Where to meet at Heathrow.
 

Here is the situation--I am flying into Terminal 4, arriving at 7am from Dulles. My friend in flying into Terminal 1, arriving at 9:45am from LAX. We want to meet and then continue to the Central Bus Station to get the Railair coach to Woking Station.

I have time to collect my luggage and then make my way to Terminal 1 to wait for friend. Is it possible to take my luggage with me to a meeting point in Terminal 1 (ie. Do I have to pass through security to get to a meeting point). Where is a good meeting point in Terminal 1 that has monitors to let me know the flight status of her arrival? A coffee shop? BA says that it will take 75 minutes to transfer between Terminal 1 and 4. Is this right?

After we get together (if we do!! as neither of us will have a cell phone) is there a place in Terminal 1 to get the railair coach? (I know that there is one in Terminal 4)

This seems difficult but we have met in some stranger places than LHR. But give me your expert Fodorite advice.
Thanks, Margo

Once you've got your luggage, get the Heathrow Express train under T4 to the T1-3 station (every 15 mins: 5 mins journey: free). It's then a 7 walk (free trolleys are widely available at the station) to T1. Total time, depending on how long you're waiting for the train: 12-27 mins. The airport website refers to how long you should allow from landing to takeoff to transfer flights - a quite different proposition.

Follow the signs for T1 arrivals. You'll see a mass of welcomers and drivers with signs: there's a coffee place and a small newsagent nearby from which monitors should be visible. Access to this meet and greet area does not involve going through security (since, by definition, practically all flights into Heathrow are international, there's always a free-access greeting area after Customs).

With four hours' leeway, this plan should be foolproof. If things go wrong, though, it's quite difficult to find out at one terminal the status of a flight at another without queuing at the Airport Information desk, which can often take quite a while. If your flight's badly delayed and your friend needs to come over to T4 (exactly the same thing in reverse), have a backup plan you've agreed beforehand, as making contact with each other without mobile phonms will be tricky.

Once you've met, walk back towards the railway station. The Woking coach leaves from the central bus station, which is above the station.

<<< BA says that it will take 75 minutes to transfer between Terminal 1 and 4. Is this right? >>>

That applies to people transiting Heathrow on their way to another flight and in most cases they will be staying airside, don't have to pass through immigration and don't have to colect Luggage.

75 minutes is more like the time it will take (both for you & your friend) from the time of landing to the point where you are landside with your luggage

So often have I found myself meeting folk at Heathrow like this. My regular meeting spot is St George's Chapel, a sort of subterranean bunker right by the central bus station. It is a perfectly wonderful haven of quiet and calm, an easy place to sit and read (or meditate or pray). It suits your needs well, as it is well signed from Terminal One, and about four mins walk from that terminal.
Nicky
www.hiddeneurope.co.uk