London Heathrow - do you avoid it?
 

Just read an interesting article saying a lot of people go out of their way to avoid Heathrow airport - is that your experience or do you enjoy the shops and service there?

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...ose/article.do

Yes, I definitely go out of my way to avoid LHR. I don't shop in airports;
"service there" - what service?!?

I do make an effort to avoid Heathrow. The one bag rule is extremely inconvenient. And how can one enjoy the shops and services when you're waiting anxiously for your gate to be posted at what feels like the last minute so you can get to the distant gate without rushing?

just got backs from London.
a few suggestions:
- print your boarding pass ( many airlines allow it 24 hours before the trip)
- leave room in your hand luggage to stuff your purse or some other bag in for a few minutes ( once you pass security, get it out)
- keep an eye on the departure board for your gate (while shopping at great stores )
The lines for security check were huge but moved very fast.

I avoid heathrow like the plague. Crowded stressful, noisy, rude. Stansted isn't much better these days either

We had such a horrible experience there that my husband refuses to fly through London at all. For our trip to Greece we flew through Montreal. It was a much better experience.

YES, we definitely try and avoid it. The one bag rule applies to all airports in the UK, so that's not a deciding factor. LHR simply adds IMO another level(s) of frustrations and hassles in air travel that a lot of other airports don't have.

Like possibly all airports, Heathrow is worth avoiding but has to be used occasionally. Like the flight, it has to be endured if you want to get anywhere quick.

Yes, avoid Heathrow! My luggage was lost on my way to Amsterdam and a 12 day cruise. (I had 5 hours between connections) I wasn't the only one, it took nearly 2 hours waiting in line to get to the point of speaking to someone and filling out the lost luggage claim. It was a horrible experience. I spent 2 cold miserable days in Amsterdam. There was NO help finding the lost luggage. I had to go find it myself at Schipol Airport, or I never would have gotten it.

hpeadbody, I'm guessing the lost luggage was the airline's doing, not the airport. What was your carrier? We'll avoid them, too!

I was on BA. But was told later that there are/was known issues with moving luggage at Heathrow. Not sure, but the luggage handling may be an airport function, apart from the individual airlines. It also turns out the BA "office" at least at Schipol, is outsourced.

It's BA's luggage problem, caused mainly by layoffs of ground staff to improve profits. When the total number of mis-connected bags at Heathrow grew over 20,000, BA executives (except for the VP in charge of baggage handling, who was indisposed on holiday in the Caribbean at the time) sent out an email asking all London-area BA staff to come to LHR to volunteer in helping move the piles. The email also went to the people who had just been sacked. Oh yeah, I'm on my way.

To answer the question, yes, and I'm leaving day after tomorrow on a trip that would have sent me through LHR 4 times in the next 3 weeks. Now Madrid is getting those taxes and fees from me.

The combination of abysmal airport management (BAA) and scary airline operations (BA), overlain on top of the grunge, pollution, and cost of Heathrow services, makes it number one on my list of no-go zones.

I avoid it if possible, if only that it's not close enough to east anglia ;)

But certainly it would be at the bottom of my preference of London airports, for (a) general claustrophobia (I parked in T3 yesterday and am still recovering), (b) baggage nightmare stories, and (c) dominance of not-very-cheap airlines (with the exception of BMI).

Yes, I now go out of my way to avoid Heathrow. I travel often for work and pleasure and I refuse to connect/transfer via Heathrow. Sad, but true.

I do try to avoid it, although in the end it seems we usually end up there for a layover on most of our Europe flights. I don't mind it overall, but its definitely crowded and can be a mess. And while I don't mind some shopping the exchange rate is brutal enough that I tend to avoid it.

I always look for other options. If I can layover in, say, Brussels, I jump on it.

Tracy

Yes, I will certainly avoid it if possible. Transfers between terminals can take forever and the new one bag rule is an absolute pain.

I hated LHR even before 9/11 so I also avoid going through this airport.

I was there just a week ago...I don't like it. Too big for me, too uncomfortable..even for going to London, just don't want to think about doing a transfer !!! I'd better avoid it if I can.

I would if I could. The seemingly last minute gate postings makes the place feel like a train station.

Yes, for many reasons ($, UK taxes, etc.), but the top ones include:

1) Transferring through the FCC-- possibly the worst traffic flow in any airport I've ever encountered. Why it should take in excess of an hour for an in-transit person to connect to a non-UK flight is beyond me.

2) One-bag rule

Shopping is not a factor--we have almost all of the same stores where I live and if not, I can order from them on-line.