Features

Heathrow: Built to last

31 Mar 2009 by Sara Turner
Heathrow expansion rendering

With major construction work going on and the green light given to a third runway, London Heathrow is getting set for its next half-century. Business Traveller reports.

This time last year the opening of London Heathrow’s newest terminal, T5, was widely reported to be a national disgrace. Fast forward 12 months and T5 has significantly improved the passenger experience at one of the world’s biggest airports. Perfect it is not, but few using it today would want to go back to the days of pre-T5. This year, Heathrow is set to change again, with one terminal – T2 – closing to make way for ambitious new plans. Steven Morgan, capital director at BAA, says: “The airport needs upgrading because some of the facilities have been here for half a century. The experience isn’t as good as it could be.” T2 is the oldest passenger terminal and BAA recognises that it can no longer meet the demands of a modern airport. The roof of the check-in area is only seven feet high and while the terminal was designed for up to 1.2 million passengers a year, it now squeezes nearly nine million through annually. Later this year, T2 will close and then be demolished. In its place will be the first phase of the new £2 billion Heathrow East development, which will eventually replace both T2 and T1. The challenge of completing all of this construction on such a small site while keeping the airport operating is a daunting one. “It’s like building a boat in a bottle,” Morgan says. “All the things we are trying to do are on brown-field sites. T5 was on a green-field site, so it was easier to build. We will also need to connect old parts to new parts. We want to hide as much of the construction activity as possible so people don’t have to look at it.” Heathrow East has been designed to be light and spacious, and plans include reducing water consumption, increasing waste recycling and cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 40 per cent compared with that created by T1 and 2. There will also be more space for security. BAA hopes to open it in time for the 2012 London Olympics. The new building will not solve the airport’s fundamental lack of space, however. Heathrow East will accommodate about 30 million passengers a year, which is less than the 35 million combined throughput of T1 and 2. There will be no increase in flights and BAA is not looking to increase the amount of car parking. A third runway is the key to future Heathrow expansion, and in January the government announced its approval for the plans. Also in the pipeline is Heathrow Airtrack, a proposed new rail link between T5 and the existing rail network to the south and west, including Reading, Guildford and London Waterloo. Now that most of BA’s flights operate out of T5, the other airlines are grouped together by alliance to reduce transfer times, but the movements are ongoing – of the 13 steps needed, seven are complete. Oneworld will operate from T3 and T5, Skyteam from T4, and Star Alliance from T1 and subsequently Heathrow East (the timings for all these moves have not been announced). The initial refurbishment of Terminal 3 is largely complete, with a further £1 billion upgrade taking place over the next ten years. T4 will also see extensive changes. “It was designed to ’80s standards and décor and is now out of date,” Morgan says. “We will be raising the ceilings and putting in new equipment. We’re also adding two new stands for the A380.” Work has started on a baggage system that will connect to all terminals. T5C, a new satellite building at the terminal that will add 51,000 sqm of floor space, is also under way. If the work stays on track, by 2012 the old parts of the airport should look completely different, Morgan reports. “When you enter any of our terminals you are going to think, ‘This must be Heathrow,’” he says. “It will be a comfortable, stress-free environment. T5 gave us an opportunity, and without it we would not have had a chance.” The full transformation will not be complete until at least 2020, but for now Business Traveller brings you news from each of the terminals and what you can expect the next time you’re jetting out.

TERMINAL 1

T1 is home to all of Bmi’s domestic flights, as well as some European and long-haul destinations. It is recognised as the London hub for Star Alliance carriers and since the opening of T5 it has gained two more long-haul carriers, Air New Zealand and United Airlines, in July last year. Liz Neighbour, operations director for T1 and T2, says: “The objective is to align Star Alliance carriers in Terminal 1 so the first move was United Airlines and Air New Zealand, and the next is Lufthansa and the other Star Alliance airlines moving from T2 to T1 [Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Croatia Airlines and TAP Portugal].” At the moment there are 21 Star Alliance airlines serving Heathrow and the long-term aim is for there to be an eastern campus (with all the Star Alliance airlines under one roof for easy connections) tied up with the third runway. In the short to medium term, Star Alliance carriers will be split between T1 and T3. BAA has spent £100 million on revamping Terminal 1. Most of the changes since BA moved out have been associated with having to adapt to the requirements of long-haul flights. “We needed to change the baggage system to accommodate long-haul carriers, and our security too,” Neighbour says. “United tells us passengers are positive about the move from T3, and some of the main reasons are the capacity and the facilities, which are less constrained since the opening of T5.” The check-in area has been completely redeveloped. “We’ve taken out the old island check-in zones and it’s a brighter area with more space,” Neighbour says. There are 15 communal-use self-service check-in counters, plus 20 Bmi and eight Aer Lingus self-service kiosks. The idea is to keep everything streamlined, in line with T5’s concept of moving passengers forward. The security concourse has also been redesigned to improve queueing times. Katherine Gershon, sales and marketing director at Bmi, says it had considered putting in a fast-track security lane for customers but found there was no need as capacity has shrunk since BA moved out. On April 2, Bmi is opening a premium check-in area for business class and premium economy passengers. The idea is to have a flexible check-in area, rushing people through in a hurry when necessary but with the ability to take a calmer approach too. Gershon explains: “We have a 30-minute check-in promise so if a business traveller is racing up from the Heathrow Express lift with 31 minutes to go, we can fast-track them through check-in at the premium area. But the area will also cater for more relaxed check-ins – for example, if there is a family of four with seven bags we will be able to sit them down and someone will collect their passports and sort out their bags.” BAA’s Liz Neighbour says the big change at T1 is the common lounge for both domestic and international passengers. Terminal 1 has a Star Alliance lounge and there is also a Servisair lounge with free wifi. Bmi has taken over the old BA Gallery on the first floor near Gate 5 for its International lounge, opening in June. As well as catering options, it will offer shower facilities and different zones for relaxing, dining and working. Customers flying business class or who have a gold or silver Diamond Club card or a Star Alliance gold card will be able to use it. Bmi’s domestic lounge will also be revamped in the near future.

TERMINAL 2

T2 will close this year to make way for the development of Heathrow East, phase one of which is expected to be complete by 2012. As a result there have not been any significant changes to the terminal recently, and Neighbour says BAA has been concentrating on service standards instead.

TERMINAL 3

T3 is set to be a base for Oneworld member airlines (note that most BA flights depart from T5). In February, BA moved its remaining short-haul flights on B757s to Spain, Helsinki, Lisbon and Nice from T1 to T3, along with fellow Oneworld member Iberia. About 40 airlines operate out of T3, and with the arrival of BA and Iberia, flights are now a mixture of short- and long-haul. Finnair transferred its flights from T2 to T3 in January, joining Oneworld members American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Royal Jordanian. Qantas will follow in October, as will BA’s flights to Bangkok, Sydney and Singapore that it jointly operates with the Australian airline. By then all of Oneworld’s flights will depart from either T3 or T5. British Airways will use the newly refurbished check-in desks alongside Finnair in Zone G, with Iberia using adjacent check-in facilities in Zone F. A new BA lounge for first and business passengers is due to open in the summer. Graham Simpson, operations director for T3, says: “We have reconfigured the check-in areas and are making better use of space to cope with increased passenger numbers. The Oneworld partners will be in one area, Star Alliance in its dedicated area, and Virgin in its own check-in area, so it will be much easier for passengers to find their way around.” In a bid to improve facilities at the terminal, BAA has implemented a £190 million upgrade programme, which has so far seen the construction of an extended covered forecourt, completed at the end of 2007, and the refurbishment of various check-in areas, including Virgin’s in Zone A. The rest of the check-in zones and Pier 5 are due to be renovated by the summer. (The £105 million Pier 6 was completed in 2006 to accommodate the A380s operated by Singapore Airlines and Emirates.) The central search area, the gate rooms and Pier 7 will also be revamped by the end of the year, with the last piece of the jigsaw being the refurbishment of the immigration hall and the baggage reclaim hall, plus the installation of a new luggage system. Simpson says BAA is anticipating an increase of 3,000 passengers a day over the course of the year, because of the relocation of flights to T3, but believes the terminal is coping well despite the ongoing refurbishments. “It’s a lot of work and we are doing our best to maintain and enhance the passenger experience while all this goes on,” he says. “Over 90 per cent of the time passengers queue for security for less than ten minutes.”

TERMINAL 4

This year will see Terminal 4 working towards accommodating 44 airlines – at the moment there are 12 – and becoming the Heathrow base for the Skyteam alliance. Chris Butler, operations director for Terminal 4, says: “Over the past few years, BA has been operating at full capacity out of T4 and that has put operational strain on the terminal. BA moving out has allowed us to redevelop T4 to bring it up to a world-class standard.” The £200 million upgrade that is now well under way will see a new 6,000 sqm check-in extension at the front of the building, with 33 extra desks and newly designed ticket-desk pods. The existing check-in area will see a full refurbishment by October. “We are taking out some of the existing desks and swathes of the check-in area, but we are doing it in such a way that we will still have enough capacity,” Butler says. Behind the scenes, the baggage system will be enhanced, and the T4 to T1 baggage tunnel will be replaced. The central security area will also be revamped, with five lanes and machines being added, taking the total to 13. This work is due to be completed by the end of the year and Butler is keen to reassure passengers that disruption will be kept to a minimum. “We are ensuring we are delivering a good service – more than 99.5 per cent of passengers are queuing at security for less than five minutes,” he says. Refurbishments will also extend to the immigration area, the departures lounge, where various new retail outlets and eateries will open, and the transfer area and arrivals lounge. Butler says: “Because we haven’t got the new carriers across yet, we are taking this opportunity to take out large areas so we can get these projects done quickly and efficiently. “Skyteam is keen to help make the project run as quickly as possible. There are a number of Skyteam members that aren’t with us at the moment – Air France, Aeroflot, Korean Air, Alitalia and Czech Airlines.” Terminal 4 is already the base for KLM, Delta, Northwest Airlines, Continental Airlines and Kenya Airways. Elite members of Skyteam carriers (those with Skyteam Elite Plus status) will have access to a multi-level lounge in the north-east area of the terminal. The first level of the lounge will open this summer and the second level will open in the autumn. The facility will feature free wifi, a wellness centre, showers and a good selection of international cuisine.

TERMINAL 5

“We’ve been working hard to put some clear water between when we opened,” says T5 operations director Mark Murphy, “and if you look at any of the performance results, they’ve all been strong. The vast majority of the 16 million people who have travelled through T5 have had a very good experience.” One of the best performing areas has been the security screening system. Murphy reports that the terminal has hit its target of 95 per cent of people passing through security in under five minutes every month since last April, only a month after it opened. “That’s a real measure of how far we’ve come,” he says. The transfer of the BA operation has now been completed, with the last batch of flights moving across last October. A small amount remain in other terminals – its 757 fleet moved from T1 to T3 at the end of February, and the services BA jointly operates with Qantas are currently housed in T4. There are therefore far fewer inter-terminal connections than before, but the T5 team has still been working to improve its transfer capability. The frequency of buses has increased and work has been done on way-finding. As a result, Murphy says, transferring from T3 to T5 could easily be completed in 15 minutes. The biggest new development at T5 is the satellite T5C building, which is due to open in January 2011. A replica of the T5B building already in operation, it will add 12 pier-served gates and will have A380-compliant air bridges. Like T5B, it will be linked to the main Terminal 5 building by a train shuttle service that runs every two minutes. Other construction work under way includes a baggage tunnel linked to Heathrow’s central terminal area. Of particular interest to business travellers is the Personal Rapid Transit system that will transfer them from the business car park to the main T5 building via battery-powered driverless vehicles. “The feedback we get from business travellers is that they don’t like getting on buses to take them back to the car park,” Murphy says. Operational testing is about to begin, with the aim of fully introducing the system in the autumn. Travellers are also making full use of the terminal’s 96 self-service check-in kiosks and fast bag-drop points. Murphy says this process only takes a few minutes and that “there might be one person in front of you but very infrequently would there be many more than that”. He says at least half of people use the self-service option and that increasingly passengers are heading straight for the kiosks. When it comes to baggage collection, Murphy says timings have also improved. “British Airways reports that it is getting the first and last bags through quicker than when it operated across multiple terminals,” he says. A good first year’s work, then.
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