My T5 impressions
 

My first T5 visit last week JFK/LHR in J.
Arrivals:
Nice not to have to wait for a stand once landed. But the journey from T5B to arrivals is too vertical. Going down several escalators to the transit and then up several more with wheelie luggage is hassle. Good to have two Iris's though. Arrival lounge is ridiculous. Looks great, but the shower cubicles are so plastic and small and the furniture for breakfast is dreadful. It's like eating breakfast from a table that's 3 inches off the ground. Arrivals lounge requires MORE escalators to get to. Great to see the lovely breakfast lady with the beehive though.
Departures:
What a shambles. Checked in online. No luggage to check. Go to the 'security check' and after queuing for ages they say I need to go to check in for them to see my passport. Why doesn't it say that when you check in online? I agree the non-concorde room shuffel up and down MORE escalators is crazy. I wonder how long it will be for the 'cloud' by the lounges to malfunction and just be a lump of plastic. Lounges were OK, but PLEASE BRING BACK FLIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS. The relaxing atmosphere is lost when you have to check on the (difficult to find) boards every few minutes. The terrace with the fireplace in the first lounge was hot and sweaty (and the fire wasn't even lit!).
Transit broke while I was waiting for it to depart but other than that, getting aboard with fast track is easy.

I hate to say it, but I preferred T4.

Is that because you have a US passport (just thinking because of your stated location?) or was there another issue? I ask because I will be using T5 for the first time tomorrow (hand luggage only, UK passport and OLCI etc).

There's some destinations where you have to go via a desk. DME is one and one other I can't remember in the old Eastern Block. They may be more.

Yesterday afternoon the transit train between A and B gates was broken down.
The announcements asked that you allow 25 mins to get across. Oh no -so soon!

It applies to anyone flying longhaul or taking a shorthaul flight to Moscow, St Petersburg, Prague or Kiev who has checked in online or at a Check-in kiosk at the terminal. You need to go to one of the passport and visa check desks before going to Security.

There is just no pleasing some people. A very harsh assessment I feel.

Hi Tobix, sorry you didn't enjoy T5. Dont forget that you can use the three lifts to get down to the Track Transit if you don't want to take the escalators. As for conformance ba.com does tell you about it, but I appreciate that it is new to you. Just a quick scan is all that is needed and then through security. The cloud has not had any technical issues yet, but it is managed by artwise who curate all of the art in the Galleries. There is no reason to think that it will break, but if it does it will either be repaired or removed. There are issues with the screens in the lounges and that is being looked at. I don't like the new showers either, but the furniture in the arrivals lounge is normal height so I am not sure why you felt low down.

Anyway, I hope you grow to love it :)

Can you explain this more?

Passport/visa checks are required if travelling to DME,LED,KBP,TIP.

If you go to a BD/CS desk with luggage to check-in, the passport/visa check is done at this desk.

If you are hand-baggage only, then your PYOBP states clearly on it (at least for DME it does) that you need to go a passport/visa check desk in G zone before proceeding through security.

I'm not sure about SSCIing at a machine (if you haven't PYOBPed), and have no luggage to check - I assume there is a message telling you to go to the passport/visa check desk. If there isn't, this is the only way you could be caught out.

In any case, queues for the pre-security BP check are minimal, and I have never seen a queue at the passport/visa check desk. I can't imagine this can have inconvenienced too much.

It certainly speeds up the actual boarding process though. Without this, every passport/visa has to be checked on boarding, which used to take ages when boarding 250 people.

The kindergarten-style rows of tables/chairs in the eating are normal height.

I think he means those dinky low tables between the easy chairs. Agreed, they are not ideal for eating at, unless you kneel on the floor. And then you look rather odd. But they were probably not designed for eating at. Fine for sticking Hello magaine on, a laptop on, or putting your feet on (oops, only kidding), but not for eating at.

Arrivals lounge:
You are correct. I had to sit on the left as you come in to the arrivals lounge to eat. The 'Kindergarten' chairs/tables:) were all taken.
Check in:
I fly JFK/LHR and have a green card. You are correct in that I PMOBP at the SSCI and always only have handluggage so must have missed the message to visit a passport check desk before going through security.
Cloud:
DOn't mean to be harsh about the cloud, but the great lights at JFK T7 died pretty quickly which I always thought was a shame. I just hope the same doesn't happen to the cloud (which is great at the moment).

Regarding the passport and visa check, there are also large BA signs at both security points and by the passport and visa desks that indicate that you should have your passport and visa checked if you are on on of the required services with handbaggage only.

As for the announcements in the lounges, there were numerous complaints about these before and with the number of flights going from one terminal now, it would be almost non-stop announcements. Agreed that when the screens are working properly, it's an issue, but on a whole not having announcements means that the tannoy isn't constantly going off.

IMHO, the "cloud" is probably the best bit of T5. Fantastic piece of work! ^

... and PRG but oddly not BUD which joined the EU on the same day. I was caught out three times in the first couple of weeks after it opened. After being sent back the first occassion for "not being checked in" whilst clearly holding my PYOBP, no one said a thing and reprinted my BP. Second time same. Third time I used a machine, inserting my passport as PoID in case it was a BAEC "thing". Same issue, "you need to check in sir", however this time I was taken by a BA staff member who didn't know the reason either to a helpful lady at a desk who explained when I told her the story. You're destinations on the list so you need to check in. Pleased she didn't say you're not getting in, othewise mrs compcom would have been a bit miffed, or gone out with the girls for the night :)

I've just checked my last 2 months worth of BP's and there is no mention of additional check being required. So it does leave an annoying whole in the system, at least for PRG passengers. Intersting last week whilst waiting for a very long time (see below) at security, I noticed a [new] totum pole stating this exact issue except PRG was not on the list!

As for speeding up boarding, well yes I would have agreed until 2 weeks ago Smirnoff. That was until those helpful security people got new rules saying they had to capture your best, worst and backside. Last week long queues as all the staff seemed, in unison, to move from their desks, to adjust the cameras and then take the picture instead of asking you to move a little. This being at the same time as those annoying people with yellow bibs moved up and down the queues asking if you needed (for a second, third, fourth .. time) a bag for your liquids and when you said no, queried the size of your luggage and insisted it went in the gauge. Why don't BAA train them to do a proper job, like reducing queues at security.

Then at the gate, twice we've been asked for our passports even though not required, "just as an additional check sir". Thankfully, I was still the same person I had been when I checked in earlier. Phew!

All this said I'm very pleased with T5, which I use at least twice a week.


PS except the champagne bar, which in old T1 FIRST felt "comfy"

I think the visa checks for PRG were another T5 bungle.

Either some penpusher thought that everyone needed visas to PRG, or thought that PRG was the code for Tripoli.

Either way, PRG has been removed from the list of dodgy dodgy destinations, and the list is now DME, LED, KBP (even though most of us don't need visas) and TIP.

http://www.terminal5.ba.com/en/departures/ -
Passport and Visa Check for customers with hand luggage only If you’re flying long haul or taking a short haul flight to Moscow, St Petersburg, Tripoli or Kiev and you’ve checked-in online or at a Check-in Kiosk at the terminal, you will need to go to one of the Passport and Visa Check desks before going to Security. This helps keep the flow of people through Security running smoothly as any problems will have been dealt with beforehand. If you have baggage for the hold, your passport and visa will be checked at a Fast Bag Drop or Customer Service Desk.

Must be a PRG thing.

The BPs for DME state in red on them:

Hand baggage only
Customers with hand baggage only, should proceed to a Passport and Visa check desk located in Zone G, before going to Security.

(not sure I agree with the BA man's use of commas though)