The interview: BA’s Operations Manager James Wooldridge

Business Traveller talks to BA’s Operations Manager James Wooldridge about the opening of T5C, Heathrow T5's second satellite terminal When did T5C open for trials? Mini trials started in February and March, and then we ramped it up and had live customers coming through from the beginning of May, using two stands for arrivals-only, then turning those round to departures... We have gradually increased the number of stands and the number of hours we use them operationally and we will have full operations on June 20th. We expect to see somewhere between 30 or 40 departures a day, mostly long-haul but we have a lot of flexibility so we can take short-haul as well. Do passengers miss more flights from T5C? We’ve done some pretty significant work with way finding and the feedback from customers has been good. And there hasn’t been any trend of passengers missing more flights from T5C than any others. Does T5C mean a reduction in bussing? Yes. We currently run an operation where 20 per cent is coached out and this will be reduced down to five per cent. There will always be some of those for the peaks because we don’t have unlimited space here at Heathrow. How does the transit out to T5C work? The same as for T5B. There are nine coaches in total. Eight are always in operation while the ninth is out of service and has work done on it, so it always operates with eight coaches, four on each train. There are only four doors at the stations so it’s running at full capacity. It runs 0445 to 2300 at night, and it can be extended if some flights are running late because of weather disruption. How many gates have been added with the opening of T5C? T5C has added 12 gates of which eight are A380 compliant. We will have 12 A380s in the fleet, and we would never see more than eight here at one time, so we really confident that the number of A380 stands meets the number of A380 flights we have. February 2013 is the working date for the arrival of the first A380s, with three the first year. Will there be a lounge at T5C? T5C has space set aside for future growth including lounges, but at the moment both T5A and T5B have under-utilised lounges so we don’t see the need to build them. With the A380s and the [increasing use of the] B777-300s that might change.” So passengers can use the lounges at T5A and T5B and then come across for their flights? Yes. How does the division of flights between the satellites break down? At the busiest time of the day T5 would have 260 departures and arrivals. Around 65 per cent will be in A, 15 per cent in B and 15 per cent in C and about five per cent coaching round. Will aircraft be boarded by double air jetties in T5B and T5C? We are doing some work around boarding in double jetties which we should see in the summer. T5C will use three jetties when the A380 comes in, but we wouldn’t use the third until then. What happens to transfer passengers at T5C? We are very lucky having good transfer facilities in all of them. If you arrive in T5C and are leaving T5C you don’t have to get on the train you can go through the security and carry on, as it is with T5B. Will there be a T5D? That is really a question for BAA. There is space between T5 and T3 but it’s up to them how they spend their capital Will the transit be extended over to T3? No. T5 is regarded as a campus, but at the moment bags from T5 are transferred overland from T5 to T3. From next year, the baggage terminals will run through to T3 so that will speed up the transfer bags. Was JAL offered space at T5? As part of the agreement with JAL we agreed to look at JAL in T5 and that work continues. What about Iberia moving in since they are part of IAG? We currently move flights in and out of T3, depending on commercial priorities. We will continue to have a presence in T3 going forward because of the space in the T5 campus and because of Oneworld partnerships and alliances. Again, discussions continue with Iberia on that and as part of those it would be logical if our Spanish flights are in here, then theirs would be. At the moment ours are in T3 as theirs are. Could you explain the security for transferring passengers? The UK government requires anyone from a non-domestic station who is transferring to be double screened. So if you are flying from Frankfurt to Boston, you are screened at Frankfurt under German / European standards, and you are screened again at Heathrow T5 under UK standards and then on to Boston. Likewise, if you are flying Edinburgh to Boston you are screened at Edinburgh under UK standards and you don’t need to be second screened at Heathrow T5 and can go be transferred on to Boston. So the UK government requires all UK standard screening for all passengers. The capability is there at T5C. The numbers are small at the moment, but as and when we grow the operation, potentially you might see significant numbers coming through T5C and so the capability is there.