Originally Posted by
flyingcrazy
Your post has been most interesting I thank you for it
. I am a Heathrowphile myself and cannot understand all the bad press. I am not one of these people who fly from LCY via AMS, FRA etc just to avoid LHR because I like T5. Hopefully with the new aviation review we will see a 3rd or even 4th runway added to enable this great airport to compete better with the likes of CDG especially on flights to the Far East.
Of course LHR and LCY are much more convenient than LGW.
Ah ah, hello fellow Heathrowphile!
Yes, 3rd and 4th runway would be great but I'm not sure how optimistic I am about it. The paradox for the current major party in the coalition is that they are both close to the no 1 constituency wanting it (big business) and to the no 1 constituency who will go totally ballistic if it happens (West London residents who don't want the extra traffic and represent a very predominantly Conservative area).
I guess that the bad press largely comes from the missing third runway precisely, meaning that LHR runs so near capacity that if there is any minor visibility or snow problem, everything gets delayed and people start "enjoying" the dreaded holding pattern for hours before missing their connection. I do think things have improved quite a bit though. ATC seem to have now developed slightly more efficient ways to handle traffic problems, and as you say T5 is very nice and has made connections hugely more practical and more pleasant than in the past. It has very good lounges too, notably GF. Bus boarding is also far rarer than at both FRA (where it seems to me to be getting worse if I judge by my recent trips) and CDG (where it seems to be getting better). So all in all, of the three largest airport hubs for EU largest airlines connections (BA at LHR, AF at CDG, and LH at FRA) I would now rank BA at LHR as the most efficient at the moment as long as we are talking T5-T5, which is most connections (anything T3 or T1 is a bit like having to use 2G at CDG, ie not good).
Still, I do think that a St Pancras-CDG would be a good idea for AF to collaborate on. I think they have managed to get a lot of Belgian traffic with their Bxl Gare du Sud-CDG and I have no doubt they would similarly increase their market share with a direct train into CDG.