[Swissdiver]

It is funny to read people who are continuing to bash CDG while they assumably didn’t use the platform for years… AF fully reorganised it a couple of years ago to make it one of the most efficient in Europe… It leaves FRA way way behind. CDG’s only drawback is the location of the Arrival Lounge still at 2C. All the rest is almost as good as LHR T5 which remains in my view the best hub in Europe.

[PeterCoultas]

Re EruditeSheep: Our recent connection UA-UA at EWR was surprisingly efficient: late international arrival & slow baggage meant that our short transfer to the EWR-SFO flight looked impossible but help both with baggage recheck & security meant we made the flight – the only problem was we had an extended wait in SFO as our ski equipment diverted via DEN!

[KSHaggag]

Hi Swissdiver ,

I used to hate CDG as an airport either for arrival ,departure or even transit .I do admit that they have gone a long way in restructuring it as a real global hub .Nowadays Terminal 2E and a bit less 2F are quite efficient .2E where most longhaul flights depart ,with its new AF lounges in the Satellite are indeed good .AF and CDG have long suffered from a bad reputation as a company run carelessly but this has changed a lot .I hope to see more development soon .

[KSHaggag]

I don t want to sound biased ,but Zurich remains one of the best hubs in Europe in my eyes .Amsterdam Schiphol is a beautiful ,efficient one but undergoing some restructuring now raising some complaints .Those who love it know that Schiphol will undoubtedly regain its top position in Europe once the construction works are done .
Madrid Barajas T4 S is a nice hub ,little known by many but offering a superbly smooth transfer experience !..thumbs up !
I do love the relatively new Star Alliance Terminal in Vienna ,housing OS and its Star partners : sleek,elegant ,clean ,glittering with its chic black and white marble decoration .The walkways might be a bit long sometimes but this airport offers one of the most efficient transfer experiences regardless the class you are flying in …nice shops ,restaurants ,lounges ,views ,etc….One of my favorite duty free shops anywhere on the globe remains the ” HEINEMANN ” shop there for perfumes where I make sure I always buy what I need on every occasion I fly through it !..you rarely find sales assistants who run to you to help ( and get the business ) like that shop !!!..

[Ann]

If you have to transfer in the USA, Houston has to be one of the easiest places to do so. Why the Americans insist people go through passport control, I do not know. Why risk people absconding and working illegally if you don’t have to?

[LadyLlondon]

On 3 out of 3 trips coming into LHR T5 internationally, and connecting to another international flight, in the past year my luggage has not made the international connection. In each case there were 8-12 hours in the same terminal for my luggage to be transferred. Each time I made it to my international destination but my luggage didn’t.

Rumour has it that LHR T5 is a black hole for luggage. Luggage system apparently keeps breaking down. BA is the only airline responsible for luggage there as they’re the only airline in the terminal.

[EruditeSheep]

On the non-stop BA flight from LHR to SAN on 8 August, some 200 bags failed to make it to San Diego, resulting in a large number of disappointed passengers. Apparently the same had happened earlier that week. One reason given was a late change of aircraft/gate at T5.

[Swissdiver]

LadyLlondon,
I am using a lot LHR T5 as a hub, always with checked-in luggage. Luggage are always going through smoothly! If my memory serves actually, the last time it did not at LHR was in 2003 with at the time a T1-T4 connection. So may-be I am lucky. Or may-be you are not…

[AnthonyDunn]

@ LadyLlondon – 17/09/2015 21:41 BST

A not entirely semantic point but although BA are overwhelmingly the largest user of T5, they do not control or manage the baggage system. I daresay that the reputational damage to BA of the repeat failures of the T5 baggage system controlled by Heathrow Airports Ltd (HAL) is utterly galling. I have long wondered whether BA’s contract with HAL requires the latter to meet all of the costs (onward delivery etc.) of mishandled baggage owing to system failure. It should also be that HAL cop the blame publicly for the system failures.

[Bath_VIP]

+1 re Houston, my transfer experiences have been very good there.

[Alexthegreat]

@LadyLlondon

Despite todays modern technology, whenever I am in transit with checked bags, as soon as the gate opens I go up and ask them to check if my bags have gone through the system and are on board. On one ocasion with AF they were not there and the gate agent started to place some calls to chase them up.

In the old days (before you printed out your 2nd boarding pass and went straight to the gate) it was necessary to pass by the transit desk and they always asked for your checked baggage tag as part of the process before giving you your boarding pass.

[Author]

Posts