Good ol' Heathrow (not)

Our last trip we flew home from Gatwick. Even though we like British Airways we avoid Heathrow at all costs. If we do fly through Heathrow, we check our bag and carry the bare minimum in our carry on. If your bag is slid to the side after the X-ray machine, good luck.

Carry on. Virgin Atlantic Airlines.

Usually through Immigration in less than 30 minutes. Knock on wood. While waiting, turn phone back on to send texts and stretch out leg and back muscles.

Then the long walk to Heathrow Express. 15 minute ride to Paddington Station. 10-15 minute walk to accommodation depending on traffic lights.

EDIT: I will take Heathrow over LAX anytime. LAX never improves. Never!

People seem to have so much trouble with Heathrow. I'm in and out all of the time.

Yes, security can be a hassle but if you're prepared it's not so bad. In my experience, the T2 security people are friendly and do their job. T3 can be okay. T5 are the Keystone Kops. (Also be aware that construction is being done in the security areas to prepare for the new machines.) I went through T2 a few days ago and we only had to take liquids out of the bags. Everything else could stay in.

As for gate information, if you download your airline's app, and use it, you usually get the gate assignment way before the terminal posts it. I also use Tripit Pro and get gate notifications way before the terminal announcement.

I fly in and out of Heathrow at least 2 times a year . In the last couple of years it has been very quick entering. Nowadays, gates for immigration goes quickly.

Departures have been smooth as well. Usually Virgin ,Terminal 3. Occasionally United Terminal 2

But yesterday I flew to Zurich with Swiss Air,Terminal 2. It was a nightmare. School break was starting and it was packed. Security was chaotic getting from check in to the actual organized portion of the queue. On top of that our plane was delayed by air traffic control. Once on board another 20 minute delay. The had loaded the luggage incorrectly according to the captain. They then had to reload it to balance the weight. So I can see if that was your only experience you might draw that conclusion.

But.... I will still fly Heathrow since for me this was an anomaly. S... happens. As far as the gate posting issue. This is not that uncommon in large airports. Of course I would prefer to know more in advance but even so I never have trouble getting to the gate on time after the posting.

And for me it is easier to get to than Gatwick considering I stay i. Eirher EarlsCourt/S. Kennsington or Paddington areas I either take the Tube or Heathrow Express depending on my lodging. Pretty easy.

Personally Heathrow seems very well run for an airport this size. I’d take it over a lot of other airports

Can’t see any reason to pay for a taxi unless the tube is not running and security is predictable unlike the “I made up a rule” game the TSA plays.

The core fabric of Heathrow Terminal 3 is 63 years old next month. Although it has had a fair few facelifts (and some more major upgrades) since 1961 sometimes this history gets exposed. In particular walking down some of the many added on piers you can turn a corner and it can go all 1960s or 1970s on you with metal framed windows and weird flooring.

As well as being much older than any of the other extant terminals it has a different vibe being predominantly long haul throughout its history (BA has some short haul from there now as well as Finnair and Iberia but these are a small fraction of the total flights). So it tends to have the best equipped lounges for example. Having to trek through seemingly miles of duty free shops is just a way of life in major UK airports unfortunately.

For those like me that have flown from there for decades with memories of airlines long gone (PanAm & TWA were major tenants for much of its first half half of existence for example) it retains a familiarity even a kitsch charm. For those new to it no doubt it just seems old fashioned, cramped and ready to be scrapped. Existing buildings will eventually be swept away for it to become part of the T2 / T5 toast rack arrangement and it will become just nostalgia like the old North Terminal it replaced (nowhere near old enough to have witnessed that one but I have heard tales of it.)

Went through Heathrow T5 on the 24th and they were installing the new screening machines, so there were fewer other lines open. Still, it wasn’t bad. I’ve been there when it’s been a lot worse. My carryon got pulled aside because the agent didn’t recognize an electric current converter. It only delayed me a few minutes and the workers were actually friendly for a change. I’ll be back there in December so will find out if things run any better with the new machines.

We had arrived at T5 from Madrid and we walked just under a mile from the time we got off the one plane until we arrived at T5 security. One surprise was our gate was already announced almost 1.5 hours in advance. That never happens. Normally it’s announced an hour before departure.

As an aside, in Madrid T4 the terminals for the new entry/exit system (EES) were in place. They look similar to the e-gates at Heathrow.

gates are not announced until about 45 minutes before a flight

No need to wait for an announcement. I use the Flight Aware app and that will give you the gate info. well before it is posted/announced.

I flew through LHR on Tuesday from Marseille to DFW. I fly American so I end up there pretty often. It seems that the security in terminal 3 is better than it used to be. Not as chaotic with people yelling etc and a different scanner that let me through without needing a pat down for the first time in a long time.

But still the same mosh pit atmosphere where you wait for your gate information and then a somewhat long walk to your gate. And big signs warning ‘No Toilets’ in the gate waiting area that is also pretty cramped. Leaving from DFW seems more user friendly but I have no idea how transfers through DFW would be.

They play the same "game" as train stations, gates are not announced until about 45 minutes before a flight. And then you're off to the races because the walk between gates is very, very, very long (and the people movers weren't working). Felt like we had walked halfway home before we got to our plane.

phred, I had that same experience at Heathrow, but since I didn't want to wait until then, I made my way to an Assistance Desk and they told me where my gate would be. And that was about 90 minutes before the flight.

Leaving from DFW seems more user friendly but I have no idea how transfers through DFW would be.

As someone who’s had the misfortune to have to connect on flights in Dallas more than I ever want to admit, it ranks as one of the worst. It is designed for people to leave the airport and go to Dallas. Those who are connecting through there will be subject to torture train rides. It’s gotten dramatically better, but still not my favorite airport by a long shot

I never bothered to wait for the announcement from the airlines as to where I’m going in Heathrow. The app on my phone always gives me the gate much faster than Heathrow. You’re going to be sitting on the plane for hours so i welcome the walk.

I hate Heathrow, too. But it's really the only way to fly to Europe from the west coast and not pay an exorbitant fare. So I deal with it. Not bad as a terminus or starting point, but nightmarish to connect through.

By the way, I welcome long walks through terminals, since we're spending long hours in-flight sitting on our keysters. Walking isn't the issue; it's the confusing train situation and the ridiculous "security" rooms in which people randomly are directed to short waiting lines while the rest of us wait 45 minutes or more just to get screened. Copenhagen and CDG do a much better job IME of handling connecting flights. Heathrow has good lounges, though.

The best part of T3 are the lounges, Virgin's Clubhouse is the best closely followed by Cathay Pacific so I like it when a BA flight that I'm on departs from there as it makes a nice change from the BA lounges at T5. I agree that the terminal is very tired and the low ceilings make it dark and claustrophobic, a stark contrast to T5.

I know a lot of people don't like Heathrow but I don't think it's a bad airport. Possibly because I've flown from there so often and know the layout and where everything is but there are certainly worse airports out there....I'm looking at you CDG.

The worst part for me is the drive on the M25 to get there. I would love it if there was a direct train to the airport from Portsmouth like there is with Gatwick, it would make the journey there so much more pleasurable.

^^^^ I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who prefers LHR to CDG. In fact, I have often arranged destination Paris trips to include a stop in London - just so I can take the Eurostar from St Pancras to Gare du Nord and avoid CDG.

Nonetheless - Fred, I hope your ability to vent here gave you some relief. I'm sure all regular travelers can empathize with frustrating experiences in various airports.

I’ve never had a bad experience at Heathrow, aside from the one morning it took over an hour to clear immigration. Seems a very efficient airport, to me. I fly United and every time I arrive and see the signs for the Queen’s Terminal I smile…though the first trip after her death I teared up a little.

I think there are just too many people travelling, so I guess we are all to blame. Remember, with no exaggeration, Heathrow is up there with the busiest airports in the world.

I have not had any noticeable bad experiences with Heathrow T5 or T2/3, with security or anything else, but certainly with Montreal International/Trudeau, where BA had trouble finding my bike box, and left it there for two weeks, before eventually finding it and returning it home, AFTER my trip. The Heathrow lost luggage experience was not bad though; the queue was not that long, and they were very polite, even though I was pretty upset.

I can say with certainty that the staff all over Montreal International/Trudeau airport are much ruder, in general. And that is not language dependent: it is the same in both our official languages!

Heathrow T5 is my transfer or end point airport. I like it and don't try any other airport at this point, mainly because of the day flight into it. However, I will reiterate that I make sure my flight lands at T5 and my next flight leaves from T5. I've had no issues.

"They play the same "game" as train stations, gates are not announced until about 45 minutes before a flight."

Pro Tip - check your airline app or the flight tracker app and usually the gate assignments are posted there long before they are on the departure boards.

This is a reminder that calling out drama (perceived or real), responding to drama, or defending someone in a situation defined by drama is in itself... drama. I've edited it out in this thread.

It does just as much if not more to sidetrack a thread to respond to it or about it. Guideline #4 is expressly written to cover this. Please do not respond to it. Stay on topic. Use the Report system if there is an issue.

Yes, I can appreciate the irony in my own post here, and it also needs to be said to ensure that we can move on. Moving on... back to the joys and sorrows of Heathrow.

The governments decision to expand Heathrow was annulled in 2020, when several councils and the London Mayor, among others, complained, and the Court of Appeal ruled that the proposed expansion was "unlawful", since it did not take Britain's commitments to prevent global warming, under the Paris Agreement, into account. Heathrow took the case to the Supreme Court, also in 2020, and won. Right you are, we are all to blame.

Adding I’ve never experienced anything bad at Heathrow.

Admittedly the walk from where my VA plane lands is lengthy.

Then again I travel light so after an overnight flight from LAX I welcome that the walk gets the blood pumping.

Returning to the US and getting through immigration is now a breeze thanks to Global Entry.

I fly Delta. So, if I download the app, how do I find out the gate number assigned at Heathrow?