NewbieRunner

In just one week on Wednesday 1st October, LH and OS will move from T1 to T2 at Heathrow. During the following two weeks the rest of LH Group of airlines will also move to T2. The new Heathrow Terminal 2, or 'The Queen's Terminal', opened on 4 June and so far 13 Star Alliance members (plus two non-Star Alliance airlines) have moved there. All airline moves have taken place as originally planned except for TK and TG who postponed their move due to extended testing of the baggage handling systems. To avoid the fiasco of T5 in 2008, the moves to the new terminal have been phased to take place over 5 months between June and October. Most Star Alliance airlines which have moved so far (except UA) moved from T3 to T2, but between 1st and 22nd October all remaining *A airlines in T1 will move to T2. LH Group of airlines are scheduled to move on the following dates.

1 Oct 2014 – LH, OS
8 Oct 2014 – 4U
15 Oct 2014 – LX, SN, LO, OU

Altogether 23 Star Alliance airlines will be represented in T2 (AI which joined *A recently is still in T4) plus 4U, Aer Lingus and Virgin Atlantic Little Red (VS's domestic service operated by Aer Lingus).

T2 consists of the main terminal (T2A) and a satellite (T2B) linked with pedestrian tunnels. All LH Group of airlines are expected to use T2A. T2B is used for longhaul flights and widebody aircraft. T1 will be demolished in due course and there is a plan to build another T2 satellite with a shuttle between the main terminal and the two satellites but there is no date for the next phase as yet. After 22 October only CY, FI, JJ, LY and some BA flights will be using T1.

There will be 4 Star Alliance airline lounges in T2. UA and AC lounges in T2B have been open for some time and there are numerous reports about these lounges on FT. The new UA lounge is believed to be one of the best (if not the best) UA lounges worldwide. The opening of the SQ lounge scheduled for 17 September has been delayed. Unlike T1 there will be no *A-branded lounge in T2 and the only *A lounge in T2A will be the LH Senator/Business lounges scheduled to open on 1 October. The combined lounge will be 1,600m˛ with 120 seats in the SEN section and 230 seats in the Business section. It should have a nice view of the southern runway.

Whatever one thinks of London Heathrow Airport its website provides excellent maps of the terminal buildings including all the shops, restaurants and departure gates. An interactive map of T2 may be found here.


LHR T2A Level 5 - the blue rectangle area in the centre is the LH lounge


LHR T2A Level 4 - departure gate area

As you enter the terminal there are three 'waves' of check-in facilities. First a row of self-service check-in kiosks where both boarding passes and bag tags must be printed before proceeding to bag drop counters in the second wave. The first two 'waves' are divided into four zones (A, B, C and D) and each zone will service passengers of a group of airlines. LH group will be in zone B. The third wave at the far end consists of priority check-in counters for individual airlines plus economy check-in counters for passengers who need assistance. Check-in and security will be on level 5 where LH and Aer Lingus lounges are also located. Most shops and restaurants are on level 4 where T2A departure gates are located. To reach T2B passengers must go down a long escalator or an elevator and walk through a connecting tunnel. Apart from airline lounges there are only a limited number of shops and restaurants in the satellite and there are signs everywhere in T2A telling passengers not to go to T2B too early unless they are using airline lounges. However, there are also signs telling them to allow enough time to reach their gate in B (up to 25 mins).

Arriving passengers will go through passport control, baggage claim and customs all on the same level. Passengers without checked bags can walk straight from passport control to the customs without having to walk round baggage carousels. The only thing that prevents them from walking straight to the exit appears to be the arrival duty free shop.

Despite a long walk through the tunnel which some passengers are already complaining about connecting in LHR between *A airlines will be a much more pleasant experience compared to transferring between T1 and T3.

NewbieRunner

Between October 2013 and September 2014 there were 175 trials of the new terminal involving 14,000 unpaid volunteers and 50 organisations. I took part in two: in May I was part of the largest T2 trial two and a half weeks before the terminal opened and two weeks ago when LH group of airlines insisted on further trials (late evening after most flights have departed) which turned out to be a training event for check-in staff.

My report of the first trial I attended may be found here. I will post about my experience of trying out various check-in options of LH group of airlines later.

HKG1111

I wonder why these Star Airlines have so much money to build individual lounges rather having one *A lounge with F / C class sections.

whiskey_sk

will be arriving to LHR next week to T1, leaving from T2, am really curious as to what the experience will be in the new terminal.

theSaladDays

As long as there's a LH business lounge for FTLers like me, I'm happy!

BristolTraveller

My LX flights to/from GVA this week checked-in and had baggage reclaim in T1, but departed/arrived in T2B.

It's worth walking over to T2B to use the UA lounge on the way out, and definitely worth exiting using T2 immigration (assuming you've no bags to pick up). I was the sole person in the EU passport line in T2, my colleague had the usual crocodile line in T1. Worth knowing in 'dual running' phase.

mamb0

I find it pretty reasonable if you look at it from a real estate perspective. To accommodate all in one single facility you need a lot of space in one big chunk which you might not have. Also from a fire code and other building codes perspective it might be a lot easier and cheaper to have dislocated facilities.

theSaladDays

Just received an email from LH on this, including the link below:
http://www.lufthansa.com/online/port...n_232014093015

NewbieRunner

I noticed in the email:

I knew that *G, C & F passengers could use priority (i.e. staffed) check-in desks but it sounds like *G can use the priority security lane regardless of the class of travel. ^

p.s. The best part is "laptops can remain in their cases through security".

whiskey_sk

Got the email, too. Will test it on Friday. I'm a bit worried about the luggage though. After all, it's a Heathrow terminal...

NewbieRunner

During my first T2 trial in May I was able to wander around the terminal and walk to the satellite (T2B) and back through the pedestrian tunnel. I nearly missed my 'flight' to Seeheim due to some faulty aircon equipment setting off the fire alarm and bringing the trial to a premature end.

The second trial a few weeks ago was very different and turned out to be a Menzies staff training session. Each volunteer was given a script as before but the main purpose of the trial was to test the check-in process involving the actual check-in agents. The first script I was given was very easy. I only had one standard bag to check and despite being an economy passenger on LX to SIR (Sion) I was supposed to check in at a staffed check-in counter. .



From the previous trial I knew that staffed/premium check-in counters were at the back of the check-in hall. If you don't know the layout of the terminal it's not easy to find where the they are despite the copious amounts of signage.




Staffed check-in counters

Although this was easy for me it was not so easy for the check-in agent who had been locked out of the LX system and had to ask a supervisor to log him back again. Apparently it was his first time working in T2 and economy staffed check-in counters are not airline specific. Having safely checked in for my LX flight I was about to head towards security but was stopped and told to go back to the entrance where I would pick up another script.

This time I was an economy passenger on SN flying to ALC but had to use a self-service kiosk. As far as I remember last time I had to use a self-service kiosk to check in was some years ago in ORD flying on UA.







From what I could see standing behind other volunteers, who I expected to be more experienced travellers than average passengers, most people were having problems finding their way around the screen. After I checked in by scanning 'my passport' and typing 'my name', the machine spat out a boarding pass and I proceeded to bag drop. This was where I found I should have printed a bag tag as well but didn't. Or perhaps it was printed but I failed to pick it up. The agent at the counter printed one for me and all was well. Bag drop counters are shared by several airlines in each zone and all LH group of airlines user Zone B.

For my next assignment I was flying on 4U to STN (Stanstead) in economy with one standard bag and one over-sized bag. I haven't checked 4U's baggage rules but to make sure I could maximize my allowance I decided to enter my SEN number.





I must admit I had some difficulty selecting my seat on this short flight. It was only when I scrolled down to the back of the plane I realised that a black 'man' represented an occupied seat and that I had to choose a seat which was 'blank'. (You can tell I never read instructions at the bottom of the screen!)

This time I remembered to print tags for my checked bags but had no idea how to attach them to the bags. I'd done it once before in FRA but it was a long time ago. I waited for someone to come and show me how to. *A website contains (somewhat well hidden) a video showing you how and there is a help button on the check-in screen (which I did not try and I doubt many people will). The entrance to the bag drop area was well-hidden and I managed to jump the queue the first time since I didn't see where I was supposed to wait.




Bag drop desks

My fourth and final assignment was to check in for a flight on LH in economy to SQH (Seeheim). LH and friends seem to like using exotic destinations for these trials and on the departure board I also noticed Kelsterbach which is a frequent destination for my flights from the UK. Since this is the third time I used the self-service check-in kiosk I decided to be more adventurous and try additional features.

Scanning your passport brings up this screen where you can choose your flight either by destination, flight number or booking reference.



I also managed to add my SEN number.



The seatmap looked familiar. Interesting to see they are flying a widebody (744) to Seeheim.



Since this was LH I was asked for the purpose of travel. 'Not going anywere' or 'Just for fun' wasn't an option so I decided to try something other than 'Tourism'. This brought up another screen asking for further details. Since I could not provide the necessary information I ended up answering I had a connecting international flight.



Eventually I managed to check in myself and two bags one of which was over-size. Neither 4U or LH asked me to pay extra fees for over-sized bags but I now know exactly where the over-size bag drops are!



Is LHR T2 a big improvement? Definitely yes especially if you are a connecting passenger. Anyone who has connected between T1 and T3 or between any terminals in LHR will appreciate T2. For passengers departing from LHR the difference may not be as great but the lounge situation should be an improvement not just for FTLs but for anybody who has access to one of the lounges. For arriving passengers the route from passport control to baggage claim and customs is on one level and well laid out, though if your flight arrives at a T2B gate you can expect a long walk to the main terminal.

Here is Star Alliance's LHR T2 microsite.

Welcome to Heathrow Terminal 2! It's a shame there's no UK-based *A airline flying in and out of The Queen's Terminal.

NewbieRunner

Are you departing or arriving? The departures baggage system for T2 currently uses the T1 departures baggage system. If it worked in T1 it should work in T2. Here is a diagram showing the flow of baggage I found in the T2 baggage hall back in May.

TRAVELSIG

Thank You NewbieRunner for posting such detail on LHR T2- next time I am there I will know what to do now!

whiskey_sk

departing. Thanks a lot for calming words

kasi

So, no more acces to a F-lounge resulting in another service downgrade?