LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  20 December 2008 : by Gavin Stewart

Customer Rating : 4/5

Generally T5 is a pleasure but I note some creeping issues coming in. T5 Flight Connections is starting to fray at the edges a bit. Only one immigration officer active on the UK queue last week. If there are any issues with a particular passenger then everybody waits. Sure enough, a non-UK national got into the wrong line and had all sorts of queries, immigration were very helpful, but come on, enforce the process please. What worries me really, is that one of the two escalators up to security from FC seems now to be permanently shut down. I assumed it was maintenance, but it's still roped off on 3 successive visits and now I suspect it's deliberate to choke the passenger flow. Welcome back to the old-style FC queue management? Catch 22, you reduce the functionality, you just choke the flow even more, then you do something else - I hope not! This escalator also has a needless extended zig-zag at the base, again I presume to slow us all down. The design at the top of the escalator is a bit of a bottleneck, which may explain it. If so the designers want shooting. In every other respect T5 is a great experience.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  19 December 2008 : by David Leston

Customer Rating : 4/5

The Terminal 3 piers are looking really smart now, much better than the horrible, old patterned carpets they used to have - it used to be really embarrassing - although the immigration hall is still very shabby. Transited through arrivals in less than 20 mins (including baggage reclaim), impressive. LHR does seem to be getting better.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  13 December 2008 : by P Ameil

Customer Rating : 4/5

LHR/ARL with SAS and return from/to terminal 3. Used compulsory (?) self service check in at LHR; slightly disappointed this didn't give option to choose a seat. Going out everything fine, although did take a fair while to pass thru' security. Returning, it took me a little over 20 minutes from exiting the plane to standing on the platform waiting for the Heathrow Express - and that was with hold baggage to retrieve! I have to say I was well impressed with that!

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  10 December 2008 : by Nick Paul

Customer Rating : n/a

T1 and connect to T2 at lunchtime on a Monday - T2 restaurants nearly empty, few pax around. No queue at security at all, all very prompt service. Note some gates are 20 mins walk so allow this if making connections with short times between flights - signage comments on this in the Terminal, as well. Rather tired decor, but perfectly fine for transitting through. The usual comment that there are far too many shops, but its up to the traveller to decide to use them or not. Typical meal costs - pizza £6 - £8, water £2, hot drink £2.50. Waiters were checking pax departure times to advise them of time for service which was a courteous service to avoid rushed meals. On returning after return flight, once through the arrival hall, there were no signs that I could see for connection to T1 for onward flight - the first sign was outside the hall - other terminals were noted, but not for T1, so if connecting, make your way outside and then follow directions as indicated. T1 another shopping centre experience. Security again very quick - no queues at all for a mid morning dept. Check the prices at the various cafes/restaurants as quite a difference for the same meal at hdifferent outlets. Again, fine facility for passing through, and some further building work in evidence - no doubt further shops.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  3 December 2008 : by C McCafferty

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flew out of Terminal 2 with Swiss on a Friday evening. As I had checked in online I was able to avoid queuing in the dingy check in area, and from then on the experience was remarkably pleasant. The security check was swift and hassle free and the terminal building was much less crowded than I expected (possibly because T2 contains a mix of mostly continental European airlines, with no large UK carrier). As boarding cards are checked when passengers enter the gate area, the boarding process did not involve the frantic scrum to get on the plane which is the usual experience these days. One major irritant was that I followed the signs from the Heathrow Express to T2, (which basically brings you towards T3) when it would have been much quicker to follow the signs to T1 and walk over to T2 from there – I shall know for next time. Other that that a pleasant experience.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  16 November 2008 : by Steve Mumby

Customer Rating : 2/5

Arrived from JNB at 7:30am to T3. Needed wheelchair assistance and couldn't have been treated worse by BAA agent - OCS. Clearly couldn't care about me (or the other wheelchair passengers), made no effort to help us, assumed we could walk long distances to get to one of their golf carts - I could go on and on.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  12 November 2008 : by Tony McLaughlin

Customer Rating : 4/5

Terminal 1. have been a big critic of this terminal in the past but it is now vastly improved since BA transferred to T5. This terminal is now more open and more spacious. There were at least 5 flights to the USA in the short time I was in T1, but it seemed very uncrowded. I flew BMI, and there were ample check-in facilities for this airline. Slightly further walk now to Gate 2 since all departures go through the one channel, but not the end of the world. Shoes off policy is now rigorously enforced at security.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  11 November 2008 : by J de Vries

Customer Rating : 2/5

Despite arriving late on a Sunday night, with hardly any other aircraft landing, air traffic control felt it necessary to keep us in the air around London for 45 minutes. It seems air traffic control also had difficulties assigning our plane a parking spot - despite numerous empty gates. We taxied around terminal 3 in its entirety before parking at a gate passed earlier. With so few arriving passengers, immigration at T3 was a breeze, waiting time for suitcases was reasonable.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  11 November 2008 : by John Oram

Customer Rating : 4/5

Today's arrival from LAX saw T5 as BA no doubt intended it to be. In spite of the complex of escalators, walkways and transits we moved from T5B to T5A with little effort and our baggage was waiting. For the first time in a long while, priority tagging seemed to have meant something. IRIS was ultra quick. The Hotel Hoppa was right there at the stop but being a BAA imposition it is a grudging and minimalist service. The off going driver was insolent and the relieving driver was harsh on brakes and accelerator and of course bound by the tedious route which gets you only eventually to the Renaissance.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  11 November 2008 : by Guy Lester

Customer Rating : 4/5

Used T2 on an Alitalia to Milan Linate. Only used LHR once before - usually use LGW and found T1 to be dreadful. However, T2 was excellent at 07:30 on the Monday. Extremely quiet, only six other flights leaving - Lufthansa, Austrian and Swiss. Security a breeze - through in 2 minutes. Departure Lounge was quiet and we boarded quickly. Gate fairly close to lounge, only a few mins walk away. Aircraft left quickly. Only complaint was that the layout was slightly confusing - came in and had to check - in downstairs although some desks were upstairs. Then had to go up two levels for security and departures.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  9 November 2008 : by C Young

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flew from Terminal 4 to Singapore on BA. Well, now that BA have moved all their flights except those to SYD, BKK and SIN from Terminal 4 the place is like a ghost town. Bored shopkeepers, only too happy to chat now that commerce has dried up. Verdict, terrific place to depart from as so uncrowded.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  7 November 2008 : by Mark Cowell

Customer Rating : 2/5

Arrival into T1 on SAA from CPT. Despite being in the air for 12 hours apparently no one at LHR was expecting us as we had to sit on the ramp for 15mins awaiting a marshaller to guide the aircraft into stand. Once off the plane, the whole grim T1 arrival experience unfolded with the usual array of missing ceilings, endless treks and a 45 minute wait for bags. Thankfully customs queue was minimal. Welcome to the UK!

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  5 November 2008 : by Roger Stone

Customer Rating : 3/5

Heathrow could be an enjoyable and efficient hub for business travellers needing to work both in mainland Europe and the UK over a short period - but it isn't. The main problems occur when transiting between terminals or attempting to stay at the Heathrow Hilton adjacent to T4. Transit trains between T3 and T4 do not run every 2 minutes or so as one may expect if you are used transiting through Hong Kong, Singapore, or Tokyo Narita. Instead, at Heathrow between T3 and T4, waiting times can be up to 20 minutes for the Heathrow Connect train to arrive. In other words, there are no local shuttle trains frequently moving to and fro. One has to wait for the trains from central London to take you between terminals. These trains are quite nice but confusion and stress is common with transit passengers forlornly looking about for a suitable train on the underground station platforms at Heathrow. After a week or so of this I found myself assisting many lost travellers as I had, by this time, learnt the best way of surviving this ordeal. This can be a nice conversation starter but it is not an airport recommended for the nervous traveller. Thankfully, there are now more platform staff ready to assist but the train frequency is too low (too far apart). Otherwise, I do like using T5 and have found T1 quite OK. The rest, coping with rude contract check in staff with some airlines, can be an ordeal to deal with.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  30 October 2008 : by Andy Bent

Customer Rating : 3/5

I can't say using T3 was a particularly pleasant experience but it was mercifully brief! Minimal queuing at check in - so I wasn't stuck in that dingy check in hall for too long - then straight through security with no queue. Duty free area not too unpleasant considering the numbers of people crammed into it. On return through immigration, baggage collection and customs in under half an hour - which you can't complain at.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  21 October 2008 : by Kevin Tunnicliffe

Customer Rating : 5/5

Terminal 1. Last time I had to use this terminal it was a nightmare, so when BA switched my flight from T3 after I had booked I was concerned. All for nothing. Terminal one was excellent. No queues on Tuesday as we departed and non on Saturday as we returned. Very few immigration staff on the desks as we came back which caused a slight delay as they had to get extra staff to look into a passenger whose papers did not seem in order. Apart from that excellent. A good range of eating and beverage outlets in departures and on return our baggage was on the belt as we arrived in the baggage hall.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  21 October 2008 : by John Oram

Customer Rating : 3/5

On first arrival at T5 it seems like an ocean of calm in spite of the large number of flights now using it but soon enough you receive a reassuring reminder of BAA's infinite capacity to cause inconvenience. We had arrived at and dropped our bags near the North entrance. We were not allowed through security at that end of the terminal as it was 'closed' being 'too busy'. We walked to the other end of the terminal, ran the gauntlet of the usual charmless security personnel and found that the route to BA's South lounge could hardly be more convoluted if they had had a competition to make it so. Suffice it to say it involves going down one escalator to backtrack and go up two escalators.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  21 October 2008 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 1/5

Made T5 connection at 6.30 am. Trains and escalators jammed, security lines long and fast track a joke. The security system does not work and causes terrible backups. I recommend allowing longer connect times than BA gives if transferring early am.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  18 October 2008 : by G Levecque

Customer Rating : 1/5

For anyone requiring wheel chair assistance, make sure you give yourselves lots of time to make connections. On Sep 25th my wife and I came into Heathrow Terminal 5 from Edinburgh, she had to wait almost an hour to get wheelchair assistance from the flight from Edinburgh to the waiting area for the flight to Toronto. We where taken by golf cart from the assistance seating area to the gate for the Toronto flight, then there was no wheelchair to take my wife the rest of the way to the plane, she tried walking and almost passed out in so doing, no one told me that once we had checked in, the plane for Toronto would have waited for us! This was a terrible experience.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  15 October 2008 : by R Moss

Customer Rating : 3/5

Arrived LHR T3 from USA. Forty-five minute wait to clear customs. Then fifteen minutes to get luggage. Our walk to the main terminal area no longer under construction and actually clean. Marathon walk to T1 to pick up BMI flight. BMI check in staff some of the rudest people I have ever encountered. I really don't mind T-3 but dread having to deal with T1. Even Miami personel more polite than T1.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  14 October 2008 : by Adam Farrell

Customer Rating : 1/5

Passed through Terminal going to Aberdeen for the weekend with BMI. The domestic security route is now used for staff only so passengers now have to detour through the main (former) International Departures. This requires domestic passengers to have a photo which the guy that looked at my boarding pass neglected to take. Consequently I was not allowed access to the domestic gates and then lectured by a very patronising security man for not having my passport on me. I politely explained to him that I was well aware the purpose of the new procedures was to increase retail revenue in the lounge by funnelling ALL passengers through the shopping mall. Eventually after much consultation I was escorted back out to have my photo taken, neatly driving a truck through the security protocols. I had to sprint the length of T1 domestic as BMI were holding the gate until the last moment for me. Security man complained loudly to his staff about my attitude.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  9 October 2008 : by Nick Biskinis

Customer Rating : 3/5

T5 does work, and architecturally leaves an impression of light ambience. However, the fast baggage drop off isn't particularly fast, particularly if you're stuck behind passengers travelling to the States, where check-in staff took ages to clear them through. Also the security gates were limited so causing long queues - I can see how come summer this could undermine T5's efficiency. That said, there's good spaces to sit down, nice views of planes, some reasonably priced cafes. For those arriving back in the UK, information about public transport/bus/rail/Tube and National Express services is really first rate. So Heathrow has a fine Terminal - but it needs to replace T1/2 with Heathrow East as soon as possible, and sort out Terminal 3 which is arguably the worst Heathrow Terminal by far. Overall LHR is hit and miss, though I've never had a bad experience at this airport

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  9 October 2008 : by Kingsley Utande

Customer Rating : 3/5

Arrived at T5 a couple of weeks ago from Abuja and was not impressed. Commute from the remote stand to the terminal was too long and the queue at immigration took over an hour. The supervisors kept issuing contradictory instructions and having gone through, saw another oversized BAA shopping mall. While waiting for my connecting flight to Zurich there was the lack of gate information until approx 40 mins to departure. How does BAA expect people to navigate the vastness and get to their gates on time? Other passengers kept complaining that Terminal 4, for all its decay was faster. My return trip from ZRH a week later was better. Spent barely fifteen minutes at immigration and was at the national express stop before the hour ran out. On the whole, I loved the secluded rest areas airside and the terminal's architecture which doesn't have you going up and down like ZRH. But T5 needs to improve on processing arrivals thru immigration at peak periods.

LONDON HEATHROW AIRPORT review :  4 October 2008 : by Peter Hutchinson

Customer Rating : 4/5

Arrived at T1 and departed via T5t. Differences are like chalk & cheese - T1 was the same as it was 10 years ago! Transit time inbound was very quick though - less than 30mins from arrival at gate to being at shuttle bus pick up and I was travelling economy! Very impressed with T5 check-in though attendant at bag drop should have taken her happy pills that morning. Travelling J Class to LAX so lounge facilities were much appreciated. Would give T5 5 stars, but alas T1 is only 3 - it's still better than LAX !