LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  10 March 2009 : by G Jardin

Customer Rating : 3/5

My first ever time through T2 and it’s clear that the LHR experience depends on which terminal you use. T2 works OK but the facilities are embarrassingly tatty and badly planned for international visitors to the UK. Plenty of seats airside in the cramped departure lounge/shopping mall. Still, at least there were no queues or delays, but T2 does need drastic work, given the glossy T5 and the ever-improving T1 down the road.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  10 March 2009 : by A Asprakis

Customer Rating : 4/5

Recently transfered 4 times through terminal 5 on BA flights. Although the terminal is very convenient for transferring, I disapprove of the amount of high end shops. There are very few meal options that do not involve high end sushi restaurants, etc., and the whole place just gives me the sense that they are trying their best to shake you for money before you get on your flight.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  10 March 2009 : by R Pontida

Customer Rating : 2/5

Had to connect several times through the supposed-to-be state-of-the-art Terminal 5 and I don't like it. Every time you have to wait a lot for security clearance between your flights, although you're already in the international area. Not only are there always queues, but it's also relatively inefficient as I had no troubles going with some liquids unnoticed. World duty free is very nice, but the rate they charge for conversion is a complete rip-off. Also, there is no power outlet for laptops and not even free Wi-Fi.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  3 March 2009 : by W Warnock

Customer Rating : 4/5

I've used Terminal 1 a couple of times recently checking into United for US flights and Air New Zealand for an NZ flight. What a change in the last year or so. So much better than previous. Plenty of room around the check-in desks and a pretty straight forward process through security. Regarding security, can someone please let us passengers know the rules! Is it shoes on or off, belts on/off etc. It seems to vary from line to line and also results in some verbal announcement from the security individual. at the last moment before you put your stuff through the scanner. Once airside, plenty of room to sit and many shops to browse. Food choice looked good too and certainly my meals were nice. While still not a patch on Changi etc I think Heathrow should be commended for bringing Terminal 1 out of the dark ages and allowing international travellers some space and options prior to heading for the departure gate. The previous nightmares at Terminal 3 seem well behind. Cannot comment on the other Terminals but 1 gets a 4 for effort.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  27 February 2009 : by Kiran Param

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flew out of T3 recently. Granted early morning departure, very pleasant from check in to airside in about 25 minutes. In my view T3 has improved a lot over the last 18 months. On return once again pleasantly suprised with no delays at immigration and baggage arrived fairly quickly. Once again from disembarking aircraft to waiting at platform to catch the tube in about 30 minutes.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  23 February 2009 : by Jonathan Granato

Customer Rating : 4/5

Departing T5. On the surface it appears to work just fine. I was examined all ends of up a Fast Track Security by efficient and polite agents. I was never told that the SEA flight left from Terminal 5 A or B, and that I had to hop a tram to get there. No, instead, blank stares, a denial of an escort when I finally broke down and admitted that I was lost as all get out. Finally, after making my way to the terminal that contains gate 38 or 44, I found the Galleries Lounge. It's well set up, lots of food, multiple quiet workstations. Superb views. The tables and their lingering detritus seems to not be much of a problem for the staff working there. One thing I noticed across the board in the attitude of the ground staff was an apathy, a lacking of bonding with the pax. There was nobody else around to prevent welcoming arrive pax in this fashion. Arriving at T5 we circled forever. Once chocked up to the remote stand, the pax were informed that the driver of the tow truck was on a tea break and would be there asap. Not ironed out all the kinks yet!

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  19 February 2009 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 3/5

Whilst I am not a huge fan of T5, I find Mr. Drake's comments very strange since Hong Kong uses escalators and trains to get through the huge terminal and even Changi has a train between terminal buildings. Seems T5 is not getting a fair comparison.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  18 February 2009 : by Shane Kitt

Customer Rating : 3/5

Recently transferred through LHR on Malaysia Airlines en route to DUB. My inbound flight was delayed and had to suffer an incredibly long walk and a bus transfer before I finally got to T1. I was confronted with long lines and badly organised staff who seemed to think joking amongst themselves was more important than doing their jobs. As I was late for my onward flight I and a few other passengers literally had to beg the staff to get us through security quicker. Once through, I found the departure lounge quite pleasant with a good selection of shops and restaurants. Although my nightmare began again when I had to endure a nearly 20 minute walk to my gate through a series of depressing corrugated metal tubes and bland prefabs. Heathrow does have redeeming qualities but my particular experience was exasperating. My main gripe was the staff who seemed unenthusiastic and were very unhelpful.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  18 February 2009 : by C Drake

Customer Rating : 1/5

Having breezed through Singapore Changi and the terminals of Hong Kong, I wonder how we ended up with such an dire user-unfriendly terminal at Terminal 5. Its split into three hubs and all long haul goes from either the "B" or "C" sector. To get to these sectors you need escalators or lifts + a train (or a bus) + more escalators and/or a lift. Why on earth couldn't this terminal be on one level as T4 and more importantly an elongated "T" design with moving travelators taking passengers to the outer gates, within ONE building. The costs of the train system and bus system would have been eliminated as well as reducing the need to dig down and create such a system. If we can get it wrong in Britain we surely do.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  17 February 2009 : by Alasdair Brooks

Customer Rating : 4/5

In common with several other comments, Heathrow does seem to be pulling its socks up. My most recent experience this January, flying economy class on Air Canada, was typical: easy check-in (just dropping off bags after checking in on-line), fast and efficient security (I particularly like that you can keep your laptop in its bag!), and if the main shopping/waiting area in T3 isn't that inspiring, it's better than a lot of US airports. The immigration queues on the return leg also seemed much shorter, and baggage claim worked efficiently. Most problems with T3 now seem to be sorted out. Let's hope that the same holds true when I start using T1 (I'm a Star Alliance frequent flyer) later this year.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  9 February 2009 : by G McNab

Customer Rating : 4/5

T1 was surprisingly pleasant to use on a late Saturday afternoon. It was a swift passage through the security screening with staff quite polite at all points. I had to take my shoes off as usual. This practice seems to vary enormously from airport to airport and is surely a complete waste of time now. Couldn’t BAA at least put carpets down or something instead of having to stand and walk through the machine on dirty rubber? Airside T1 & T2 is all one big departure lounge and with fewer flights on a Saturday evening than weekdays it seemed calmer and less frantic than usual.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  2 February 2009 : by T Neyrinck

Customer Rating : 4/5

LHR T5 is excellent, a huge improvement compared to T1/2/3/4. Airy, modern, no long walks to the gates, and fantastic views of landing and departing air planes.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  2 February 2009 : by D Moir

Customer Rating : 3/5

Why is it the case that every flight I ever get is always to and from a departure gate at the furthest points from each other? Terminal 3 to Terminal 5, arriving from Singapore on SIA & connecting to Edinburgh was quite a bizarre experience of long walks, funny little bus journey and even though only mid-evening, a ghostly absence of people (apart of course, from the millions of security personnel ensuring that every last bottle of water has been incarcerated).

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  25 January 2009 : by G Jardin

Customer Rating : 3/5

Heathrow does seem to be getting its act together. T1 is much improved following BA’s departure. The departure lounge feels less crowded and the overall experience is pleasantly calming. No criticism. T5 is rather different. I’m not saying that’s actually bad, and the architecture is great, but it seemed rather busy in places for a January weekday morning. Security was hectic and the staff seemed agitated and on the edge of rudeness. It’s also easy to miss the seats to sit whilst replacing shoes. On our return from Washington, we had to be bussed to T5, which isn’t in keeping with a self-proclaimed world class terminal, even if baggage collection was very quick indeed. Also long flight connection queues, as others have noticed. T5 is far from being a disaster but already it can feel pretty full and a bit stressful.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  14 January 2009 : by M Holster

Customer Rating : 4/5

Travelling thru from ARN-JFK and back, both times T5. The Stockholm flight was a bussed one both ways and have to say I was surprised - did not expect this from this new and top modern terminal. One passenger slipped and fell on the bus. Huge terminal and confusing at first, crowded but all in all everything worked. Liked the B terminal not so busy but lots of walking.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  6 January 2009 : by Grisha Cleaver

Customer Rating : 3/5

London Heathrow terminal 2. It was a very good day to go to the airport as it was Boxing Day. No traffic on the motorways, very quiet inside, good cafes and good shops. If flying with Lufthansa, don't bother with the quick drop in check in. We used it and found out that there were less people not using quick drop in. Only one clerk serving in security check for about 30 people or more but easy board on the plane. Is Heathrow terminal 2 always like this or only on Boxing Day?

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  6 January 2009 : by Phillip Watson

Customer Rating : 5/5

Flew from T5 to Toronto, and it is a massive improvement from T2/T4. It is open, spacious well planned and thought out. I suspect that the same number fly through there than from T4 but it feels less claustrophobic and you don't feel cramped. Plenty of shops to choose from and the prices for refreshments are reasonable.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  6 January 2009 : by Simon Smith

Customer Rating : 4/5

Terminal 1 for BMI. It appears to have been much improved in last 3 months with new check ins open and more space. Security was reasonably quick and well organized. New Star Alliance lounge (in old BA lounge area) is quite impressive.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  3 January 2009 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 4/5

T5 is a great improvement - however there are some bottlenecks in the Flight Connections procedure which will get worse if not addressed. If arriving in the early morning rush, the security area is swamped and cannot cope in the space available. On connecting for an outbound international flight, each time I have had to queue for boarding pass inspection, then be sent to a BA desk for a documentation check (even when this was already done at my point of origin) and go back to the inspection again. These are the kind of things that spoil what should be a new and refreshingly easy experience.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  3 January 2009 : by Charles King

Customer Rating : 4/5

Even with T5 I always seem to get bussed in off the flight from EWR, which is pretty annoying and unacceptable for a new "world class" terminal. Maybe the new "C" satellite will mean that one is more likely to get a proper pier once it is built. Overheard a BA crew member saying that every 777 gets buses rather than a pier at the moment. However, immigration was swift (about 5 people in the queue ahead of me) and, given that I was the first off the plane (travelling First) it was impressive to see my bag waiting for me when I got to baggage reclaim. An incredible improvement over the half hour plus waits I used to have at T4. BA arrivals lounge is great.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  28 December 2008 : by Mark Bickerton

Customer Rating : 4/5

T3 arriving from DXB on Emirates. The opening of T5 has meant that the other terminals are less busy at peak times. I was off the plane, through passport control and onto a train in less than 10 minutes, which is amazing. The airport was quiet, good signage and the staff even smiled a bit!

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  24 December 2008 : by Vincent Borlaug

Customer Rating : 5/5

I first used Terminal 5 in October when connecting IAD/LHR/BUD and back, and was generally impressed by the more open, less claustrophobic design compared to Terminal 4 - also the shuttles between the A and B gates worked well, and there is even (as in T4) a nice pub airside, with real ales and a decent fish-and-chips platter - arrival formalities and security went well for the most part. Now on 20th December I used the departure hall for the first time (again to IAD) and this is a vast improvement in every way: the contrast between the new and old (T4) designs is even more vivid, check-in queues were much shorter, the 'Fast Bag Drops' finally lived up to their name, and the extra spaciousness of the general layout made for a much better experience overall. On these showings, T5 is a winner! (Further interesting bit: T4 veterans may remember the free malt whisky tastings at the duty-free there - I am pleased to report that these have continued at T5.)

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  24 December 2008 : by Alan Wan

Customer Rating : 4/5

T1 outbound and return with United Airlines. I have not flown international from T1 for several years and thought it was fine the queues for security were short at 8am and we ate at the Pret a Manger which was reasonably priced. On our return we got from the gate and picked up our bags within 45 minutes. Overall much better than previous experiences at T3.