VintageKrug - 31/03/2008 17:39 GMT
T5: Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here
Well, what a week for Heathrow. BA and BAA pinned the hopes of the travelling public on T5. And if you read the press, we have all been seriously let down.
It is true that British Airways has had a very bad run these past few years. Strikes, baggage failures, catering problems and extreme weather have all played their part. Many of us have been able to forgive and forget these incidents, some of which were beyond management control.
Profitability
To be fair, in the past five years BA has done a pretty good job of delivering a profitable airline without state aid.
While US airlines receive outright government subsidies post 9/11, do not pay for airport security, hide behind Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a mandatory “fly America” scheme restricting use of government funded travel, as well as benefiting from Reserve Air Fleet payments, British Airways has had to earn its own profits in a globally competitive marketplace against a background of enormous cost base inflation.
Re-investment is occurring both on board with www.newclubworld.com and a new FIRST product on the way in 2009, Video on Demand in all class aboard the 747s and a new A320/787/A380 fleet from 2010 sustaining innovations like flights from London City direct to New York and a whole new airline from mainland Europe to New York in the shape of www.flyopenskies.com
But deliver profits it has done, peaking with a 10% margin for the previous 2007/8 financial year.
But all this cost cutting seems to have come at a price.
Public Relations Woes
With many of the debacles which have afflicted BA, it was not so much that these issues happened in the first place. It was the way in which they were handled by management which rightly earned the public ire.
Often, hard pressed front line staff were left to pick up the pieces when there seemed to be no contingency in place. There was a lot to forgive, but in Terminal 5 we were assured a similar situation would not develop.
As the Sunday Times stated in its editorial at the weekend “not since the White Star Line decalred the Titanic unsinkable has there been a better example of hubris”.
With T5, expectations were raised. In the end, the nation was embarrassed.
Window Dressing
It was clear to me that the tests which were performed prior to the T5 opening were little more than window dressing. Knowing several participants personally, it is clear certain reported issues were brushed under the carpet, and remain unresolved.
Any major infrastructure project like this will have teething problems. We all, I think, expected that. What we did not expect was that no plans were in place to deal with them.
Why was there no “fire break” of unsold flights in the middle of the first day which would have eased pressure on baggage handlers? Why was proper orientation training not given, to avoid staff getting lost on their first day in T5? Where were the extra staff needed on day one?
Blame Game
Some people say baggage handlers in their notoriously communist habits were aggrieved by the new working practices imposed on them by BA and did everything they could to disrupt operations, losing passwords and turning up late. There is talk of a brawl breaking out in the sorting floor.
Others talk of the penalties which BAA must pay to BA in the event of a serious operational failure; in other words it may have been cost effective for BA to let things go wrong.
These are not excuses. Strong management would have anticipated and mitigated these possibilities. They failed.
Instead, Graham Kirkwood, BA Operations Director, was passed the poison chalice of facing the press, visibly shaking and refusing questions. Why Willy Walsh not at his side? Why were cameras then banned from the terminal, just as the very same was being done in Tibet and Zimbabwe? Where is the BA PR savvy, in a country which invented PR?
Beyond the Hype
But beyond the negative press hype what is the reality of using Terminal 5?
All this weekend’s event should be put into context. No major airport opening has gone without a hitch in the past decade; operations are far more complex than they once were, and run on a much tighter budget.
BA cancelled around 200 flights last week; on March 26, the day before T5 opened, serious safety concerns with gas-guzzling highly polluting ancient MD80s cancelled almost 400 flights, or 10% of the AA flight programme, affecting thousands in the US. In the scheme of things the T5 debacle was a limited event.
First Hand Account
Well, I have been to T5 on a trip this weekend and I can tell you the terminal itself is a masterpiece. We should be rightly proud of this temple of travel.
In the coming weeks the glitches will be sorted, and familiarity will come to get the very best out of the remarkable technological and other advances which will make T5 the success it deserves to be.
It is often said we are quick to criticise in this country, and focussed criticism was well deserved. But let’s gets some perspective and balance into the reportage, and see the great achievements which have been made, notwithstanding the operational woes.
Entering the departures area a genuine sense of calm envelopes you; it just doesn’t have that stressful feel associated with other airports. It is light, airy and frankly beautiful, with a soaring ceiling guiding you out towards the huge windows beyond which a sea of red, white and blue tailfins awaits to whisk you away.
The glamour of travel is back.
The whole complex is littered with some impressive artwork, in particular The Cloud and All the Time in the World situated near the Galleries lounge complex, worth a visit. You can see more on these pieces here:
http://www.troika.uk.com/troika%20news01.htm
The Passenger Experience
Queues at security were minimal, with a new system of scanners which no longer require laptops to be removed from bags. An automatic tray retrieval system helps speed things along. I remain unconvinced about this new procedure, but again time is needed to bed this one in.
The Concorde Room
First, Concorde Room cardholders and Premier cardholder passengers can turn right directly after Security South into the Concorde Room. This is a triumph, and worthy of the name.
High backed chairs grouped around digital fireplaces create a cosy feel, contemporary and chic, but remaining somehow British. An airy terrace provides an ideal destination from which to survey the airport, vintage champagne in hand.
The First Dining Room provides discreet cubby holed dining opportunities for the famous. John Major and his wife were there on my visit.
And the Board Room, featuring genuine Concorde seats, is a real feature.
One innovation is the three cabanas which can be booked by appointment for a rest, and refresh pre-flight.
The Galleries First Lounge
Yet more stunning artwork, with alabaster horses sporting lampshades minding the entrance, and a range of environments to suit your mood. Plenty of high-tech coffee machines and delicious food on offer pre-flight (I sampled the cannelloni, which was excellent) as well as ample provision for children in their play area.
An excellent range of wines and champagnes is on offer, together with newspapers and magazines to while away the time. A shame there was more time to while away than I planned on, but every cloud has a silver lining.
Galleries Club Lounge
For Club Europe and Club World Passengers, the Galleries Club boats a cinema, buffet food, ample PCs and free WiFi, as well as some innovative use of vintage BOAC prints, and plenty of room to, well, lounge.
Elemis Spa
Up to 20 showers and a range of Spa Service are offered complimentary to eligible longhaul passengers, with radio now available in the shower suites and electronic massage chairs enhancing the personalised treatments available.
Premium Preference
It is clear the terminal is a dream for premium passengers, and aiming at this market is exactly where BA has positioned itself, as the rest of the world seems to go downmarket, BA has taken a stand and is setting the trend for others to follow. I am unapologetic about this, as I believe the ground experience will be a clear differentiator in the future, as flat beds on board become a commodity offered by all.
Retail
The range and calibre of retail opportunities is unrivalled in my experience, and the highest level of finish ensures all the goods (a good swathe of which are British) are showcased to look their very best.
Practicalities
Gates are well laid out, and although I had to trundle to the other end of the terminal to catch my domestic flight, there is a Domestic Galleries lounge which replicates many, but not all, of the features mentioned earlier, as is the case in T5B which will mainly cater for longhaul flights.
Delays
Sure, my flight ended up being three hours late both inbound and outbound. And there was some inane shenanigans when it took 1h 45m to get a set of steps from the neighbouring aircraft brought over to our aircraft. But I was prepared for that. I had no pressing meetings, and had planned plenty to be getting on with to make the time productive.
I totally understand this is unacceptable for those with pressing arrangement, and for the many on my flight who missed connections. But let’s hope these opening glitches are the exception, rather than the rule.
Baggage Advice
Bags will always go missing, but the travelling public can do a great deal by only checking bags when absolutely necessary, always clearly labelling checked bags inside and out, when checking bags carrying valuables and essentials in hand baggage, and ensuring they have excellent travel insurance so a delayed bag turns into an excuse for a retail bonanza on arrival at your destination.
A properly labelled bag will never be lost forever; bag sorters do not have ESP and it is naïve for the travelling public not to prepare for the worst by following the simple steps outlined above.
BA should promulgate such advice at all times, and especially when things might be anticipated to go wrong. The lack of such advice is a clear dereliction of responsibility.
Press on With T5 Co-Location
What is clear is that T5 will have enormous benefits not just for BA travellers, but for all who use Heathrow. Talk of deferring the upcoming April 30 move date of all longhaul flights from T4 to T5 is defeatist.
The new schedule, which has been widely publicised, would have to be amended, confusing thousands. And the economies of scale and benefits of T5 are best realised when BA can concentrate its people and assets in the terminal, rather than over extending itself across four LHR terminals as is the case right now.
This is especially true in the case of baggage handling, with far more inter terminal connecting bags requiring manual intervention than would be the case were all flights co-located.
The Future of Heathrow
The reality is that T5 was so overdue it really only creates temporary capacity increase while the remaining terminals are refurbished, and in the case of the original LHR Terminal 2 (built in 1955) demolished. It is not the long term solution.
It would be interesting for BT to set out clearly the relative strengths of the proposed expansion LHR to six terminals and three runways, the Thames Gateway and Thames Island Airport schemes. While LHR will be with us for a generation, its position cannot be the long term solution for Britain, and we need to move the debate on beyond T5 to the future of aviation in this country.
