Heathrow question
 

I'm sure someone can help with this quick question. I'm flying UA to ZRH by way of LHR in a couple of weeks. I want to stop at Harrods while I'm in the airport in order to pick up a gift item for a friend. I've not been through LHR in a while, but recall that there are shops aplenty. Is the Harrods shop going to be close to the area where UA flights arrive from ORD? I will be going on from LHR to ZRH on Lufthansa. I have almost two hours between flights.
Thanks!
Carol

You will shift from Terminal 3 (UA arrivals) to T2 (LH departures.) There's a Harrods airside at T2. You ought to have enough time for a flutter there.

Thanks for the quick reply, Gardyloo! I knew I could get the answer here. Harrods, here I come!
Carol

Carol, your LHR-ZRH flight is on Swiss (LX), even if it has an LH flight number. (The LH flight would be a code share, operated by Swiss.)

I'd expect LX to operate out of the same terminal as LH, but you might want to get verification first.

Yes, Swiss is on T2. There is a Harrods, mainly gift items with their logos.

Rizzuto
Right you are. The LHR to ZRH flight is on Swiss. Thanks for that bit of information.

I'm actually looking for a couple of the "logo" gift type items at Harrods so I'll be happy as can be, if that is what they have to offer at the airport shop!

Carol

I thought the only reason people went to Harrods was to get a Harrods plastic bag with their Harrods logoed goods in it

I just wanted to report back on my LHR experience last week. My flight from ORD to LHR left 2 1/2 hours late!! The only reason for traveling through Heathrow was, as you know, to go to Harrods to buy the plastic bags with Harrods name on them for several of my friends. One in particular, I had been promising for a long time.

Anyway, we made up some of the 2 1/2 hours in the air, so I actually had about an hour at LHR when I arrived. I was really very pleased with the service as I got off the plane at LHR. There was an agent with a small sign indicating that he was watching for people traveling onward to ZRH, CDG, and Moscow. Five of us ended up in a van with this agent, being whisked away to our proper terminal! Amazing!!! We jumped the security line and went straight to the ticket counters to collect boarding passes. I had JUST ENOUGH TIME to RUN into the Harrods store and pick up the plastic bags! Whoopeee!!! My friends will be so pleased! LHR is a huge airport with so many terminals... I don't know if I would have found my way to Harrods and my boarding gate in three hours, let alone ONE. It would have been a very long walk!

Anyway, I just wanted to report in that I was very pleased with the service at LHR. I am not ready to say that it is my favorite airport, however!!!

Carol

That's amazing that you made up that much time & actually got to shop. I'd have been biting my nails through the whole flight. Good for you!

carrybean
There is NO WAY I would have gotten to go to Harrods had we not been met by the gate agent and whisked away to the proper departure terminal. LHR is huge! But, yes, I was indeed lucky to be able to get those much-needed (LOL) Harrods items.
Carol

Yeah, it is huge. I dislike arriving at Harrod's because of the seemingly endless walk to immigration/luggage but love it leaving. The shopping at departure is great & the AA Admiral's Club is wonderful. I've only been through T-3 though.

Lots of people bash Harrods but I love the place. I have several of those tote bags myself. And I've brought back their Stilton in sealed crocks for friends also. It's really good.

carrybean...
And now I am awaiting the arrival of my "lost" bag from United! The Harrods goodies are in that bag. UA has called, and they do have my bag, and it is being fed-ex'd to me. Hope it arrives today!

I love a lot of what Harrod's sells but it's gotten just so expensive...

I meant to say "arriving at Heathrow" & I agree about Harrods being expensive but all shopping in the UK is pricey if you're from the US.

Oddly, I found some kitchen items at Harrods a few years back that were actually cheaper than a store in Derby.

I still love poking around the store. There are nooks & crannies that carry some amazing things. There was a documentary about it on TV a while back showing the behind the scenes activity & it was fascinating. The security is amazing plus there is an employee who has worked there for I think 60 years.

They have their own electricity & water also.

Bag has arrived! Harrods bags intact. I've already delivered the "ONE" promised one, and the receiver was delighted. The others will be Christmas gifts for good friends.

One of these days I'll make it back to London to the "real" Harrods store. It has been many years. I recall the amazing food halls.

Our experience going through Heathrow in September was quite a bit different. Came in from Athens on BA (Terminal 1) with an hour and a half connection to Boston on AA (Terminal 3). This was only a bit more than a month after the great liquid explosive scare and the Brits were nearly as panicked as the TSA in the US. They had set up a search system at the intersection of terminals 1 and 2 and forced everyone through that, no matter where they were going. Long line: one machine of four was running. Fortunately the inter-terminal buses go from right about there. We made our flight with about seven minutes to spare and that involved hustling.