Baggage/London question
 

I'm assuming the below statement from the BMI web site means that we can check luggage at Paddington station all the way through to Manchester. Would this be easier than taking a people mover or two taxis from London Metropole to Heathrow? Remember that there are nine of us, three of us very small.

"Central London check-in at Paddington station

The Heathrow Express rail-link departs Paddington station for London Heathrow every 15 minutes, with a journey time of 15 minutes. bmi offers full check-in facilities at the station for customers with hold baggage or with hand baggage only, enabling you to go directly to your departure gate on arrival at Heathrow. Paddington passengers departing on bmi should check-in at the Star Alliance desks at the station."

As long as you are at Paddington an absolute minimum of 2 hours before the flight, you can check in all your bags at Paddington through to your final destination (they are loaded into a container, onto the train, and then taken from the Heathrow rail station to the apron). You use the Star Alliance desks (Desks 18-20 if I recall correctly).

The great advantage of this is convenience and no queues (you rarely have 2 people in front of you at any time of day). If travelling alone or as a couple from central London, I would take the train every time.

The major drawback of this, with 9 people, is the cost (GBP13 one way, GBP25 round trip on the train!! Even with child reductions for under 14's that is likely to be way more expensive than a couple of people movers).

If you do take the people mover route, look out for the "Group check in" desk located in Zone A of the check in area at Heathrow Terminal 1. I have never used it but with a group of 9 you should be eligible to do so. Should cut down on queuing time (which is normally not that bad anyway).

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a "people mover"? Is that an English slang for the Underground or bus?

People Mover / People Carrier / MPV = passenger vehicle with 7+ seats, bigger than an estate car, smaller than a minibus.

Minivan in NA parlance.