First time to europe, and I've only been in about 10 airports in my life but Heathrow was easily the worst in every category. Ugly, dirty, crowded, unorganized. Everywhere I walked through there were fake walls, plastic sheets hanging from the ceilings, temporary roped areas to make lines. Felt claustrophobic in the 'duty free' shopping area with low ceilings. Of course I couldn't take water through security so tried to buy it in the shopping center, and couldn't find ONE bottle while walking around it for 20 minutes. Was going to miss my flight so I left for my gate and passed about 3 candy machines with soda and all were completely sold out of water(so I wasn't the only one with that problem). I've heard that Heathrow is just about the busiest airport in the world. I can't believe it is such a dump. And of course we took off late because we were 18th in line on the runway. The griping here sounds pretty bad but it didn't really bother me that much, I'm just astounded it was so bad.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9099 posts
This is why, whenever given the choice, I will fly through Gatwick instead.
Posted by
Niagara Wine Country, Canada
808 posts
LHR is in the process of revamping. It's congested, old and ugly...My Airline operates out of T3 so I know the conditions there well...But from what I've heard from Crew based there, that will soon be changing...
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Wow, it must have really changed a lot since I was there in May! There was only one area I was in that was undergoing construction at the time (and there were stores or something being constructed during the night near where I slept), but the duty-free area was great and the stores were fully stocked -- water was available everywhere. Hope they get things squared away before I go back next year!
Posted by
Nottingham, UK
658 posts
That sounds like Dan went out of terminal 3 and Nancy made terminal 4.
T2 and T3 are a disgrace. I'm really ashamed that the first impression visitors to my country get is T3. There are no excuses. T1 is big, bright and clean, with good shops and fast moving lines. T2 is grubby and crowded but at least the lines move at an acceptable pace. T3 looks like a building site and it's filthy with threadbare carpeting and lines so slow it can take non-EU passport holders up to 3 hours to get through imigration, it also has the slowest baggage delivery I've ever encountered on four continents. T4 is a joy, bright, spacious and efficiant. T5 is on the way and is intended to solve the problems of T2 and T3 - it better had or our Olympic games in 2012 are going to be a disaster. It's not Virgin's fault but their check-in area in T3 is a disgrace, it looks like a construction site and I don't think it's been properly cleaned since the Beatles split up.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9099 posts
On the bright side, there was a short article about the new T5 in the NY Times Travel section a few week ago. Among other things the terminal will have a full size Harrods Department store and a Gordon Ramsey restaurant. It will also be the largest free standing structure in the UK!
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2775 posts
I agree with what Nancy said, everything I saw was great at Heathrow. Shops, areas to eat, waiting area I was in terminal 3.
Posted by
OP
Sacramento, Ca, USA
27 posts
You are correct Al. I flew Air Canada out of T3. I remember because you had to know which terminal you wanted to go to when you took the underground to get there. I'm not the kind of person that would let something like that hurt my vacation or influence how I think of a country overall. It was just something I observed. I did enjoy London(only place I went to in England).
Posted by
Scotland
505 posts
Interesting
Given a choice, I avoid Heathrow, but... I actually found Terminal 3 nice (pre construction though) and found Terminal 1 a dump.
Terminal 1 may be nice now, but it was absolutely horrid trying to get UK flights out of there during the construction. It was all a shambles, with gates hidden among construction and no flight boards and poor tannoy. Thus it nearly impossible to figure out when and where your flight was boarding. Nevermind finding out what was happening during a delay. And the one or two poor customer reps at the counter were always overwhelmed by confused customers.
Terminal 3 was never going to win any fashion awards, but I had a fondness for that massive seating area in the international area, and you were never wanting for duty free stores to browse or buy things at.
Kate
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
Al, I was in T3, not T4. I flew in on Virgin Atlantic (and you're right, their check-in area is awful) and left through T3 the following week. There was absolutely nothing that I can think of that I would say was a negative experience, even the lines and baggage claim. Maybe I just got lucky with the time of day or day of the week I arrived. I was there for 15 hours, though, on my way back and I was all over that terminal. The restrooms were spotlessly clean, and I love that big seating area in international departures.
Posted by
Troy, Oh, USA
2775 posts
Nancy, I completely agree with you. I departed from terminal 3 and didn't see anything wrong. I enjoyed my wait there.
Posted by
Niagara Wine Country, Canada
808 posts
Dan's description is exactly what I see in my mind's eye when I think of LHR T3 recently. Or at least my corner of it.
I guess some of us saw the good side of T3 and some of us saw the not so good side...They do both exist. It just depends on where you go in the building, and how recently you've been there.
The not so good part that some of us have seen is just a glimpse of what you will see behind the scenes...If that were my Base I think I'd go absolutely mad!
Posted by
London
6 posts
I flew in to Heathrow for the first time recently and was prepared for the worst...long lines at customs, long waits for luggage, etc. Maybe we just hit it lucky, but we waited in line for about 30 seconds in customs, and 10 mintues for luggage. While not the most beautiful airport because of its age and current refurbishment process, what matters most to me is my time and it wasn't wasted. Now flying OUT of Heathrow might just be a different story...
Posted by
West Sacramento, California, USA
281 posts
It has been almost 20 years since I flew in or out of Heathrow, but can it really be any worse than our own LAX. I don't like LAX, but it is easier to fly from Sacramento to LAX and then catch a non-stop to Europe than it is to drive to SFO. I think of LHR in the same way--flight convenience.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
On CNN tonight there was a news blurb, Heathrow Airport was voted most disliked in the Europe by Tripadvisor and Shcipol( spelling?) in Amsterdam was voted best.
Posted by
Napa, CA
3580 posts
Passport control at 7:30 am: hundreds of people waiting over an hour in massive serpentine lines. Two years in a row I went through this at Heathrow. Maybe it is the time of day, but it's not a pleasant follow-up to a 10-11 hr flight. L-o-o-o-ng hike through a mile or so of corridors to get to the bus station; the exercise is probably good for able-bodied travellers, but it does take a while. The entrance to the bus station from the airport has been reworked and now features an escalator as well as an elevator up to the ground level. The bus station has been completely redone in the past few years and is now up-to-date and much easier to use. Many of us had internet reservations for our bus trips, which helped keep the crowds organized. On my return this year, my hotel shuttle dropped me at the T3 entrance and I was there. I think leaving from T3 is a more pleasant experience than arriving there. The airport is one of the older ones and needs lots of work: thus all the work.