shorthauldad

No, LHR as a whole is really all about retail. With runways.

MrSimonR

Am I alone in enjoying a browse of Harrods, Ted Baker and Reiss before the flight, having the chance to buy some clothes more cheaply than in town, and being able to buy gifts at Tiffany or Chanel also at cheaper prices and without having to go out shopping. What a drab place or would be if it looked like FRA.

jacobitetraveller

how about a casino ?

ah maybe not.. id probably miss my flight

HMPS

I used to buy whiskey for gifting at LHR regularly, till I found out that the street shops in Chicago sell for less. I pack them in checked bags. Don't have to carry them around making sure the sealed Bag remains sealed etc.

Mumbai like many other airports have duty free shops after you clear IMM. But before Customs. Makes it much easier ! They also precook your order on the outbound from BOM so you just stop, pick up and go .

Betteronacamel

Well I'm afraid that Frank and I have little in common; Frank is all about Afternoon Tea at any and every opportunity which I just see as a another cost cutting enhancement every time it appears. Alternatively, it's a cheap, unimaginative, carb rich option which I just wish they'd bin. I gather they're even now enhancing away the cake in Europe

Frank loves it - Tea at the Ritz is probably OK, but Tea at BA isn't.

Frank, in my mind, just personifies everything that I hate about BA at the moment. Cheap penny pinching at every opportunity.

Thus Frank wouldn't be interested in providing a true 'premium experience' because I'm not at all convinced that he knows what that really means. Have a look at AF, LH, TG, EK, EY, SQ et al Frank.

In reality I'm sure he's a lovely fellow and please don't take this personally.

xxxxx

I would disagree somewhat with this. I believe it is BA who are most at fault for the capacity problems at connections.

Before T5 opened, HAL removed a spa from next door to Huxley's and installed extra security machines. HAL also removed a store at security south and installed another machine there.

Security has gone from 6 to 12 at south,

And from (8 before opening) 10 to 16 at north.

So BA subsequently added flight after flight after flight to T5, flights moved from LGW, flights moved from T3, flights moved from T1.

I would say there are around 20 to 30% more people using transfers than when T5 originally opened, and that is within BA's control.

CMK10

I agree with a lot of people. When I travel without lounge access I want:

- Lots of seating
- No trouble finding an outlet
- Wifi (either free, or good quality for pay)
- A selection of places to eat

I have zero interest in shopping except for maybe a newspaper.

shorthauldad

If retail is so attractive, why not design the terminal with straight "non-retail" routes (security -> lounge -> gates), allowing pax who don't wish to partake in Harrods, Ted Baker, Reiss, Tiffany and Chanel to avoid having to go near them?

V10

I'm not sure about that.

It's not like all those extra flights suddenly turned up at T5 out of thin air.

Well, perhaps they did But they were not unexpected.

fripperies

I'm still waiting for a proper explanation why the international>domestic connections fast track was axed, and what compensatory arrangements are being planned. Until that recent dis-improvement is addressed I DO NOT WANT to hear about enhanced retail and leisure opportunities. It's offensive.

AeroWesty

I was a bit skeptical about the £1m number when I first read this thread, but I've just read notes from the Boyd Group Conference on another site. Korean Air reports that the LV Duty-Free shop at ICN does $300K+ in business per DAY. That's a lotta Louis.

1010101

The one thing that struck me about T5 is that whilst you are surrounded by shops, at no point are you actually forced to walk through one. Opportunity missed, HAL.

Maybe these enhancements involve plonking another branch of Dixons between passport control and security.

xenole

I don't see why so many are that eager to buy LV,
If they're selling that much a day, then everyone under the sun must own something by LV which therefore makes the brand as common as muck so it's no longer a status symbol or whatever.

1010101

And that's exactly what is happening. But it's not going to make a huge amount of difference any time soon, as for every person who moves above LV to more exclusive brands, someone new will enter their target market.

Calchas

Those figures don't reveal the volume or the number of unique customers.

Moreover exclusivity is a more a product of marketing than statistics ...