TRIP REPORTS

Terminal 5

Rather than list individual reports this month, we thought we would gather together some of the comments made by readers who have been through Terminal 5 and add some remarks of our own.

Ignoring the first few days, when there were very serious problems with baggage processing, the main issues seem to revolve around two main subjects. Both of these are pretty fundamental to the way Terminal 5 was developed and so it may be worth looking at them in some detail.

Lean

When BA started planning the terminal, it decided to go back to basics and look at the ways other industries processed items (an airport terminal is really just a giant processing centre, where aircraft passengers arrive and are dispatched together with their luggage). The airline studied the way car manufacturers assemble a car, for example, and focused on the ‘lean’ style of processing. Essentially, this means cutting out all the non-essentials and concentrating on the fastest and most economical method of getting components from one end of the factory to the other and as an assembled car. This philosophy is most visible in the check-in area, where, instead of being faced with rows of desks, a passenger first sees machines that can issue boarding cards (if they have not already printed them at home), then drops off their bags and proceeds to security. Problem cases, such as those who need to re-issue tickets or pay for extra luggage, are hived off to one side so they do not clog up the main flow. All this is fine in theory, but initial indications are that BA has not made sufficient allowance for the number of ‘problem cases’ there will be. In other words, a passenger with or without baggage travelling to Munich should get through easily but a couple travelling to New York under the same booking will be a problem if one of them requires wheelchair assistance and the other does not qualify for the Visa-waiver programme. This sort of combination is too much for the machinery. It should not be a problem if there are sufficient numbers of trained staff available to smooth the way for those unable to process themselves.

This ‘lean’ philosophy is also at the root of the terminal’s serious PR problem. For the airline, the terminal is indeed revolutionary because of the way passengers and baggage are processed, aircraft turned round, crew dispatched and cargo loaded. However, the passenger sees very little of this revolution because most of the changes in operation are behind the scenes. BAA and BA expended too much effort telling people how their travelling experience would change with Terminal 5.

Space

Terminal 5 was built on a very small piece of land. There are no large, open spaces as in some airports but the plus point is that the amount of walking is reduced.

Some specific comments

Not surprisingly, no one has raved about the building, but most readers seem to have found it more or less acceptable.

Premium check-in area – BA does seem to have made a mistake here. The airline has been so anxious to make check-in simple that it has forgotten to add the extras that sell a Business Class ticket. On arrival at the terminal, you will struggle to find signs to any special check-in area. There is a First-Class section at the far right-hand side of the building and the Club section is next to it, but the whole area needs to feel more exclusive. If you are checking in with a machine, it may not make much difference but you will still want to use the (hopefully) fast security channel.

Lounges – For premium travellers, BA redeems the poor check-in experience with its lounges. The airline is a genuine world leader in the provision of Business lounges and, as one would expect, the lounges at Terminal 5 live up to expectations.

Seating space in terminal – It is true: there are relatively few seats in the central area. However, this is the case at most airports. One advantage of Terminal 5 is that it is easy to slip away from the central zone and sit at an unoccupied gate. There are plenty of monitors around for information on departing flights and you are never too far away from your own gate, even if you need to go downstairs to take the shuttle.

It is also true that there is relatively limited seating space at most gates and they will get very crowded if there is a delay in boarding. However, it is extremely rare for an airport gate anywhere in the world to have sufficient seating for more than a small proportion of the passengers using it.

Bussing – A couple of readers have expressed concern that, while things seem to be OK now, the experience could deteriorate when more flights are transferred. A quick glance at the terminal’s map will show that there are nowhere near enough gates to handle all the flights, and this has led some to suggest that the terminal is already too small. The plan is that arriving flights (mainly longhaul) will go to remote stands and passengers will be taken by bus to the terminal. In theory, this will get them to Passport Control more quickly than if they walked. The aircraft will then be cleaned and towed to a gate at the terminal only when it is needed for the next flight. This means that shorthaul aircraft are likely to board and disembark at gates, whereas longhaul may disembark by bus but board at a gate. Again, this is the lean’ philosophy: only keeping an aircraft at an expensive gate when it is going somewhere. Many of these remote stands are not currently visible as part of Terminal 5 because they are being used for aircraft at Terminal 3. The terminal is not quite big enough to take all BA’s flights, and this was known and planned for. However, there are supposed to be enough gates and stands to handle all the expected traffic.

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Other comments

A reader was furious with Flybe when it cancelled an early-morning departure from the Isle of Man without warning. The aircraft due to make the flight had not made it to the island for its night-stop and had been diverted to Birmingham with engineering problems. The airline was therefore well aware over ten hours before that the flight would not take place. Despite having contact details (mobile phone, email etc.), Flybe made no attempt to contact passengers and just let them turn up at the airport.

Another reader was very happy with the overall experience of bmi’s enhanced Business Class on its route to Cairo. On the other hand, a reader who travelled in Business Class between Glasgow and London with bmi was very unimpressed with the cheap catering offered and felt she had been massively overcharged for the very limited difference between Business and Economy on domestic routes.

We hope you will have a trouble-free trip if you are travelling this summer and would be happy to hear your comments about the quality (good or bad) of your flight. We have enclosed some blank Trip Report forms with this issue and you can also send comments via our website (www.insidetraveller.co.uk) or via email.

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