File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Eager to cement its status as WORST AIRPORT IN EUROPE, Heathrow just added a new terminal, Terminal 5. /trv/eller's reviews indicate Heathrow still has last place locked up tight.

I travelled via Heathrow recently (not by choice -- my original airline went broke and I had to switch to BA). Here's my experience.

On the outward journey, I had to transfer from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5. It was a redeye and I was told in Toronto that there were showers in Terminal 4 just outside security. I didn't want to have to fill out a landing card, line up for customs etc. just for a shower, so when I got to Terminal 4 I asked EVERYONE I met who was wearing an official uniform whether there were showers in the brand spanking new Terminal 5. ALL of them set "yes absolutely gov'ner". When I got to Terminal 5 and asked the BA CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE, she said to go through security and then go to a lavatory and ask where I could get towels etc. Only when I got to the lav did the cleaner say "no showers in Terminal 5". The BA customer service rep that side of security then said the same thing (obviously it was not in her interest to lie to me to keep me moving).

New terminal -- new way of organizing things to make it better for travellers, right? Wrong. Terminal 5 is organized EXACTLY the same as the old terminals. You come in and you are placed in the area I refer to as "LIMBO", where you wait and wait for your flight to come up on the Big Board. When it finally comes up, you have about 10-15 minutes to get to the (overcrowded) gate before the official boarding time. Of course you might well be waiting there for an hour (as I was) because of a delay anyway.
>> Anonymous
Of course, travellers transferring through Heathrow have LOADS of money -- so much so that they can't STUFF IT ALL IN THEIR POCKETS. So "LIMBO" is surrounded by overpriced shops and restaurants and screens flashing annoying advertising at you.

No showers in Terminal 5, so why should there be water fountains? Exactly! No reason at all! So there aren't! But you can buy a bottle of water at any shop for a measly quid, so it doesn't matter, right? Right?

On the journey home, I had a 1.5 hour transfer, all within Terminal 5, and the flight I was transferring to was delayed by an hour. Still Heathrow Terminal 5 with its bright new baggage handling system managed to LOSE MY BAG and now (over 24 hours after my flight arrived) have still not managed to deliver it to me.
>> Anonymous
So, still worst airport in Europe? Let's see!
- Repeated security gates to pass? CHECK
- Misinformation given by staff? CHECK
- No facilities for tired travellers? CHECK
- No timely information given to travellers? CHECK
- Travellers generally treated like beef cattle, to be lined up, roped in, stunned in the head, decapitated, disembowelled, sliced up, wrapped in plastic and shipped out the other end? CHECK

Overall rating: SHITTASTIC. Heathrow -- undisputed king of the lower depths of European airports.
>> Anonymous
>>64699
I think the problem is you're expecting too much. Maybe I'm American, and therefore used to shit, but I go into a traveling situation expecting the worst possible experience ever. What usually ensues is probably just short of hell on earth, so I come out better off than I was preparing for.
>> Anonymous
You're upset that an airport doesn't have showers? lol.
>> Anonymous
I haven't been to Heathrow, so I can't really comment, but Charles de Gaulle is still a crime against sanity.
>> Anonymous
Shower at an airport? I've never heard of it personally. But narita is pretty awesome.
>> Anonymous
>>64721

He's upset that he was promised showers, but there were none.
>> Anonymous
heathrow is garbage
>> Anonymous
Heathrow is the worst airport I have ever been in.

Last time I flew through, I was made to wait standing in the middle of the tarmac for nearly an hour after coming off the flight from singapore (13 hours, I think) for a bus to ferry people to the terminal, which was literally 100m away.
>> Anonymous
>>64766
Oh, and they lost my baggage both ways.
>> Anonymous
>>64695
>I had to switch to BA
Well there's your problem.
>> Anonymous
I had no problem landing in Heathrow after my flight from China
>> Anonymous
kathmandu airport: queue for hours, and when you come out into KTM, you are literally mobbed by about 50 taxi drivers
>> Anonymous
WTF is with the shuttle from 4 to 5? they take the scenic route around the entire airport when I only had 30 minutes to catch my flight.
>> Anonymous
>>64721
Yeah, as anon said, I was upset that I was promised showers and there weren't any.
But more than that, for a busy int'l airport serving lots of redeye flights from North America and Asia, where transfer times can be long, one lavatory with a little shower stall (even if they only supply paper towels and no soap) would seem to be a no-brainer. I wouldn't expect them in Stanstead, but Heathrow is another question. There are apparently showers outside the security at Terminal 4, why not at Terminal 5? (Oh I forgot, I was told that if I had paid twice as much to be an "executive club" passenger or whatever it's called, I would have had all the executive club lounge facilities, including showers, free coffee and presumably complementary blowjobs from the stews. Sorry, my employer won't pay for that.)
I've been through Heathrow many times and they have managed to lose my luggage no less than 4 times. The time before this that I was there, I was herded through incomprehensible queues with no explanatory signs and no employee being able to give me more than a surly snarl, for 90 minutes before getting to "LIMBO". I would have avoided Heathrow this time, but as I said I had to switch to BA.
>> Anonymous
I agree that they should have showers for people to use who can't access the lounge. I find it hard to believe that even half of the 94 shower rooms in the lounge are actually being used at any one time, so they should let people pay to use them.

Other than that, I've had only good experiences with Terminal 5 so far (I didn't use it during the chaos), It's never taken me longer than 20 minutes to get from the bag drop through security (online check-in). Never lost any bags with BA (or any other airline) either, although on my last flight 2 people's bags didn't show up at the other end.

Hopefully they'll sort out some of the problems, but otherwise it's a better experience than most other airport terminals, especially if you can get access to the lounge.
>> Anonymous
>>64695

Ha, you were going to fly with Zoom, amirite? I'm doing the same thing soon (headed to Heathrow on Friday). Shits.
>> Anonymous
Heathrow sucks ass