Terminal 5 at Heathrow -- merged discussion

[TLCOhio]

Did they allow you to check your baggage? If so, did it arrive with you?

 

THANKS for merging the threads! "Heathrow Hell!!" was true as a title then, but it is a little "harsh" now that things seems to be "healing". Hopefully there will be more good news to report in the coming weeks and months.

 

On some other boards, people are noting that they had booked 6-8 months ago with only 90 minutes between arriving at one Heathrow terminal and going out of Terminal 5. BA said that was fine . . . at that time! BA now is saying they need 120 minutes or more for that connection. Some are getting hit with extra penalities to change and added extra time for proper connections. Will watch with interest. In early August we have three hours between arriving from Stockholm on BA and our flight out from Terminal 3 on American. Terry in Ohio

[boards]

Can you get your seats in advance? We are booked on a flight May 25 Heathrow to AThens, Greece. Do we have to wait till we get to the airport?

Is there chance we may not sit together? BTW it is BA flight.

[belle907]

Can you get your seats in advance? We are booked on a flight May 25 Heathrow to AThens, Greece. Do we have to wait till we get to the airport?

Is there chance we may not sit together? BTW it is BA flight.

You are able to check in online 24 hours in advance and obtain your seats that way. If you check BA's site there are other ways you can get your seat assignments up to 3 days, can't remember what they are off hand since they don't pertain to me.

[Globaliser]

On some other boards, people are noting that they had booked 6-8 months ago with only 90 minutes between arriving at one Heathrow terminal and going out of Terminal 5. BA said that was fine . . . at that time! BA now is saying they need 120 minutes or more for that connection. Some are getting hit with extra penalities to change and added extra time for proper connections.

That doesn't sound right to me. If BA has changed the MCT and some connections have become illegal, passengers shouldn't be getting hit with penalties for changing flights to match the new MCT. If BA is trying to do this, they should complain and escalate if necessary.

 

However, of course that doesn't apply to people who've built their own "connections" with two separate tickets. If you buy two separate tickets, you are not a connection and you don't have any of the protection that a true connection gives you. (That protection is one of the reasons why a through ticket is sometimes more expensive.) That means when things like this happen, you're theoretically on your own.

 

I wonder if any of the people who are paying extra fall into the second category?

[TLCOhio]

You are able to check in online 24 hours in advance and obtain your seats that way. If you check BA's site there are other ways you can get your seat assignments up to 3 days, can't remember what they are off hand since they don't pertain to me.

 

Having younger children, not just infants, is one of the main reasons for the three days ahead category. I think it is ages 2-12. Or, if there is special medical reasons or the highest levels of passenger status.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Globaliser]

Having younger children, not just infants, is one of the main reasons for the three days ahead category. I think it is ages 2-12. Or, if there is special medical reasons or the highest levels of passenger status.

The full details are availale on this page. In summary:-

 

Self-selection at time of booking

• BA Golds and Silvers, oneworld Emeralds and Sapphires, and other passengers on the same booking
• FIRST Passengers
• Fully flexible tickets booked in J/C/W/Y
• Travelling with infants
• Customers with additional needs

Allocation by airline 3 days before travel (may be able to change at time of check-in)

• Passengers travelling with children aged 2-11 years
• Skyflyers solo (children travelling alone) - seat change restrictions apply
• Specialised groups - seat change restrictions apply

Everyone else can choose their own seats when checking-in, including online check-in.

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Good news for us - we are Houston to London in May and received this email today.

 

Please note there is a change of terminal affecting all or part of your booking.

 

As you may be aware, British Airways and BAA (the London Heathrow airport authority) have agreed to defer the move of the majority of our intercontinental flights from Heathrow's Terminal 4 to Terminal 5. The move, originally planned for April 30, will now begin in June.

Since opening on March 27, we have encountered some operational challenges at Terminal 5. Although we have seen a steady improvement, we want to be sure that our customers can be confident of high service standards when the terminal is handling larger numbers of passengers. Therefore, the majority of our intercontinental flights will continue to operate from Terminal 4 for the time being.

All or part of your British Airways itinerary will now operate through London Heathrow Terminal 4.

We are in the process of updating our systems with the correct terminal information for your itinerary, however it may take up until April 18 for the changes to be reflected. Once the process is complete, you may check Manage My Booking at ba.com or contact your travel agent for further information. Alternatively, the correct Heathrow terminal information is currently available by destination at ba.com/london-terminals.

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/routedest/public

Transferring Through London Heathrow

If you were due to transfer between flights at Terminal 5 but one of your flights will now operate through Terminal 4, you will have a longer connection time as you will need to transfer between the two terminals.

This may affect some customers who will now have insufficient time to make their onward connection from London Heathrow. If your itinerary is affected, you will be contacted directly by British Airways or via your travel agent shortly to make the necessary changes to your travel arrangements.

We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause you. We hope you understand that our decision to delay the move was made with our customers' interest in mind.

 

Warm regards,

British Airways Customer Services

[Globaliser]

There's now a new page on the British Airways website about the postponement of the terminal move.

 

Easier to read than the AskBA pages!

[TLCOhio]

There's now a new page on the British Airways website about the postponement of the terminal move. Easier to read than the AskBA pages!

 

It was good that BA sent out those e-mail notices. Between now and our flight in August, there will probably be a significant number of more notices and schedule fine-tunings on many different flights. There's a good lesson here! Make sure you check and re-check with BA both by phone and on the website for any added changes, etc., as you get closer to your scheduled flights with BA.

THANKS! Terry in Ohio

[coxswain]

Kate Moss has fallen victim to the disappearing luggage fiasco at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 – to the tune of £10,000 ($20,000.)

 

The model’s Louis Vuitton bags went astray two weeks ago as she few from London to Los Angeles.

 

Now it’s emerged that, as well as £3,000 worth of prototypes for her new Topshop range, the bags contained a £10,000 ($20,000)bracelet for her pal, party organizer Fran Cutler.

 

........................................................................................................

 

 

British Airways has fired the two directors responsible for the airline's disastrous move to Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

 

They are operations director Gareth Kirkwood - seen on TV running away after speaking to the press on the day T5 opened amid chaos - and customer services director David Noyes.

 

In a terse statement, BA said: "The departures follow the airline's move to Terminal 5. The airline is looking to appoint a chief operating officer to combine both roles." A spokesman would not confirm whether the men had been fired and said details of any pay-offs were private.

 

 

......................................................................................................

 

Meanwhile Heathrow's latest accounts show that its profits rose by £40 million last year. Airports operator BAA made £438 million from Heathrow and £86 million from Stansted - profits at the airport in Essex rose by 68 per cent.

 

......................................................................................................

 

 

 

Heathrow T5 Music video lol lol

 

 

 

 

 

jj.......

[belle907]

Kate Moss has fallen victim to the disappearing luggage fiasco at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 – to the tune of £10,000 ($20,000.)

 

The model’s Louis Vuitton bags went astray two weeks ago as she few from London to Los Angeles.

 

Now it’s emerged that, as well as £3,000 worth of prototypes for her new Topshop range, the bags contained a £10,000 ($20,000)bracelet for her pal, party organizer Fran Cutler.

 

........................................................................................................

 

Can't feel the least bit sorry for someone who puts their valuables in checked luggage.

[librarycin]

Ok...I'm confused. When I first got my flight schedule a while back, I was able to go to the website to find out which terminal I'd arrive in and which I'd leave from, by entering the dates and flight numbers. I have only one hour between connecting flights, so I wanted to know where I had to be in that short time! I was supposed to be coming and going through Terminal 5.

 

Now, I'm on the website and cannot find where to get that information. With everything changing, I'm more nervous again and would like to know where I need to be... :eek:

 

I fly from Toronto to London, and have 1 hour to get to my next flight from London to Amsterdam. Both flights are with British Airways.

 

Does anyone know where I would look to find this info? Thanks for any help!

[Globaliser]

Now, I'm on the website and cannot find where to get that information. With everything changing, I'm more nervous again and would like to know where I need to be... :eek:

 

I fly from Toronto to London, and have 1 hour to get to my next flight from London to Amsterdam. Both flights are with British Airways.

Amsterdam is already at T5 and will stay there. So that, at least, is fixed.

 

Toronto is currently at T4. It will move to T5 at some stage, but the dates have not yet been arranged. So all that can be said now is that you may have to do a T4->T5 transfer, or it may be a T5->T5 transfer. But it won't be possible to say until they have planned and posted a new schedule for the terminal moves. I don't know when that will be, because that planning has to take into account all the other airlines at Heathrow as well, who are not happy about the present situation and are putting a lot of pressure on the airport.

 

If you do have to do a T4->T5 transfer, the chances are that you will not have enough time if your current connection time is only one hour. But BA will move you to a later London->Amsterdam flight if that turns out to be what is needed. There are plenty of those, so you shouldn't need to worry about getting to Amsterdam on the same day.

[librarycin]

If you do have to do a T4->T5 transfer, the chances are that you will not have enough time if your current connection time is only one hour. But BA will move you to a later London->Amsterdam flight if that turns out to be what is needed. There are plenty of those, so you shouldn't need to worry about getting to Amsterdam on the same day.

 

That's what I was worried about (having to go between terminals). Hopefully, they will be able to move me to another flight (although I can't go too much later, as I don't want to miss my cruise!!! :( ).

 

I also realized (with a slightly calmer head this morning...I got panicky last night! :o ), that the website I had been looking at previously was the Heathrow website, not the British Airways website. I will have to keep a close eye on what's going on, and let my TA know as well. I was already slightly nervous about the 1 hour connection... :eek:

[Globaliser]

That's what I was worried about (having to go between terminals). Hopefully, they will be able to move me to another flight (although I can't go too much later, as I don't want to miss my cruise!!! :( ).

Well, there are eight BA flights a day from Heathrow to Amsterdam, so hopefully any change in time will not put your cruise at risk. Are you sailing on the same day that you're flying in to Amsterdam?

 

The BA website has now changed Toronto to T4 for the remainder of the northern summer season. Obviously, this will change back at some stage when the dates for the move have been announced. But at least it now gives you an indication of what you may be looking at.

 

I assume that your one hour connection meant that you are booked to fly BA92 departing Toronto at 1825 and arriving Heathrow at 0645, and that you are then booked to fly BA428 departing Heathrow at 0745 and arriving Amsterdam at 1000. It looks like with a move to T4, and with the two-hour minimum connecting time that's being imposed (so I hear), the first flight to which you'll legally connect (if you do in fact arrive at T4) is BA434 departing Heathrow at 1135 and arriving Amsterdam at 1350. (There is another flight to Amsterdam that departs Heathrow at 0840, but it's just inside two hours, if that is indeed the current MCT.)

 

Will a 1350 arrival work for you?

 

If not, you should start working with your TA to see what alternatives there are, just in case this is in fact the connection that you would have to make because of a T4->T5 transfer.

 

If you are sailing the same day you fly in to Amsterdam, you'd need a backup plan for missing the ship anyway. After all, even if the T5 fiasco hadn't happened, something like a 6-hour delay on your Toronto->Heathrow flight would have caused you to miss the ship in any event.

[librarycin]

Well, there are eight BA flights a day from Heathrow to Amsterdam, so hopefully any change in time will not put your cruise at risk. Are you sailing on the same day that you're flying in to Amsterdam?

 

I assume that your one hour connection meant that you are booked to fly BA92 departing Toronto at 1825 and arriving Heathrow at 0645, and that you are then booked to fly BA428 departing Heathrow at 0745 and arriving Amsterdam at 1000. It looks like with a move to T4, and with the two-hour minimum connecting time that's being imposed (so I hear), the first flight to which you'll legally connect (if you do in fact arrive at T4) is BA434 departing Heathrow at 1135 and arriving Amsterdam at 1350. (There is another flight to Amsterdam that departs Heathrow at 0840, but it's just inside two hours, if that is indeed the current MCT.)

 

Will a 1350 arrival work for you?

 

You got the flights right! I booked my air through Celebrity, so they'll have to figure something out for me (how long would I have had to wait to hear something from them, I wonder, if I hadn't been paying attention!?) Yup, with booking through the cruise line, I am flying into Amsterdam the same day the cruise leaves. 1350 (1:50pm) should be o.k. - barely - as the ship departs at 5:00. I'm not sure how early I am supposed to be on the ship, but if the flight is late at all, I'm probably in trouble...I don't want to miss the start of my cruise... :( .

 

I will be contacing my travel agent after work tonight... :eek: :eek:

Thanks for all the extra info!

[Globaliser]

Yup, with booking through the cruise line, I am flying into Amsterdam the same day the cruise leaves. 1350 (1:50pm) should be o.k. - barely - as the ship departs at 5:00.

Thinking laterally, you might want to see if Celebrity or BA would rebook you onto a KLM flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam. These flights might work for you:-

• KL1002 dep LHR 0840 arr AMS 1105
• KL1008 dep LHR 0955 arr AMS 1220

One reason for thinking of these is that KL operates from T4, so the minimum connecting time may be less than a T4->T5 connection. And in any case, KL1008 may be rather earlier than the first legal BA flight, if that's the one at 1135. (The other alternative, bmi, operates from T1, so you'd still have to allow the extra time for an inter-terminal transfer.)

 

I've just seen your travel date - departing Toronto 28 May 2008? If so, your Toronto->Heathrow flight will almost certainly arrive at T4, because the noises from BA are that the next wave of moves will not take place before June, and the earliest date is 5 June.

 

So I think that you can start asking questions and putting forward ideas with some confidence that you will need alternative arrangements. If BA will book you onto BA430 (dep LHR 0840 arrive AMS 1050), then you should probably be fine with that. But otherwise, as I say, see whether a KL flight might be an acceptable alternative.

 

Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable with arriving at AMS at 1350 for a 1700 sailing - and this is from someone who tends to live (travel) life on the edge. Although at least the consolation is that getting to the next port (Edinburgh) is easy from London (and, as I say, you would always have wanted to have an eye on what your backup plans was going to be, even without the T5 mess).

[librarycin]

Ok. I talked to my travel agent and she gave me phone numbers to phone British Airways myself. She felt badly doing it, but she thought it would be easier all around than having her as an intermediary. I could explain and I would hear the answers directly.

 

So...I have a couple of options. I think they are both ones you mentioned, Globaliser. There is a BA flight leaving London at 8:40am and arriving in Amsterdam at 10:50am. Obviously, I like this because it gets me to Amsterdam with lots of extra time, but is 1 hr, 55 mins enough time between terminals? Alternately, there is a flight leaving London at 11:35am and arriving in Amsterdam at 1:50pm. I feel better about the extra time between flights, but am I cutting it too close to the time I have to be on board the ship?

 

Sigh...there needed to be a flight in between those two!!! I am going to post this to my roll call as well, and get more opinions. I am definitely NOT a risk taker (in anything, really!) and I always like to be early for everything...I hate cutting it all so close!! :eek:

 

The woman I talked to thought the later flight should be plenty of time to make it for the cruise, but of course, that's barring any issues, I'm sure... She said I could take some time to decide and call back.

 

Thanks again!

[Globaliser]

There is a BA flight leaving London at 8:40am and arriving in Amsterdam at 10:50am. Obviously, I like this because it gets me to Amsterdam with lots of extra time, but is 1 hr, 55 mins enough time between terminals?

If BA were offering to re-book me on this flight, then personally this is the one that I would take. I think that 115 minutes ought to be enough time. And then the following flight would be a good backup.

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

If BA were offering to re-book me on this flight, then personally this is the one that I would take. I think that 115 minutes ought to be enough time. And then the following flight would be a good backup.

 

Or, if they are offering, I might be leaning toward asking them to move me a day earlier just in case? That kind of gives you some recovery time in the event of a problem.

[coxswain]

Suitcases which went missing during the botched opening of Terminal 5 are heading back to Heathrow after a fruitless two-week trip to Italy.

 

British Airways drove the bags in a 24-hour trip to a warehouse close to Milan airport to be sorted after T5's baggage management system failed.

 

Embarrassed managers had hoped to forward them to passengers across continental Europe who had been forced to travel without their luggage in the days after the £4.3bn terminal opened.

 

But now the airline has admitted that several hundred of those bags are in the process of being trucked and flown back to the UK because their owners finished their holidays and business trips before BA could get their bags to them.

 

At the beginning of the month as many as 5,000 bags were driven to Milan after at least 20,000 mounted up at T5 during chaotic scenes in which the new terminal's baggage handling systems collapsed and scores of flights were cancelled.

 

BA's idea was to use the private facility close to Milan airport to re-sort the bags and then forward them by courier to passengers across mainland Europe.

 

The 780-mile drive from Heathrow to Milan took 24 hours, but sending the bags by truck rather than plane meant security checks could be completed more quickly.

 

But by the time many of them were finally dispatched from Milan to forwarding addresses, the bags' owners had moved on. Those bags - known as "chasing bags" in the airline industry - are now trickling back into the UK from across Europe. "Hundreds of bags are affected by this, many because they have been forwarded to the place in Europe where the customer was staying, but they have since returned home," said a spokeswoman for BA. "The majority of the bags we sent to Milan have made it to the people in time for their holidays."

 

Others never made it out of the Milan warehouse and some lost their baggage tags during repeated handling, which has made their owners even harder to trace.

 

According to union sources, some of the bags from the Milan facility, which is run by Onboard Express, have been trucked directly back to Gatwick, where they are being sorted and then couriered to owners across the UK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

jj.....

[librarycin]

I'm on lunch right now at work, but when I get home today, I plan to phone British Airways back with more questions.

 

- is there an earlier flight from Toronto to London? (WhenIsOurNextCruise, I also thought of this later after I'd already posted, but before I saw your suggestion - thanks!)

- can I switch to a different airline from London to Amsterdam (I may have to negotiate with Celebrity on this one?) I'd either like something leaving from the same terminal I arrive in, or a time in between the two options that BA has (Globaliser you hinted at this yesterday, too)

- will I have to go through security and/or customs if I need to switch flights from one terminal to another? (Globaliser - you suggested you'd go for the earlier flight...do you know the answer to this one - as obviously this would take longer)

 

I will phone and ask Celebrity:

- how late will they wait to transfer me to the cruise terminal from the airport?

- if they are willing to either rebook me with a different airline altogether (from TO to Amsterdam) OR help me switch to a different airline from London to Amsterdam (see above!). Since they booked it to begin with, they should be able to cancel and rebook me with something else, no?

 

You can see I've been quite preoccupied with thinking about this and trying to figure out what will work best. Honestly, I had a hard time concentrating at work yesterday! (Been a bit better today...)

 

I don't know that anyone here will be able to answer any of these questions, but please chime in if you can! Thanks...wish me luck...

[librarycin]

So, I talked to both British Airways and Celebrity this afternoon. As I suspected, Celebrity will have to make the changes...I can't do it myself.

 

To answer the questions, there is no other flight from Toronto to London earlier on the 28th, so if I wanted an earlier flight, it has to be the same flight the day before. Which would get me into London the morning of the 28th and I'd have a day in London. I could keep the second flight the same - the morning of the 29th, arriving in Amsterdam at 10am I believe it was. That would give me a day in London - which would be kind of cool, but I'd also be nervous, travelling alone... Of course, it would also mean I'd have to find a place to stay. I know this is probably what everyone is going to say I should do! :)

 

Going between terminals does NOT require going through customs or security again - as long as I don't leave the airport.

 

Celebrity requires that everyone's flight arrive by 1:30pm, which automatically cuts out the 11:35am - 1:50pm flight that BA was offering.

 

So, now it comes down to either cutting it really close - arriving in London at 6:45 and leaving at 8:40 (BA told me that they actually require 2 hours between connecting flights if you need to switch terminals, but she said they'd do it anyway for 5 minutes). OR going a full day early and spending a day in London.

 

I know what everyone is going to say. I just need to decide if I want to spend the extra money (but I likely will - since the alternative is iffy and I'd be so afraid of missing that connection) or take a chance... :eek:

 

I wonder if they would change the entire sequence of flights to a day earlier and I'd have that day in Amsterdam instead...hmmm...

[HeinBloed]

Due to a delay we had 35 minutes left over for a transfer within T5:

 

Passenger and baggage (!!! we were nicely surprised) made it!!!

 

So it is getting better and better...

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

So, I talked to both British Airways and Celebrity this afternoon. As I suspected, Celebrity will have to make the changes...I can't do it myself.

 

To answer the questions, there is no other flight from Toronto to London earlier on the 28th, so if I wanted an earlier flight, it has to be the same flight the day before. Which would get me into London the morning of the 28th and I'd have a day in London. I could keep the second flight the same - the morning of the 29th, arriving in Amsterdam at 10am I believe it was. That would give me a day in London - which would be kind of cool, but I'd also be nervous, travelling alone... Of course, it would also mean I'd have to find a place to stay. I know this is probably what everyone is going to say I should do! :)

 

Going between terminals does NOT require going through customs or security again - as long as I don't leave the airport.

 

Celebrity requires that everyone's flight arrive by 1:30pm, which automatically cuts out the 11:35am - 1:50pm flight that BA was offering.

 

So, now it comes down to either cutting it really close - arriving in London at 6:45 and leaving at 8:40 (BA told me that they actually require 2 hours between connecting flights if you need to switch terminals, but she said they'd do it anyway for 5 minutes). OR going a full day early and spending a day in London.

 

I know what everyone is going to say. I just need to decide if I want to spend the extra money (but I likely will - since the alternative is iffy and I'd be so afraid of missing that connection) or take a chance... :eek:

 

I wonder if they would change the entire sequence of flights to a day earlier and I'd have that day in Amsterdam instead...hmmm...

 

I would go a day early no matter what it costs. Peace of mind - priceless!