighting a war in Afghanistan would be horrified at having to face the terrors of T5. Phew, they're lucky, they only have to avoid land mines on a daily basis & then endure a delay of 7 days waiting for a u/s C17 to get them home again!

Come on guys, get a life.:ok:

That is one of th emost inappropriate comments I have read on here for a while.

Unfortunately T5 is (built on) a pile of sh1t in many ways. It quite literally stands on the site of the former Perry Oaks sewage works and so is something of an improvement on days gone past. If you think air pollution is bad today then think back to a summers day with a prevailing wind from the west......

Anyhoo in typically British fashion, the only way to get most (not all) of the BA operation onto the site was the modular satellite approoach as opposed to the more traditional piers. Hence 50+ pier served stands with four remote parking stands isn't a bad result. However as site access was very constrained and the building project was massively controversial and political, it's a compromise between what we'd like and what you can shoe horn in there. Conformance also means of you are not presenting your boarding card at security at ETD -35, you miss your flight. This is because of the epic trek needed if you need to catch the train but also means if you're on a domestic from the 500s you're still screwed alas.

http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/eadba...2009-10-22.pdf

Biggest criticism is there's not enough room at security alas.
Having said that, if you know you learn quickly how to get past the shops there's an ocean of space and many quiet friendly corners where one can read or work. Even the tannoy announcements are strangely relaxing and old fashioned.

Well I guess that I've been lucky during all of my transits through T5. Mind you, as a retired Nav. I am able to find my way around quite easily.:rolleyes:

My only gripe is the quality of the wine in Galleries, definitely not what it used to be.

There are quite a number of relevant points here. Whilst it is true that some gates in T5 are quite a distance away it is still by far the best major terminal in the UK.

Travelling through any airport terminal involves a process where inevitably you have to pass a number of hurdles. It can be incredibly frustrating when there is a hold up at any of those points.

In a past life I worked for BA in T4 and our punctuality was pretty dreadful. When we analysed the reasons for the causes of delays it was found that the two main causes were passengers doing last minute shopping and exec club members leaving the lounge late.

Since BA moved the majority of it's operation to T5 punctuality has improved beyond recognition and it now has one of the best records amongst European based carriers despite LHR being one of the worst run airports.

Churchinchow's experience of witnessing the kind of appaling behaviour can not be condoned and whether the staff involved were having a bad day is no excuse.

Can I suggest that best way to deal with it is to report it to a Duty Manager immediately (time allowing) as well a formal complaint with full details such as time, place, names.

I can assure you that those complaints ARE followed up and the culprits disciplined if warranted.

Thanks for the tip about gate 10A/B, I am due to travel out of T5 next week and
hope to avoid it!!

Betty Girl, I enjoy reading your posts and despite havig left the company over ten years ago I am equally loyal to BA. It is the best company I have been with and the best group of colleagues I had the pleasure to work with.

BA is always easy pickings for criticism as the flag carrier, but when people have tried other airlines they can see that BA compares favourably with the majority of it's competitors.They do,however need to keep improving their product and customer service standards to compete with some of the Middle and Far East airlines. Hopefully the cabin crew dispute will be settled soon and everyone in BA can pull together again.

gr8tballsoffire
 

To my way of thinking the fact that BA has managed to provide such a good service despite Bassa's best efforts is indeed a fine tribute to the remainder of BA's staff.

T5 will continue to get better. Let's remember that it's not BA's fault that the other 2 satellites haven't yet been built. Anyone who is totally fed up with BA/ T5 always has the option of enjoying the various delights of T3!

fincastle makes an excellent point. Every time I travel through the hellhole of T3 (and BA are to be congratulated for having some of the best lounges in that terminal as well) I remind myself how lucky I am that I spend most of my time in T5.

Let me tell you about an occasion en-route back from the Middle East to Brussels through Terminal 4. The Brussels flight was delayed, and I was waiting in the Lounge. Eventually a new departure time was posted. This was in the days when the Lounge staff made a boarding announcement, but I was keeping a very close eye on the screens. Twenty minutes before the revised departure, there was still nothing on the screens, but I decided to move to the Gate anyway. I checked with the Lounge reception, and was told that no, it was not boarding yet. Just as I moved away from the desk, the screen changed to 'Boarding Now', and I heard the first Lounge announcement as I walked away towards the gate. I arrived at the gate 15 minuted before the revised departure to find the doors closed. "No I could not board, and my bags had been offloaded". They did put me on the next flight, but that was a further delay I could have done without!

So be careful about blaming passengers for leaving the lounge late.

Tigger Too

Like any business BA is not immune to making mistakes, or not dealing with the situation to everyone's satisfaction. I believe they get it right more often than not.

It is not a blame game, but a fact that flights were regularly delayed due to lounge passengers arriving late at the gate for whatever reason. The distance to the furthest Victor Pier stands was another contributing factor and as a result of the analysis you may have noticed the number of "time to gate" signs that appeared around the terminals to highlight the need to allow time for the walk. In those days my office was located on the V pier and believe me I had no need to join a gymn after walking to the main terminal offices for several meetings most days.

T5 is a breeze compared to that!!

Delays are not only costly to airlines, but inconvenient and annoying for passengers.

BA lost all credible rights to be known as the National flag carrier when it became London Airways.

Runway 24

You've got me, I have no idea what you're talking about. If not BA than which carrier do you suggest and why?

As a non premium pax who has only flown domestic through T5 (so far) I have to point out that the information given out on the public screens is also lacking and sometimes late.

Both times I've flown through T5 in the past year, the gate information for my flight has only gone up at the last possible moment (or so it seems). Luckily both times it was on the main concourse and I didn't have a panic getting to the satellite gates. Luckily I'd also asked at the customer service desk and had an idea about where it was likely to be going from.

After reading this thread I'm not looking forward to my transit from my NCL flight to my LAX flight in April...

Baggersup.

Since T5 has only one airline, BA, using it - wasn't your eJ friend talking about BA? I have heard of BA transit passengers being told they had 'missed' their connections, before taking the escalator up to security, if they were within the designated period of time. (Which I also heard was 40 minutes).

However IMHO this is NOT the way to solve the real problems. It just lets them lie (telling only part of the truth is one of the better ways to lie - RH) about their performance.

After a decade of poor treatment by BA staff (mostly on the ground, but occasionally in the air), being xxx'ed around by strikes, etc. I have voted with my feet. Never again. I was gold for much of that decade as well.

Swiss and their Skyteam buddies now get my money - and no, they are not perfect, but they are consistently better than BA and their One World friends.

BA have increasingly good mobile services. For example, the latest version of the iPhone app shows T5 gate information which is a bonus (especially when sitting in the lounge it saves you having to get up all the time to check the screens).

Without wishing to condone rare examples of rudeness to passengers:

Business Travel Awards 2011 - Winners 2011

Best Long-Haul Airline
British Airways

Best Airline Worldwide
British Airways

Joao da Silva,
I think the comment by fincastle84 was an example of irony ;)

Do not forget "The best airline when not on strike" category - an ouright winner there :D:D:D:):):)

I got that.

I didn't like very brave people being used in this context.

Just a shame that politicians don't show the same distaste for using those brave people to make their points....

I think fincastle84 falls into that unfortunate category of people who like to compare an operation to the worst possible example, and think "wow, aren't we doing well" rather than comparing it to the best-in-class and thinking "wow, look at all the things we could do to improve". It's that kind of thinking that is responsible for most of what is wrong in this world, in my opinion! :ok:

As for BA; I have found them to be great in the air, and worse than useless on the ground...