shorthauldad

No surprise there.

If BAA's commercial 'experts' were solely in charge of the layout of LHR there would also be shops in the airbridges and along the taxiways too...

stifle

I don't mind shops, I mind being railroaded through them, stopped en route by salespeople, and so on.
I have never paid a full HEX fare myself, and...
I do all the time

layz

It was so easy to get gold on BD when they flew where you wanted, or you could go on *A.

When bmi scrapped the GLA route, which was the main route I used them for, I moved most of my travel to BA and the same travel pattern on BA wouldn't have even got me silver, never mind gold. Fortunately I've been able to add some longhaul leisure travel to my routine now which will keep me at least silver.

So I can see a lot of BD golds dropping down the status ladder on BA, but I'm sure they'll enjoy it while it lasts.

T8191

I don't think this is a DYWIA debate about walking through shops on the way to a Lounge. It's about the overall design that makes moving around so bloody difficult.

The OH and I "fly to shop" at our destination. Somehow the idea of doing shopping air-side, once our bags have been despatched to the hold of our aircraft, rather confuses me.

"Oh, look, a sweater, and a lovely handbag … I must have those. Do you have room in your carry-on, dear?"
"No, but you can buy a suitcase over at that shop, and try to smuggle it on board and wedge it in the overhead."

Crampedin13A

Funny that one of the criticisms of YYZ's terminals is that there aren't enough shops. Guess airport operators can't get it right.

T8191

Just been discussing with the OH … so what do people buy air-side?
And where do they put it?
Or is it just little things, like perfume for the OH and a bit of jewellery for the PA?

Crampedin13A

I've often wondered the same. I'll buy duty free booze returning to Canada because if you say you haven't bought anything it's a flag to go to secondary. Leaving home I buy nothing. If I want to give someone a gift I can usually buy it just as cheap at the destination without the hassle of carting it around.

Even with the booze I know I'm not getting any deal. Most single malts etc. can be bought cheaper at the LCBO back in Toronto than in T5 and certainly far less than on the continent.

BOH

Thanks for the excellent advice - I will, on my next flight ^

So how many flights a day are there from Biggin Hill to Toronto?

pianoamit

Talking about detours:
Travelling on HEX and checking in at CW desks, I had a real marathon. Following the HEX man's instructions at Paddington, I boarded at the front of the train, which brought me up the lift in T5 at check-in area A. This means I had to walk the entire length of the terminal to get to CW check-in, then that same distance (roughly) in the long detour to the lounge.

BAA/BA care for your health, it seems - I can't remember doing this much forced 'exercise' since 7th grade PhysEd.

HilFly

As many as you like, providing you bring your own plane and pilot!

And for some aircraft you may need to bring your own runway.

But it is the Gateway to London 2012!

pianoamit

The airport is of course not designed solely with lounge users in mind, but the lounge *is*. This means that the lounge should be designed in a way that makes it easily accessible to those passengers who will be - for lack of a better word - lounging there.

I think you misunderstand. Like I said in my previous post, people are upset not about there being shops, but about the marathon run that they have to make from HEX to J check-in and then to the lounge. I'm not a slow walker, but it took me a lot longer from arriving in T5 HEX platform to the lounge than it ever did in T1 (and that IS a long walk).

layz

Aren't there airside bag drops at T5 just for this reason? I could be imagining it but I'm sure I read that BAA has an agreement with BA that allows you to check in extra baggage in T5 if it was purchased there airside.

Does sound a bit odd now that I think of it, but I'm sure I read it here somewhere (and if it's true how would the average pax be aware?)

T8191

Nobody is forcing you to schlepp all the way to the J check-in. You can use any desk on the way

On our way from the Sofitel to J check-in, we analyse the queues as we pass and work out whether it's quicker to join in a short queue, or keep walking all the way to the far end … to join a short queue

Perhaps BA should have put CW and F check-in in the middle of the terminal? Oh, but wait ... then it would be too far to walk to the CCR

CreativeBill

The shops at Heathrow are often the only ones I can visit amid my schedule. The other day, I bought a handbag that I "needed", saved 20% on the price (or whatever the ex VAT % is), used my WorldPoints card and paid for it with Amex... so:
Saving £95.82
WorldPoints 958 ~ Avois 1150
Amex > Avios 718
Total Avios ~ 1868

Left the bag with the shop and picked it up in arrivals when I got back via the Shop & Collect service.

I personally agree with whoever was asking why the airport should be designed with lounge users (what is that of total passengers, about 5%?) in mind. What if you all could "turn right" through the magic door, imagine the queue - Quelle horreur!! Can you not use the Galleries North lounge or take the lift down to the lower level outside HMV and make the two minute walk from there?

It's not really that much of a hardship is it? I know some have an inflated sense of entitlement... but really.

layz

That's the approach I take, I'll go for any desk where there's little or no queue while I walk to the club/silver desks. The original idea of T5 was there'd be no needs for club desks, didn't quite work that way but if there's no queue there's no difference between the regular bag drop and the club one.

What's the requirements to use the group desks? I was with a group of 4 and the desks were empty - I said 'does 4 make a group' he said yes and we checked in there. Is that correct or was it just because the desks were empty? I would have thought the group desks were for 8 or more.