Walkthrough Shoping Centres (Formerly known as Departure lounges)
 

It seems in the Uk it's now obligatory to have to walk through a winding shopping mall to get to the (increasingly reduced in numbers*) seats in departures. Stansted is by far the worst, but others are gaining quickly. Maybe it's just me, but I would consider paying a small fee for a 'fast track'!

*I'm quite sure the reduced seating is to encourage you to spend money in the various outlets.

Agreed, first noticed this at Man when they revamped T1 some years ago, the seating in the main lounge is non existant which leads to people wandering around for an our or so.

Luton has just extended and 'improved' it's departures. I can't wait until I have to go through in August. My usual ploy to avoid it all AND find a seat is to use my lounge pass. I find I have become adept at 'not seeing' the shops as I search out the lounge or the gate.

Conversely, in Arrivals at LHR (my most regular port) the reduction in seating drives people to sit in the chairs - in the coffee shops ....

It's completely deliberate. They don't want you sitting down not spending money!

STN and LTN are terrible for it. Not announcing gates until the very last minute, ridiculously small holding areas with far too few seats too. Forces people to the conveniently large, expensive food outlets which surprisingly have plenty of seats!

The UK is by far the worst I have seen for this. It's actually quite embarrassing how we so blatantly force people through the shops. Very tacky indeed.

What I find even more annoying is that at an increasing number of airports, you cannot even depart from the terminal without passing though the gauntlet of a (sometimes claimed duty-free) shopping area. The last thing I want to have to manoeuvre my rollaboard through is a maze of displays and counters -- all explicitly designed to obscure the exit and prevent travel in a straight line.

Brussels no different to Manchester.

IMHO it was dublin that started it wayyy back...

The UK is by far the worst I have seen for this. It's actually quite embarrassing how we so blatantly force people through the shops. Very tacky indeed.


Anyone been to Faro recently ????

If you want to see this taken to extreme try any IKEA store. or so I believe, Only been once to one in Edmonton UK never again

Back to Airports, agree UK is just a reason not to shop but the only benefit is the alcohol samples they promote and can easily lose 60mins of 'shopping' time and means you do not need to go to Wetherspoons to get tanked up before the flight

Stansted is the worst. It would be good to see how the escape times have been maintained should the fire alarms go off, especially given the kitchen areas of some catering outlets are now in the centre of the serendipity. Perhaps Essex fire service could pay a visit for an audit.

North terminal at LGW is a nightmare . A long winding u turning pathway through shops that is disorientating and confusing. Ina building emergency evac no lights and a lot of smoke it would be a death trap a death trap. I wonder how many freebies the airport bunged the authorities to get that approved. since it is so ridiculously obviously dangerous. And thats without the lack of seats no gate announcements and every other trick to try and force you to spend money

The North Terminal at LGW used to be really nice, you could see all the shops you might want to visit (or ignore) from the middle of the departure lounge, where there was abundant seating in relaxing surroundings - I miss the old centrepieces that were the cone-shaped fountains around which helical ramps would take you down to the departure gates.

After BAA sold it off the centrepieces were concreted over to make way for a small number of seats whilst the rest of the lounge has turned into an ugly and archaic shopping mall which you are forced to walk through regardless as it's the only path to the boarding gates now. Asides from there being a climate control problem, there also seemed to be a big fruit fly infestation problem in some of the upstairs food outlets when I was travelling through there back in February... hope they've sorted those out by now!

Would disagree, it's relativey short and just one U shaped walk. Compared to say Stansted (Long, circular walk to get back to 10m from where you started), Gatwick North's squiggle or Bristol's equivalent, EDI is realtively calm. But still annoying

The pleasantly surprising one is Heathrow T5, where it's almost an old fashioned pass through security then into the centre. Plenty of shops, but none you are forced to wlk through. Yet.

Dave,

Probably because they know not even one in ten pax could afford a Gucci handbag, Rolex watch, etc! The shops in T5 are useless to the average traveller.

I agree, there is very little that I would buy there as they are all stupid prices and if I was off to my two weeks in the sun at other airports, then I doubt I would be buying anything unless I realised that I had forgotten to pack something (even then I would probably wait until I got there).

I go each time with a list of things to get in the Harry Potter shop

Was at LHR T2 Arrivals this afternoon. There is a reasonable amount of seating in front of the exit area but you cannot read the screens unless you have binoculars as the characters are so small. I decided to check online and found that the main LHR website will give you the arrivals board but only up to the landing time. The updates about 'Bags Arriving' is not available. I did not bother to subscribe to their expensive SMS service to find out if you got more information that way.

As regulars at Stansted we actually find that we probably spend less due to the circuitous route. The good lady likes to get through to the departure area, get settled then perhaps do a bit of shopping, the thought of fighting your way back the "wrong way" to get to an earlier so, just means that shopping is just done in the few shops visible from our selected perch (normally the fish and champagne place). I too might week, in other circumstances, visit the whisky place or another ship, but I can't remember what we passed on the way in. So don't bother.
i would rather they just got me in quick, gave me somewhere to sit, and let me get bored. Then I might shop

Not just shops. The last two times that I've been through Gatwick I've had my one working ear assaulted by relentless thumping "pop" music. St. Pancras railway station is a shopping mall but at least it's a straight path to the trains,

I wonder how much the Shopping Arcades have developed to off set the price controls put in place when the airports were privatised? As you may recall, there was a strong limit on how much the landing fees could go up each year. It was no surprise when LHR changed their landign charges policy from 'seating per aircraft' to 'aircraft' so as to increase their income and squeeze out the regionals. (Still an ongoing problem 25+ years later!) Then they started upping the prices of the shop lets and redesigning to incorporate more shops and everyone else followed. The Conservatives wanted to privatise but knew that rising landing fees would be blamed on them. So they put controls in price which were then side stepped. No one could have predicted that ...

Parking was then incorporated as another high income stream. They learnt this one from British Rail who had already hiked parking prices to the point where their car parks started to empty and surrounding streets started to fill up with commuters parking in surburban side streets. Consequently to that the local Councils had to introduce parking restrictions so that locals could park in front of their own houses - had this happen to us.

I might be throwing hand grenades too freely, I sit to be corrected.

land-side Councils also now charge to drop-off, pick-up etc - Edinburgh is one of he worst for this - Govt cuts payments to local authorities to cut income tax so they go hunting elsewhere for revenue - then private airports see a new source of cash and do the same

I gave up on duty free years ago as you can almost always buy cheaper land-side - maybe except booze into Norway etc

As for buying a watch or clothes there...................:yuk:

Heathrow Harry
Have to agree with you. I go straight from car to lounge, however if with Mrs Mac there does seem to be a diversion to some outlet (Fat Face springs to mind recently !) . Now just give up let her wonder about while I go to lounge. As for Duty Free I will only bring in on inbound flight and only things which were difficult to obtain in UK or expensive to do so - Bombay East and Tanqueray Ten (when it was only available in US spring to mind), and of course Cuban cigars though 12 of the latter will usually see me through a year !

Kind regards
Mr Mac

Quite so. BHX my local case in point. Disorienting outbound circuitous route to what seating there is. And, blow me, after a nice 5hr 29" pitch package holiday flight home arriving when most shops are shut ,there it is again - just in case I had forgotte to by that overpriced watch or perfume.
Due to probs with BHX re sensible parking and flight times to my preferred destination, I shall be using EMA later this year. Please, please, let it be better!!!

Just a thought on buying upon arrival.

Outbound they demand to see your boarding card. What is the process for buying when you land inbound?

Probably.
 

Probably. But like i said, having arrived back at BHX in early hours when all normal shops are shut and after a 5hr 29" pitch package flight, who wants to buy that Rolex or perfume? Not me - im usually spent up anyway.

Last time I bought inbound was at Luton. Daughter wanted some perfume and I baulked at the 90 euros demanded in Malaga, forty quid at Luton for the same bottle and no boarding card required.

Me neither. Despite the experience of the gent from Luton, ive never found a DF price that i couldnt beat either in Resort or in inbound airport DFs - FUE, LPA, AGP, ALI.
I also prefer to try and find a seat in Departures (not always easy at BHX, grab a soft drink and sit patiently whilst my planes are delayed.

It was a couple of years ago and I was very tired but I remember the departures of Bristol airport being one huge shopping precinct complete with endless loud animated perfume ads on big screens. I can't see how that would encourage anyone to buy there, unless the offered to shut-off the volume with a purchase.

Also, the shops were closed as it was nearly midnight. Can't they turn-off the ads when the shutters go down?

I've never been so glad to board an Easyjet flight, even two hours delayed. I watched it coming in on FR24 on my phone and cheered when it came into view.

I used to buy on board - especially when pre-ordering started as it was very convenient. Then the airlines racked up prices too. If going on holiday, I usually buy locally on arrival.

I find the lighting in the "duty free" area of EDI gives me an instant headache. On my last visit I had to run though (due to BA "bag drop" being understaffed) and the thought did cross my mind that at least Ikea have short cuts for people in a hurry.