Heathrow is a disaster??

[Oneworldplus2]

OT; What is FRA like?
Got a connected at 7:00am in a few months.

 

[ReLoad]

Heathrow T3 to T5 today took 22 minutes from the Time I left the door of QF9 today until I passed security at T5.

No fast passes used, but was in J so got off quickly.

It really does seem that YMMV.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

It really does seem that YMMV.

Big time.
I had to change terminals last year (at LHR) and had a 2 hour window, in the end l only got to spend 15 minutes in the lounge...

 

[anat0l]

I think you need to be in J/F

If you are transferring to / checking in at T5, I think you need to specifically be flying BA J or F. BA Golds I think are also OK; other oneworld elites (Emeralds in particular) at discretion.

Fast Track at T3 (i.e. outbound security), I believe, is available for QF/BA J or F, or BA Golds / QF Platinums.

Heathrow T3 to T5 today took 22 minutes from the Time I left the door of QF9 today until I passed security at T5.

No fast passes used, but was in J so got off quickly.

It really does seem that YMMV.

I'd say you did very well! Even if I'm almost the first off the aircraft, I find the walk (usually docked at the farthest gate) and waiting for T5 BP check are the critical points (before T5 security, which can be great or a cluster****).

OT; What is FRA like?
Got a connected at 7:00am in a few months.

0700h is probably a busy time of the morning, but if you don't have to clear passport control (next flight requires you to transit into / out of the Schengen area), it should be an easy affair.

If you have to change terminals, might take a bit longer, but I'm fairly sure there should be a way to change terminals at air side.

Just make sure to check the departure monitors studiously for your next flight and proceed to the correct transit point.

 

[TonyHancock]

Whilst the posts are predominantly related to incoming experiences I do have to say that departure from T3 is not one of the better airport experiences. The QF/BA First check in areas is pretty poor. No specific poor service it is just very average.

I queue for the security check longer than any other of the airports I regularly travel through (SYD, MEL, SIN, PVG to name but four) and the assault course of people and duty free I need to get through before reaching the F lounge is a bit scary.

 

[el_rooto]

When I went through in November it was busy but not awful... I had a fasttrack card as I got upgraded. (On QF9).

When I went through in Jan it was a breeze as the flight (The AA flight from JFK that gets in at 7ish) was the only flight there. I was at the front of the line (from walking faster than everyone else) and I had to wait 2 mins for immigration officers.

I'm flying there in late june and landing at T5 at about 1500, I hope the lines aren't too bad.... x_x If I'm QF WP and flying Y+ on BA is it likely that I'll get an express card?

Outbound, the checkin staff have always been nasty and not given me express cards in T3 (As a QFWP in Y), even after requesting them..

 

[drewbles]

When I went through in November it was busy but not awful... I had a fasttrack card as I got upgraded. (On QF9).

When I went through in Jan it was a breeze as the flight (The AA flight from JFK that gets in at 7ish) was the only flight there. I was at the front of the line (from walking faster than everyone else) and I had to wait 2 mins for immigration officers.

I'm flying there in late june and landing at T5 at about 1500, I hope the lines aren't too bad.... x_x If I'm QF WP and flying Y+ on BA is it likely that I'll get an express card?

Outbound, the checkin staff have always been nasty and not given me express cards in T3 (As a QFWP in Y), even after requesting them..

I flew BA Y+ as WP and was let into the Fast Track at T3 on arrivals, as well as T5 when I arrived from BOS.

They don't do cards anymore, the staff are just granting access based on your BP, so ensure you have it, and if they query it make sure you let them know you're Emerald. I had no problems and they commented 'Oh yes Emeralds can come in'. Of course, YMMV as always!

 

[el_rooto]

I flew BA Y+ as WP and was let into the Fast Track at T3 on arrivals, as well as T5 when I arrived from BOS.

They don't do cards anymore, the staff are just granting access based on your BP, so ensure you have it, and if they query it make sure you let them know you're Emerald. I had no problems and they commented 'Oh yes Emeralds can come in'. Of course, YMMV as always!

Cool

I dislike being told "No" as a WP... Especially with a British customer service attitude...

 

[flyingfan]

Outbound, the checkin staff have always been nasty and not given me express cards in T3 (As a QFWP in Y), even after requesting them..

If there were express cards available outbound at T3 (flying QF F, even though I was SG then), I wasn't offered them. The security line wasn't too bad though so I didn't mind.

 

[TonyHancock]

If there were express cards available outbound at T3 (flying QF F, even though I was SG then), I wasn't offered them. The security line wasn't too bad though so I didn't mind.

The fast track system at LHR T3 works off your boarding card. Certainly F & J BP's allow you access to Fast Track security, not sure about Y+.

 

[flyingfan]

The fast track system at LHR T3 works off your boarding card. Certainly F & J BP's allow you access to Fast Track security, not sure about Y+.

Ah okay, thanks for that. I wouldn't have known... if I needed but didn't get a special pass, and tried to rock up at fast track waving my boarding pass, I would have looked like quite the DYKWIA

 

[Dalescott]

We arrived at T5 and took the train to T4 and departed on a flight to Newcastle. We had a time gap of 3 hrs between flights. But in the end with all the delays, we had only 15 Min's and had to run to catch our flight to Newcastle.
We will be going either direct to Newcastle ( getting ripped off by EK), or going via Paris or Amsterdam. Added to this the increase in Tax out of UK, we will not be using Heathrow. Therefore London and Southern England will lose out, in the long term. Britain's Con - Lib Dem government must be one of the most stupid government around. Know wonder the Scot's are looking to leave the UK (Union)

 

[TonyHancock]

if I needed but didn't get a special pass, and tried to rock up at fast track waving my boarding pass, I would have looked like quite the DYKWIA

Nothing wrong with that!! I'm all for looking like a DYKWIA!!!!

 

[drewbles]

Cool

I dislike being told "No" as a WP... Especially with a British customer service attitude...

It's one of the few 'yes' you'll get from BA. They really don't seem to care for anyone but their own elites.

That said, I did get some preferential treatment on a very empty (read: 12 PAX) Y+ cabin, being offered a newspaper with only one other PAX (who I saw was BA Silver). I also did get an op-up SIN-LHR on a heavily oversold flight, but that was the stars aligning (And probably lack of BA elites on the flight).

The other 4-5 flights, was very ho hum. Not like CX treats us WP's

 

[drewbles]

If there were express cards available outbound at T3 (flying QF F, even though I was SG then), I wasn't offered them. The security line wasn't too bad though so I didn't mind.

Was advised specifically by BA that they do not offer Fasttrack cards for T3 and T5 and to use your boarding pass in place of this (apparently they stopped it in the name of being green).

 

[Happy Trails]

Could be a ray of light here, but somehow I think not:

[h=1]Heathrow to get fast-track passport lanes for 'low-risk' countries[/h]
Heathrow to get fast-track passport lanes for 'low-risk' countries | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

[pyffii]

We have just finished 3 transits at T5 Heathrow using fast track....Without that benefit we would have taken anywhere from 1-2 hours to re-enter the secured area of T5 such were the queues...In our case we were sitting in the 1st class lounge at T5 30 minutes after landing in all 3 transits...Sometimes it pays to be almost at the front of the plane !!!

 

[ajw373]

Could be a ray of light here, but somehow I think not:

[h=1]Heathrow to get fast-track passport lanes for 'low-risk' countries[/h]
Heathrow to get fast-track passport lanes for 'low-risk' countries | World news | guardian.co.uk

Sounds like a knee jerk reaction to be honest, rather than any real attempt to fix the core issue. Was reading a news paper article yesterday actually and it seems as if the queue issue also effects Europeans too, who are the ultimate low risk due to EU laws.

In relation to this 'plan' if you think about it the countries that are high risk are those that already need a visa anyway. So surely they would have been properly screened before getting on the plane, so in essence they SHOULD be the low risk countries on arrival. People from Australia (and others) however who don't need a visa before travel are actually high risk passengers, despite us coming from 'gods' country, especially our youth who are well known for going to the UK claiming to be tourists with the intention of working.

Overall I must say I hate UK border control with an absolute passion. I had the right to live and work in the UK for 4 years from 2007-2010, travelling to the mainland for work every 2-3 weeks so saw heaps of Heathrow, Gatwick and the Eurostar. Now even with a visa in my passport that very clearly stated what I was doing in the UK I used to get hounded by the stupid questions the border control people would ask. If only they used their brains, by looking at the visa first. Also it wasn't until almost my last trip that I meet someone nice, at London City of all places who pointed out that with my work visa I could have used the UK/EU line, all along. The only place I ever saw signs for returning residents was at T4 prior to BA moving out, but apparently return residents could use the UK/EU line all along. Don't recall any more what the sign says these days.

What the UK really needs to do is join the Schengen area, rather than the half coughd thing they do now. The Republic of Ireland in particular would be very thankful if they did.

 

[simongr]

Inbound to LHR T3 about 10 days ago the EU queue looked like it would take 1 - 2 hours to clear... Fasttrack still took 15 mins roughly

 

[pyffii]

Really pleased to see that fast track was really fast track