Newsstand - Heathrow worst airport in Europe, says AA air chief Don Langford

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3838452.ece

Heathrow Airport was branded the worst airport in Europe today by a senior executive of a US airline.
Don Langford, European head of customer services for American Airlines, delivered an outspoken attack on the west London airport, saying it was a “bit of a dump” that suffered from a lack of investment.

Next Headline - Pope is Catholic, Bears do Whoopsies in the Woods

So why move your flights up there from Gatwick then?

Next Headline - Pope is Catholic, Bears do Whoopsies in the Woods

Could not have said it better. Except for 'Ducks can swim'

-I'm shocked! Shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.
-Your winnings, sir.
:D

This was an AA exec, not a USAir exec, and they have a lot of operations there and that's apparently where the fools here in the USA think they want to fly to. That's why all the carriers were drooling over Open Skies (http://www.wanderingaramean.com/2008/03/skies-are-open.html) and that's why CO paid $209MM for their 4 slot pairs. But the declaration really is nothing new.

I just paid GBP20 extra and an extra night in the UK to fly out via BRS instead of LHR, just to avoid the place.

Worst European airport to which AA flies perhaps.

There are others which are much, much worse. Europe's a big place.

After these messages, "Poo Stinks" and "Butter is Fattening."

Other than liking to hear oneself talk, and seeing one's name in a press release, the only other purpose for this is "Your AA LHR experience SUCKS and it ain't our fault."

Only been to Stansted, so I wouldn't know what it's like. Hopefully I won't need to find out.

Worst European airport to which AA flies perhaps.

There are others which are much, much worse. Europe's a big place.

Like what, TIA?

Like what, TIA?

How about CDG ?

Maybe my expectations are too low, and I've only been to Terminals 1, 2 and 3, but these sorts of pronouncements give people the idea they should expect some type of horror show, and that's not been my experience at all. The worst problem I have faced at Heathrow is boredom, and that is remedied by a quick literary purchase. There was a fair bit of walking involved, I guess, in my recent transfer from UA to Lufthansa, and a shuttle bus ride, but nothing that was remotely torturous.

I do have sympathy for people who lose luggage, of course, and that seems somewhat more likely statistically at Heathrow. And I'm not thrilled that Heathrow is such a special target for terrorists, requiring extra security, but that's not Heathrow's fault.

And on one memorable trip, I have had to sit on a plane and wait forever (85 minutes) for a gate and then finally be shuttle-bused off the plane to the terminal. But like I said, the worst problem I've had from Heathrow is boredom.

How about CDG ?

Agreed. CDG is worse than LHR.

But like I said, the worst problem I've had from Heathrow is boredom.

Then you are lucky. The UA to LH transfer which you have had can be a nightmare. I've waited up to 45 minutes for the bus at 630am, standing midway up a staircase on a piece of stair, I've had terrible FCC waits. Although I haven't been through there in a couple of years, on many many UA trips, for O/D trips in a premium cabin, I never minded it much, for connections, just horrible.

LHR is far from the worst.

CDG, FCO and SVO come to mind as far worse airports. I actually like LHR. For airports to be stuck in, it is one of my favourites, not exciting, but safe, has wi-fi, outlets, and some comfy places to sit.

On my site for traveling photogs I posted about the "wost airport in Europe" comments here: http://flyingwithfish.blogspot.com/2008/04/london-heathrow-branded-as-worst.html

Agreed. CDG is worse than LHR.

Maybe it was 3 years ago. CDG has massively improved over the past couple of years, and now is just about as pleasant as an airport of its size could be.
I've never been to an airport facility worse than LHR T2 anywhere (even DEL comes a close second). The other LHR terminals aren't as bad, but the combination of poor weather conditions and extremely high runway utilisation often means that you spend a lot longer there than you intended to!
There are other crappy airports that may at times be worse in some other parts of Europe- e.g. I have heard really horrible things about ZTH, which was built to serve a population of 40k people, but receives a ridiculous amount of charter flights during the summer season. I can imagine that this also happens in other airports throughout the Greek islands and maybe parts of Spain.

LHR is far from the worst.

CDG, FCO and SVO come to mind as far worse airports.

FCO isn't that bad. It does need a cosmetic touch here and there, but it's pretty efficient with only moderately long walks and plenty of seating areas.
Not done SVO as an O&D pax yet, and I realise that at peak times seating isn't exactly plentiful outside the lounge, but the connection process was a lot smoother than LHR.

Maybe it was 3 years ago. CDG has massively improved over the past couple of years, and now is just about as pleasant as an airport of its size could be.


For starters, CDG has virtually no available power outlets for travelers to sit down and work (except in one terminal), except one terminal there is nothing to do during a long wait or a layover. If you ever get stranded and stay overnight the airport is downright scary (and I've photographed a few dozen riots, shot a long term story in some of the worst housing projects in NYC in the mid-90s, and shot stories in Iraq during the current war.....and I find CDG at night scary).

X-fering between terminals can be a pain in the @$$.

I encounter more scammers in the terminal trying to pick off tourists than anywhere else.

I am an AF Flying Blue Gold flyer, I go through CDG somewhat often, and am not looking forward to dealing with CDG again on Friday morning,as I head off to Paris tomorrow evening out of Philly (another airport I can't stand).

Maybe it was 3 years ago. CDG has massively improved over the past couple of years, and now is just about as pleasant as an airport of its size could be.
I've never been to an airport facility worse than LHR T2 anywhere (even DEL comes a close second). The other LHR terminals aren't as bad, but the combination of poor weather conditions and extremely high runway utilisation often means that you spend a lot longer there than you intended to!


That's my experience too. But I would prefer LHR T2 to DEL. At least, you can reach a counter without your new itinerary if you have changed your flights ... LHR T5 is a nice shopping mall with very nice lounges. It doesn't change the fact that LHR is congested and that you can spend half an hour on a holding pattern or 40mn waiting to cross the Southern runway. I arrived this evening at T5A. Of course, the brand new jetway was broken and after waiting 15mn for things to happen, we used stairs to leave the aircraft, walk 30 yards to walk up another set of stairs into the terminal. As other passengers said, things should be better with T7 ...

For starters, CDG has virtually no available power outlets for travelers to sit down and work (except in one terminal), .

I've seen power outlets in 2D, 2F1, 2F2 and 2E. It's been a long time since I've been in 2C, and I haven't seen any in 2B.