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  • #16
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...owterminalfive

    Delays in carrying out vital mechanical and electrical work have forced the airports operator to apply to the Civil Aviation Authority to suspend Heathrow's normal service quality obligations for several months. And even when the building is finished, the passenger experience will be in some ways inferior to that at Heathrow's existing terminals, although restaurants, shops and luxury lounges for the well-heeled will rival any in the world.

    British Airways, the sole user of Terminal 5, has already criticised some aspects of the terminal, saying that passengers at 45 per cent of the boarding gates will not be able to walk straight on to their aircraft - known in the industry as 'pier service' - but will have to be bussed out.
    All opinions shared are my own, and are not necessarily those of my employer or any other organisation of which I'm affiliated to.

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    • #17
      It's old news which the media have dug out, e.g.

      http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=794259

      Panic Stations (a BA pilot):

      I'm not sure where the news is in that Dispatches 'scoop'. BA have known for years that there would be excessive bussing right up until T5C opens around 2010.

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      • #18
        Installation of the Cloud artwork:

        http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J9LUlADnwAE

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        • #19
          A link to an interesting article in the journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects posted by Prospero on TOF, e.g.

          Fifth dimension

          [...]

          In plan it is a thoroughly conventional layout: a sequence running from transport arrival point through large rectilinear terminal building and then, via below-runway shuttles to two satellite terminals – the first of which is built, with the foundations in for the second. In section and elevation, however, it is much more unusual. Pressure on space means the main terminal has had to be stacked on more levels – four above ground, seven if you include the subterranean domain – than is usual at airports.

          [...]

          If you arrive by train or Tube, and are departing via the satellite terminal, your route resembles that of a mountaineer. You must rise vertically through five levels in order to cross the bridge to the main departures floor beneath the roof. Having checked in and cleared security, you must descend five levels to the shuttle trams beneath the apron. It’s less of a gradient if you arrive by road, or if your plane is plugged into the main terminal, but still demonstrates just how constrained the site was. The world’s best airports do not go high-rise: they allow clear circulation on one or two levels. In contrast, T5 is a geological obstruction, skilfully mitigated. This is another feature of the building: it is doing its best with the unsatisfactory hand it was dealt.

          [...]

          T5 does its best, and does it well, but quarts and pint pots spring to mind. It will transform Heathrow, but it can never make it one of the world’s great airports. How much more can they shoehorn into the old Great Western Aerodrome before they finally decide to cut their losses and move the national gateway elsewhere?

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          • #20
            Less than 12 hours before the first BA flight (from HKG) arrives at LHR T5!

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            • #21
              A video of the ULTra PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) system being installed to connect T5 with one of the car parks - due to start operation next year.

              http://www.atsltd.co.uk/media/videos...ourney2005.mpg

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              • #22
                Originally posted by jhm View Post
                A video of the ULTra PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) system being installed to connect T5 with one of the car parks - due to start operation next year.

                http://www.atsltd.co.uk/media/videos...ourney2005.mpg
                Is it just me, or would it be quicker just to walk than take one of those? It seems to be positively crawling in the video - maybe I was expecting too much, something like a Maglev!

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by stargold View Post
                  Is it just me, or would it be quicker just to walk than take one of those? It seems to be positively crawling in the video - maybe I was expecting too much, something like a Maglev!
                  You don't want the average tourist piloting his own Maglev
                  Capslock is cruise control for cool... not!

                  See you at W:O:A 2010- rain or shine!

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