London Heathrow Airport

Appalled at terrible lack of thought in to how passengers transfer from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 (and vice versa). I was travelling from Terminal 4 but coming from Oxford on the bus which drops off at Terminal 5. There was no signage at all as to how to get between the two terminals. After asking airport staff we eventually found we had to take a local bus. There was no information as to whether the trip would be free (it was) and there was no space for luggage on the bus at all which if course most passengers had. Please improve this! Signs at least - but a dedicated transfer bus with proper luggage space would be better.

I found myself visiting three of the four terminals this summer on a return trip. Thankfully I must have travelled at the less busy times since I rarely experienced any long queues or other unpleasant aspects of using large busy airports. Zipped through T3 security and on the way back flight connections from T5 to T1 were well signposted and quick enough.

Arrived with Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong at 2.45pm on May 17th 2012 to find a huge queue at Passport Control in a zigzag formation everyone tired and only 3 control booths open so we waited over 50 minutes to be passed through to baggage and customs. What a way to be welcomed to London and the UK! And why don't countries dress up their entrance halls with advertising to boost their countries good points? Arriving in a bare concrete hall is the pits!

Flew out of and into Heathrow during the last weekend of the Olympics. Expected chaos but was all very smooth and seamless. No queues at immigration inbound although flight was one of the last ones in. Luggage on carousel when we got there.

T4 - two return trips in the past 3 months. Check-In's (Qatar and Etihad) not especially well organised. Security very slow and not a patch on the new facilities in LGW. Departures is basically a big shop with planes parked out the back. Facilities for the passengers? Who? What's wrong with shopping? Arrivals not too bad with most of the Immigration counters manned. The Baggage wait was an average of 45 minutes which is not good in a Baggage Hall which didn't appear to be especially busy. All in all not a great experience (but better than LHR T3 and not as good in any measure as LGW).

Terminal 5. I had great expectations when T5 opened but they were promptly dashed. Unbelievable to find a modern airport terminal where you still have to pay for internet use and with coins. Another piece of bad planning is the placing of the information signs when you come through departure security. As you gather your scattered belongings you look around for signs - and at first glance there is nothing. They're there but not immediately obvious. You have to wander around a bit and get the right angle of approach. Needlessly unsettling when you're already stressed. Terminal 4 - last experienced but never to be forgotten just before Terminal 5 opened. We were booked from Oslo to Johannesburg with BA but when the BA flight from Oslo was delayed we missed the connecting flight. We saw the last passengers go in and the doors close but the staff we pleaded with to get us on the plane were unmoved. We were put into a hotel and booked on the next flight to Johannesburg which was a KLM flight but unfortunately only early the next morning. We were issued with tickets for a bus that hadn't started running by the time we left for the airport. Our luggage of course remained at Heathrow. Over the next 2 weeks we phoned the airport daily. Yes they assured us our luggage was at Heathrow - they could even describe it to us. But at Heathrow it remained though nobody could explain why. It finally arrived the day before we left to go home.

Terminal 3. Crowds outside queuing for vat refunds then inside to a terminal which was absolutely packed and when I got to the business class check-in it was so loud that I couldn't hear the check-in staff giving me directions to the lounge - I had to call my daughter over to help me. Fast track was indeed fast and then up to the departures lounge which was crammed with people and no clear signs as to where the business class lounges were. Coming back (which on a previous trip was horrendous) was simple - straight through to the iris reading gates which were brilliant and then to the baggage carousels where my luggage appeared in minutes. T3 needs a massive overhaul for outgoing passengers - it's just not good enough for such a major airport.

Check-in was quick and smooth. Luckily upon arrival there was no queue at the immigration. Baggage claim was quick I didn't have to wait for long to get my suitcase. I travelled to Heathrow just few days before the Olympics and was expecting it to be busy but surprised myself as everything was smooth and quick.

Used Terminal 1 for flight from Belfast on 5 August. I was in T1 arrivals within 15 minutes of my flight arriving. Disembarkation process was fast and efficient and staff were polite and welcoming. Terminal was quiet and clean albeit a little outdated and rough around the edges. Given the intention to demolish T1 I can understand why BAA do not want to spend a significant amount on improvements but my main aesthetic criticism would be the underground tunnels that run from T1/T3 to the London Underground station. They are dirty poorly lit and create a bad first impression of the UK.

I'm afraid to say that Heathrow is well past it's sell by date. I am a regular traveller with Cathy Pacific out of Heathrow T3 but my last trip was truly unforgiving. I arrived at 6pm for the 8.45pm flight the terminal was packed like I've never seen it before the queue that was in front of the first class check-in desk was bound for Canada so I had to barge my way through that before I even got to the desk. Once checked in I had to make it to the stairs that take you up to security things was that all the queues were stopping people from getting to the stairs. It was total bedlam and there wasn't even any staff on hand to help solve it. Security was a disgrace the fast track lane was slower than the normal lanes! Inside it was even worse there is no order to it you arrive into a bottleneck that then leads into a retail duty free store. It was absolute madness and the worst I've ever seen it.