Programs: BA Gold, AZ MilleMiglia (fingers crossed)
Posts: 1,793
LHR T4 should be good! I've heard good things about a new, larger, much lighter and airier landside checkin than in the old BA (etc) days, although haven't been there.
I'll be on an AZ ex LHR at the end of November - looking forward to it.
Programs: BA gold - AZ freccia alata - SPG platinum - AMEX various
Posts: 401
Quote:
Originally Posted by BAAZ
LHR T4 should be good! I've heard good things about a new, larger, much lighter and airier landside checkin than in the old BA (etc) days, although haven't been there.
I'll be on an AZ ex LHR at the end of November - looking forward to it.
Never have liked T4 - travelled recently with DL too and seemed exactly the same - fingers crossed as you say!!
Programs: BA Gold, AZ MilleMiglia (fingers crossed)
Posts: 1,793
Quote:
Originally Posted by BAAZ
I'll be on an AZ ex LHR at the end of November - looking forward to it.
... and ex LHR Terminal 2 tomorrow for probably the last time. It's a weird and empty place now; I arrived on the last AZ from FCO after 11pm, last flight of the day, and over an hour after the previous one. At least you don't have to queue for anything ever. A little piece of history will pass when it is finally closed next month, but it is decades out of date and whatever replaces it will be much, much better.
After a few weeks I wonder what the experiences are of Alitalia and other SkyTeam users at Heathrow T4, and whether the reasons that made BA want to move out are apparent.
1. The poor access to the terminal, the longwinded and delay-prone routes from the M4 motorway in comparison to the Central Area.
2. Not being on the Heathrow Express, the connection required is difficult for visitors to understand.
3. Poor connections to other terminals, in particular to T5. Alitalia are now well away from any termnals with UK domestic connections.
4 Probably most crucially, the tedious and delay-prone aircraft route between the northern runway and T4, needing to cross the southern runway, where there can be sometimes waits of 10 minutes to do so.
Programs: BA gold - AZ freccia alata - SPG platinum - AMEX various
Posts: 401
Quote:
Originally Posted by WHBM
After a few weeks I wonder what the experiences are of Alitalia and other SkyTeam users at Heathrow T4, and whether the reasons that made BA want to move out are apparent.
1. The poor access to the terminal, the longwinded and delay-prone routes from the M4 motorway in comparison to the Central Area.
2. Not being on the Heathrow Express, the connection required is difficult for visitors to understand.
3. Poor connections to other terminals, in particular to T5. Alitalia are now well away from any termnals with UK domestic connections.
4 Probably most crucially, the tedious and delay-prone aircraft route between the northern runway and T4, needing to cross the southern runway, where there can be sometimes waits of 10 minutes to do so.
On a LIN -> LHR with AZ in 10 days - will be curious
Whats the connection T4 -> T5 like?
Personally not a fan of T4 - flew on a BKK a few months ago and the terminal looked very very "tired"
Programs: BA Gold, AZ MilleMiglia (fingers crossed)
Posts: 1,793
Quote:
Originally Posted by WHBM
After a few weeks I wonder what the experiences are of Alitalia and other SkyTeam users at Heathrow T4, and whether the reasons that made BA want to move out are apparent.
1. The poor access to the terminal, the longwinded and delay-prone routes from the M4 motorway in comparison to the Central Area.
2. Not being on the Heathrow Express, the connection required is difficult for visitors to understand.
3. Poor connections to other terminals, in particular to T5. Alitalia are now well away from any termnals with UK domestic connections.
4 Probably most crucially, the tedious and delay-prone aircraft route between the northern runway and T4, needing to cross the southern runway, where there can be sometimes waits of 10 minutes to do so.
I'm also curious - will be on LHR-FCO on Sat and return on Sun.
Regarding road access to T4, for people like me who live in central London and approach along the M4 from the east, it's actually much easier and closer than the other terminals. T5 in particular is materially further for me as I have to go further along the M4, past T123, and then use a short stretch of M25 which can be jammed.
T4-T5 is a short bus ride. I agree that rail connections aren't good at all. And yes I have long memories of waiting to cross the southern runway.
Location: London (UK), Milano (IT), Wellington (NZ)
Programs: TG*G, LH SEN, AZ CFA
Posts: 147
Great improvement, mostly for C and status pax
In the past two weeks I've done 2 flights out of LHR on AZ, after the move to T4. I should specify that I am usually on the 8pm flights, mostly on Friday nights (perhaps circumstances might change at different times of the day?).
Cons:
- Crowded. Fine if you use the Fast Track for security, but both times I have been there the normal queues looked very long (longer than anything I used to see at T2). Probably the Fast Track could become the only reason for flying C on AZ intra-Europe (given that, except on the MD80s, seats and service onboard are basically the same as Y?).
- Longer taxi. Both times the plane took ages to reach the runway; I am ignorant about the airport layout, so this might not be case for every flight.
Pros:
- Lounge! The SkyTeam lounge is among the best I've seen at LHR. It is fairly big, has great showers, an acceptable selection of wines and spirits, decent warm food and good attendants (at least they make an effort to be at your service: pouring beverages, showing passengers around the lounge, ...). I am not even thinking about comparing it with that ***t-hole that was the defunct AZ lounge.
- Once again, the lounge!
- Business / Elite check-in area is now separated from the Y check-in (it's in a completely different area). Both times it was deserted. Nice improvement.
- More shopping options.
- Did I mention the lounge?
To put it in simple words, I am loving this move to T4. I usually fly to Italy on a Friday after work, arriving at LHR with 40-45 minutes to spare. The possibility to get a shower, change clothes and eat a warm meal with some decent wine is a HUGE improvement to my (almost)weekly routine.
I believe that also the occasional traveler will be able to appreciate the shopping options and a terminal with an "airier" feel.
Programs: BA Gold, AZ MilleMiglia (fingers crossed)
Posts: 1,793
Quote:
Originally Posted by flying_pig
Cons:
- Crowded. Fine if you use the Fast Track for security, but both times I have been there the normal queues looked very long (longer than anything I used to see at T2). Probably the Fast Track could become the only reason for flying C on AZ intra-Europe (given that, except on the MD80s, seats and service onboard are basically the same as Y?).
- Longer taxi. Both times the plane took ages to reach the runway; I am ignorant about the airport layout, so this might not be case for every flight.
Hmm. Sorry to see it so crowded. In its BA days the queues often snaked back into the middle of the terminal but it wasn't that terrible in terms of waiting times. Are there any BAA targets of the type "we'll get you through security in 10 minutes 90% of the time"?
The airport layout is as follows: there are two runways which run east to west (or vice versa), and terminals 1,2,3,5 are between them. However, T4 is south of the southern runway. This means that if you land on or take off from the northern runway, you have to cross the southern runway to get to or from T4, whereas aircraft using the other terminals don't. You basically have to wait for a gap in the traffic to cross, which can take some time.
