If you're flying to Heathrow in 2008 use British Airways

[Globaliser]

British Airways Terminal 5: The customer experience

 

British Airways' exclusive new home at London Heathrow, Terminal 5, heralds a new era in overseas air travel.

 

Every aspect of the travel experience has been carefully considered to make the customer experience smooth, simple and stress-free.

 

Terminal 5 puts the customer in control of their travel, from the technology employed both before and during the flight experience to the flowing, flexible layout of the building.

 

Above all, British Airways is giving customers back their time to spend as they choose. They will move swiftly through the departures area giving them the luxury to do as they like once they are 'airside', be that relaxing, eating, shopping or working, all within a state-of-the-art environment.

 

British Airways will be the exclusive sole occupant of Terminal 5 and aims to create the perfect first impression of the UK for customers arriving in the country. It's a welcome all Britons can be proud of and nothing less than they would expect from British Airways.

 

The overall customer experience:

 

Terminal 5 was created with the basic premise of making air travel easy through one of the world's busiest airport hubs - London Heathrow.

 

Customers will flow through the airport in a logical, linear manner. The majority (around 80 per cent) will have checked in online or at one of the 96 check-in kiosks within the departures hall.

 

Travellers carrying hold luggage will be able to drop their bags at one of over 100 desks before moving straight on through security.

 

Thanks to the scale of the terminal and the use of technology, the vast majority of people won't encounter any queues at check-in.

 

The transfer area is located within the heart of the building and 90 per cent of the airline's transferring customers will connect through the one terminal meaning less distance to travel and a faster arrival at their next flight.

 

The baggage system is state-of-the-art, capable of handling high volumes of luggage and delivering bags to the carousel at unprecedented speeds.

 

First, Club World, Club Europe, Gold and Silver Executive Club members will also be able to take advantage of the six British Airways lounges that will be available for them in Terminal 5, giving them the opportunity to work or relax as they choose.

 

IN-DEPTH

 

The building:

Terminal 5, which is due to open on March 27, 2008, was designed by Rogers, Stirk, Harbour & Partners and has been built at a cost of £4.3 billion. It will be exclusively used by British Airways and will be capable of handling 30 million customers a year.

 

The building is so vast it is possible to fit 50 football pitches over Terminal 5's five floors, but moving around couldn't be simpler thanks to improved flow through the building, clear signage and the location of departure gates.

 

Terminal 5 will eventually consist of a main terminal building (T5A) and two satellite buildings (T5B and T5C) linked by an underground track transit system. T5A and T5B are scheduled to open in March 2008 with T5C opening in May 2010.

 

The building itself is light, airy and modern - more than 30,000 square metres of glass have been used to glaze the 40m high and 396m long main terminal building.

 

The aircraft stands are located around the buildings. Due to the use of an underground track transit system this means that aircraft are unimpaired by cul-de-sacs or other planes when they need to pull away from the jetty. This will speed up the arrival and departure of flights, thereby improving punctuality.

 

Arriving ready:

British Airways anticipates that 80 per cent of customers will use our self-service channels to check-in and that many of them will arrive at Terminal 5 ready to fly having checked-in via ba.com.

 

The building is designed to ensure that customers keep moving in one direction, starting at one of the 96 check-in kiosks before moving on to the fast bag drop desks followed by the northern and southern security search points.

 

The volumes of kiosks and fast bag drop desks mean that there should no longer be anymore than one person in front of you at either of these locations.

 

The intelligent, flexible design of the building also means that British Airways can use the desks to react to changing customer needs and ensure the continuing forward flow of passengers.

 

Getting there:

Customers are encouraged, where possible, to take public transport to Terminal 5.

 

A plaza hosts the main transport links. It is a unique design feature and space (30m wide and the length of the building) and is landscaped with 40 mature trees, fountains, seating areas, artworks and an outdoor café area when the weather permits.

 

Underneath the north end of the plaza a railway station houses six platforms; two for the Heathrow Express, two for London Underground's Piccadilly Line and two which are built and safeguarded in advance of a scheme to link Heathrow by rail to the West.

 

Natural light floods the platforms thanks to a transparent roof made from the same material as the Eden Project biomes in Cornwall. Five 50-person lifts will transport passengers straight up to the departures hall.

 

For those who do need to arrive by car, a new spur road has been built directly from the M25. This makes access to the terminal much easier and avoids the need for cars to circumnavigate the perimeter roads, which could cause more congestion and pollution.

 

The plaza separates the multi-storey car park and drop off forecourts from the main terminal. They are connected to the departures hall of the terminal building by four glazed 'sky bridges'.

 

The car park has some 4,000 spaces and the BAA has invested in a range of technologies to make it stress free including a car finder service to help customers locate their car and bay monitoring to ensure they find a space quickly.

 

The bus and coach station is located on the ground floor level of the multi-storey car park.

 

A new 600 room luxury hotel, The Sofitel London Heathrow, has also been built within the Terminal 5 campus. The £180 million hotel is due to open in early summer 2008 and will have a short covered link bridge joining it direct to the main terminal building.

 

Getting around:

Terminal 5 has been designed in such a way as to ensure that it is simple for customers to make their way through the building.

 

On arrival at Terminal 5, customers will move immediately to the bank of kiosks, then onto the fast bag drop desks, before making their way through security. Customers will then pass through the retail area towards the aircraft gates.

 

The BAA has fitted large 'beacons' as orientation landmarks, making it clear for customers where they need to be.

 

There are plenty of screens and information around Terminal 5 denoting the location of and amount of time it takes to get to each gate. British Airways staff are also on hand to help with queries.

 

Transfers:

Up to 90 per cent of British Airways transfers will take place through Terminal 5. Unlike the rest of the yellow signage normally associated with airports, the transfer channels will be highlighted with purple signs making it easy for customers to connect from one flight to another.

 

An underground track transit system has been installed throughout terminal 5 to transfer customers between the buildings.

 

The system will move 6,500 passengers per hour at a speed of 30 miles per hour and transport more people per day between Terminal 5A and Terminal 5B than both the Piccadilly line and Heathrow Express will bring into the terminal.

 

The vehicles will run along two tracks running east or west every 90 seconds. The journey time will be just 45 seconds.

 

Lounges:

Terminal 5 will allow British Airways to radically overhaul the airline's airport lounges.

 

There will be six lounges within the new British Airways terminal collectively known as 'Galleries'. The lounges have cost £60 million to build and are capable of hosting up to 2,500 people. This is a 25 per cent increase in capacity in comparison to the current Terminal 1 and Terminal 4 lounges.

 

There will also be a 100 per cent increase in the number of showers and bathrooms, a 60 per cent increase in washrooms and 25 per cent more customer service desks, all to make life easier for customers.

Key lounges include:

· The Concorde Room for First class customers

· The Galleries First Lounge for First class customers and Gold Executive Club members.

· Three Galleries Club Lounges for Club World and Club Europe customers, Gold and Silver Executive Club members

· Elemis Travel Spas in the Club Galleries and Arrivals lounges

· Galleries Arrivals Lounge for First class, Club World and Gold Executive Club members travelling on longhaul flights.

 

The lounges will embrace a decadent new look and feel with crystal chandeliers, fabrics by Osborne and Little, art installations and mood lighting to reflect the time of day. Crafted screens will divide the lounges into sections. Beautiful wine bars will be available for customers and restaurants will serve fresh food prepared in view of the traveller.

 

Work and entertainment zones will allow customers to log into the internet, check their emails and view entertainment.

 

The Concorde Room boasts a Concorde bar and restaurant. The Galleries First Lounge hosts a champagne bar and a 'Gold' bar and the Galleries Club Lounges features 'Silver' bars. The bars will host regular wine tastings for the connoisseurs travelling.

 

For those wanting to relax and indulge themselves, the Elemis Travel Spa will offer a range of treatments. They include customised facials, shoulder, scalp and back massages, and feet and hand re-energisers.

 

The large Galleries Club Lounge will even include a cinema where major televised events will be shown.

 

Baggage:

Once the customer has checked in at the kiosks or online, they can deposit their luggage at one of over 90 desks.

 

The bags will be loaded into lifts and lowered down into the highly sophisticated baggage system that will deliver them to their specific flight.

 

The baggage system was the first part of the building to be developed ensuring that it is comfortably housed within Terminal 5. It will be one of the most advanced of any major global airport and involves more than 18km of belts and tracks to move the bags around the terminal. At its peak it will process 12,000 bags per hour.

 

Thanks to the new baggage system and most transfers being within the one building, the number of bags that do not make their onward connections will be greatly reduced.

 

Retail:

Customers wishing to catch up on any retail therapy or fine dining can do so at Terminal 5. The retail facilities promise to be unlike anything experienced before at an airport terminal.

 

Designed into the fabric of the building, the 200,000sq ft retail area has been carefully designed to ensure it is proportionate to the scale of Terminal 5, enhances the experience and works with the grain of the building. There will be 112 stores and restaurants across Terminal 5A and B offering an unsurpassed shopping experience.

 

Gordon Ramsey, Harrods, Paul Smith, Tiffany, Mulberry, Hughes and Hughes, Mappin & Webb, Links, Smythson, Caviar House & Prunier and Cafe Amato, Starbucks, Caffe Nero, Eat, Krispy Kreme and Apostrophe are a few of the names that will be available in Terminal 5.

 

Environment:

Close attention has been paid to minimising the impact on the environment during the construction of Terminal 5.

 

85% of waste on the project has been recovered and materials have been recycled and re-used throughout the building process.

 

A super-strength concrete has been used for the construction of the airfield, which means less is required. This alone has saved 60,000 tonnes of CO2.

 

Waste heat from an existing combined heat and power plant is being piped to the Terminal 5 energy centre to provide the building with 85 per cent of its heat on demand. This saves around 11,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

 

Inside the terminal, the lighting is controlled digitally. Individual lights can be turned on, off or dimmed. The baggage systems and escalators benefit from variable speed drives, slowing down the systems when not in use.

 

The terminal itself is glazed on all facades, reducing the need for artificial lighting. South-facing facades benefit from louvres, angled in such a way as to prevent the summer sun penetrating the building.

 

Energy efficient fittings are found throughout the terminal building and only centrally chilled water is used to cool the building, limiting the need for individually chilled air conditioning units and refrigerators throughout the building.

 

Water from Terminal 5's rainwater harvesting and groundwater boreholes is being used reducing the demand on the public water supply by 70%. The harvesting scheme re-uses up to 85% of the rainfall that falls on the terminal's campus.

 

When aircraft arrive on to a stand they can be attached to a system which pumps air into the cabin. When used with fixed electrical ground power units the aircraft engines and auxiliary power units can be completely shut down cutting out unnecessary emissions.

 

February 2008

[Globaliser]

British Airways Terminal 5: Lounges

 

Terminal 5 will allow British Airways to radically overhaul the airline's airport lounges.

 

There will be six lounges within the new exclusive British Airways terminal: The Concorde Room, The First class lounge, three Club Lounges and an Arrivals Lounge.

 

These have been built at cost of £60 million and will be the epitome of elegance and luxury.

 

Collectively the lounges, which will be known as 'Galleries', will be capable of hosting up to 2,500 people. This is a 25 per cent increase in capacity in comparison to the current Terminal 1 and Terminal 4 lounges.

 

There will also be a 100 per cent increase in the number of showers and bathrooms, a 60 per cent increase in washrooms and 25 per cent more customer service desks, all to make life easier for customers.

 

The Concorde Room:

The Concorde Room can accommodate up to 156 of the airline's First class customers and specially invited guests.

 

The lounge will contain a fully serviced 'Concorde Bar' serving wines and spirits from across the world as selected by British Airways' dedicated wine buyer.

 

A restaurant will also be available for customers, which will offer a selection of freshly prepared refreshments and meals throughout the day.

 

A dedicated concierge desk will enable customers to manage various aspects of their lives from booking theatre tickets and taxis to changing flight details.

 

A discreet boardroom will allow customers to conduct meetings and check their computers in complete privacy.

 

The Concorde Room will also be mirrored at New York's JFK airport.

 

The Galleries First Lounge:

The Galleries First Lounge, with 542 seats, will be for FIRST customers and Gold Executive Club members.

 

The lounge will feature 'The Gold Bar', which is covered in gold leaf and is lit by a Swarovski crystal chandelier. During peak times the bar, again stocked with some of the world's most interesting wines and spirits, will be served or, if they prefer, customers can simply help themselves.

 

The Wine Gallery will have a selection of prestigious wines and offer wine tastings at selected times throughout the day.

 

The Champagne Bar, which has proved so popular in the First class lounge in Terminal 1, has been recreated within the new area and will serve a range of the best champagnes.

 

A Work and Entertainment Zone will provide wired PCs across the lounge for customer use with free internet access and expansive download content.

 

A dedicated customer service desk will enable customers to arrange or amend flights and handle general queries.

 

The Galleries Club Lounges:

The Galleries Club Lounge will be open to our Club World, Club Europe, Gold and Silver Executive Club members. It is the largest lounge with 830 seats and will feature two 'Silver' bars.

 

Customers will be able to help themselves to the bar's selection of drinks and fine wines all under the glow of a Swarovski crystal chandelier.

 

A Wine Gallery and Work and Entertainment Zones will also be featured in the Galleries Club Lounge.

 

There will be an additional Galleries Club Lounge at the northern end of the terminal, situated close to the shorthaul gates, for Club Europe customers and Gold and Silver Executive Club members travelling on the shorthaul and domestic networks, which will accommodate 440 seats.

 

There will also be another 465-seat Galleries Club Lounge in the satellite building specially designed for the longhaul passenger.

 

Elemis Travel Spas:

British Airways has teamed up with leading skincare expert Elemis to offer customers a spa treatment as part of their travel experience.

 

There are two large Elemis Travel Spas situated in the southern Galleries Lounge Pavilion and the Galleries Arrivals Lounge and a slightly smaller version in the Galleries Club Lounge in the satellite building.

 

These spas will be open to First class and Club World customers or Gold Executive Club members travelling on long haul flights and all treatments are offered on a complimentary basis.

 

The new Elemis Travel Spas have been created to form a relaxing atmosphere using controlled lighting and natural materials, such as wood and slate, together with layers of fabric to create depth and privacy around the treatment areas.

 

Customers can choose to be revived or relaxed by selecting from a range of 15-minute treatments.

 

The therapies are performed on a unique intelligent massage chair which warms the travellers body and performs a targeted acupressure body massage covering every area of tension.

 

Customers can choose from one of Elemis' Travel Spa and Skin-Therapies, specially created for British Airways. They include:

 

Flying Facials

Four types of customised flying facials to combat the dehydrating effects of flying:

· Anti-Age Wrinkle Control

· Pure Skin Clean

· Skin Thirst Quencher or Flight Rehydrator

· SOS Skin Saver

 

Stress-Away Shoulder to Scalp

This flowing massage covers tense shoulders, the nape of the neck and the crown of the head. It is deeply relaxing, helping to open the shoulders and stretch the back of the neck, whilst softening the scalp.

 

Flying Feet

The treatment starts with a Hot Lime Compress cleanse before a warming Musclease Active Body Concentrate is applied alongside Instant Refreshing Gel. Hot stones are used to massage the soles of the feet.

 

Exotic Hand and Arm Re-Energiser

This Thai massage sequence uses Elemis' 'cooling-hot stone therapy' with Exotic Frangipani Monoi Moisture Melt to stretch out the hands and arms, increasing hydration and nourishing the skin.

 

Elemis Spot-On Power Back Massage

This massage helps to stretch out and release the spine. Delivered as the customer kneels upright, fully clothed. A prescribed aroma lifts or calms the customer whilst a warm, soothing Lavender pillow moulds to the neck and shoulders.

 

A 'cooling hot stone' massage technique is used alongside a customised power back massage. The treatment is finished off with a cooling Instant Refreshing Gel in re-energising lime, stress-away lavender or mood balancing rosewood

 

Galleries Arrivals Lounge:

The Galleries Arrivals Lounge in Terminal 5, Concourse A will have 156 seats.

 

Key features include a full restaurant for First class and Premier card holders, a self-service breakfast bar serving hot and cold food for Club World and Gold Executive Club members travelling on long haul flights, work and entertainment facilities and a NewsZone.

 

There will be a hydrotherapy area with 94 shower rooms, of which there will be three types: full body jet, steam shower and deluxe massage. There will be a suit pressing service allowing clothing to be de-creased whilst the customer showers and delivered back to them.

 

There will also be six infinity bathrooms. The water will continually roll through the bath and over the sides to keep it clean and fresh.

 

There will also be an Elemis Travel Spa with treatments aimed at refreshing and reviving travellers. First class and Premier card holders will be able to pre-book the shower, bath and spa facilities.

 

Expert design:

The lounges are the result of a combined effort from the British Airways lounges team and a number of top quality external teams including:

Davies and Baron - lounge design

Amaryllis - fittings and furniture co-ordinator and design consultancy

Osborne & Little - bespoke designs for fabric and etched screens

Morgan furniture - lounges furniture

Davison Highley - lounges furniture

Donghia - Concorde room furniture

Swarovski - crystal chandeliers

 

February 2008

[Globaliser]

British Airways Terminal 5: The Move

 

Moving British Airways flights from London Heathrow's Terminals 1, 3 and 4 to Terminal 5 has been an unprecedented feat of planning, testing and logistics at the world's busiest airport.

 

The BAA submitted its initial planning application for Terminal 5 in 1993. It is now coming to fruition.

 

British Airways will be moving more than 90 per cent of its Heathrow operation into Terminal 5 and the remaining approximately eight per cent into Terminal 3.

 

Proving trials have been testing every aspect of the new terminal for six months between September 2007 and March 2008 to ensure that everything moves over as smoothly as possible.

 

British Airways staff have been undergoing courses and tours for months to ensure they are familiar with every aspect of Terminal 5 before they move.

 

The transition schedule:

 

On March 27, 2008, Terminal 5 will open. However, not all flights will arrive at or depart from the terminal straight away. There will be a second move taking place on April 30, 2008.

 

In addition to this a small number of flights will move from Terminals 1 and 4 to Terminal 3, which will become BA's hub for oneworld Australasian flights and some European services. Some flights will also move from Gatwick to Heathrow and vice versa.

 

The table below details the planned schedule for the complete transition of services.

[b]All UK domestic routes[/b]
Existing terminal  1
New terminal       5
When?              March 27, 2008

[b]All European flights (apart from Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Nice[/b]
[b]and Helsinki), Tripoli, Johannesburg, San Francisco, Los Angeles,[/b]
[b]Vancouver, Tokyo, Hong Kong[/b]
Existing terminal  1 or 4
New terminal       5
When?              March 27, 2008

[b]Miami[/b]
Existing terminal  3
New terminal       5
When?              March 27, 2008

[b]Warsaw[/b]
Existing terminal  London Heathrow
New terminal       London Gatwick
When?              March 27, 2008

[b]Algiers[/b]
Existing terminal  London Gatwick
New terminal       5
When?              March 30, 2008

[b]Houston, Dallas[/b]
Existing terminal  London Gatwick
New terminal       4
When?              March 30, 2008

[b]Houston, Dallas (second move)[/b]
Existing terminal  4
New terminal       5
When?              April 30, 2008

[b]All remaining intercontinental routes (except Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney)[/b]
Existing terminal  4
New terminal       5
When?              April 30, 2008

[b]* Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Nice and Helsinki[/b]
Existing terminal  1
New terminal       3
When?              September 17, 2008

[b]* Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney[/b]
Existing terminal  4
New terminal       3
When?              Early 2009

* In addition codeshare flights operated by Iberia and Finnair will also be moving to Terminal 3 in September 2008 and Qantas in early 2009.

 

British Airways is recommending that all customers check their travel documents thoroughly before departing for the airport to ensure they know which flight will depart from or arrive at.

 

February 2008

[whogo]

The British Airways recommendation should be reconsidered. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/21/nstrike321.xml

[Globaliser]

I know that events could in time prove me wrong, but personally I don't believe that this will get near a real strike.

 

The pilots want assurances to preserve the T&C that they have, rather than pushing for anything more. So it's not an issue in which striking is a calculated gamble - voluntarily lose something now, in the hope of getting it back and more over time. And OpenSkies is going to be such a tiny operation compared to mainline, even if it does well, that it makes little sense for the pilots to go to the wall on this.

 

Immediate noises are encouraging too: BBC news says:-

BA seeks resolution in pilot row

 

British Airways pilots have agreed to independent conciliation in an effort to resolve a dispute over BA's plans to launch a new transatlantic subsidiary.

BA and the British Airline Pilots Association jointly expressed a "strong desire" to reach a peaceful outcome.

...