Heathrow: Worst summer transit airport in the world?
The summer-travel high season has finally wound to a close, and must say that — in ten years of constant international wandering — I have never had so many hassles with air transit. Granted, air travel is not my professional specialty (and in fact I generally discourage over-thinking one’s flights, which I consider the least important part of a journey) — but in journalistically unscientific terms, I can only conclude that the global airline industry is in suck-ass shape right now. Over the course of the summer, over half my flights departed an hour or more late; my Atlanta-to-New York flight ended up landing in Baltimore because LaGuardia was full; and my checked luggage arrived late more consistently than it arrived on time.
By far my worst transit was a split Virgin Atlantic/British Air itinerary that took me from Newark to London-Heathrow to Paris. Since Virgin Atlantic and BA apparently don’t have a full working relationship, I had to check in again at a crowded transit desk in Heathrow (after passing through security two times and being told I was only allowed one carry-on). Since this process involved hours of standing in various lines, I missed my flight to Paris. I was assigned a flight later that day, but I arrived without my checked luggage.
By the time my luggage did arrive in Paris, I had already traveled on to Moscow; by the time BA got my luggage to Moscow, I had already taken the train to St. Petersburg, where I was to teach a travel-writing class at the Summer Literary Seminar. After a week of wearing the same clothes, my luggage finally arrived at St. Petersburg — via Finland (which means my backpack visited more countries than I did this summer). The cruel joke is that my luggage probably stood a zero percent chance of arriving on time in Paris in the first place, considering that Virgin Atlantic and BA occupy two different terminals at Heathrow — which makes me wonder why these two airlines were ever included on the same itinerary.
A recent message from a reader named Dean makes me think my Heathrow-nightmare experience was not all that unique. During a transit through Heathrow to New York on British Air this summer, Dean claims that about 50 people on his flight arrived without their luggage. After 24 hours of wrangling at the understaffed lost-luggage desk, he was finally put in contact with a BA supervisor. He writes:
[The supervisor] had no specific information for me about my luggage. But he did tell me that some 15,000 bags were stranded at Heathrow. This happens every summer, he said — at least until they build a new terminal. The reason that no record of my bags existed is that BA is too busy to scan the bag-check barcodes. He added that perhaps they’d hire a special Fed Ex plane and send all this baggage in bulk to the U.S. — as they did last year.
In short, I can only conclude that one should never, ever plan summer transit-travel through Heathrow — and be wary of all international itineraries that split your transit between competing airlines like BA and Virgin Atlantic!
For more information, check out the slew of recent “Heathrow Summer Nightmare” stories in places like the Los Angeles Times, the Telegraph, the Chicago Tribune, the Times, the Independent, and the International Herald Tribune. The Independent even has a separate story about how travelers passing through Heathrow face higher stress levels than riot police.
September 4th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Maybe this should be considered Climate Heathrow Burning video
September 4th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Hi Rolf
I have every sympathy with you, my wife and I suffered the travel nightmare of lost luggage, we were so frustrated by lack of help and could not care less attitude of the airlines we decided to do something about it and founded http://www.globalbagtag.com which lets you track your bags 24/7 via the internet. If you let me have your mailing address I will send you some complimentary globalbagtags to try out.
Regards Chris
September 4th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Hi Rolf,
Perhaps you were yet another unfortunate victim of the total ‘non’ relationship between BA & Virgin who have a notoriously shaky corporate relationship which obviously filters down and affects customers too. If they’d both stop ratting on each other & fighting and focus on serving their customers better, they (and all the luggage) might get somewhere faster!
I always aim to avoid Healthrow if I can and would far rather connect through somewhere like Birmingham or Gatwick when flying via the UK anywhere, if I can.
Hopefully, you’ll have better luck next time 🙂
Lea
September 4th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Hi Rolf,
Perhaps you were yet another unfortunate victim of the total ‘non’ relationship between BA & Virgin who have a notoriously shaky corporate relationship which obviously filters down and affects customers too. If they’d both stop ratting on each other & fighting and focus on serving their customers better, they (and all the luggage) might get somewhere faster!
I always aim to avoid Healthrow if I can and would far rather connect through somewhere like Birmingham or Gatwick when flying via the UK anywhere, if I can.
Hopefully, you’ll have better luck next time 🙂
Lea
September 5th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Well, this is good to know.
I say “Schiphol Ho!”
September 5th, 2007 at 11:14 am
Hi Rolf, having read in various places about how tramatic travelling through Heathrow was and that baggage loss was a major problem, I was greatly concerned when arriving and departing there earlier this week…but I managed to get through with no problems – prehaps I was one of the chosen ones.
Hopefully things will run as smoothly on my return trip.
Cheers, Liz
September 10th, 2007 at 5:54 am
So true! I had a friend come in from London and her darn flight was delayed by 5 hours and then she had to circle in some bad weather once she landed in the states and they lost her luggage btwn flights! Please go and voice your complaints at http://www.measuredup.com it’s a new social network that is all about customer service.
September 11th, 2007 at 12:34 am
Hey Rolf,
I feel you man. I just got finished chewing out Northwest/Delta/JFK over on Gadling.com last week for similar nightmares: https://www.gadling.com/2007/09/03/my-bloody-romania-jfk-unintended-layover-part-one-northwes/
Though you’ve inspired a new round of indigestion. I’m flying back to the US in two weeks with a four hour layover at Heathrow, which will require an airline change, terminal change and the always lively UK immigration cross-examination. Those guys hate me.
Here’s a time-saving hint: never, ever say the words “technically I’m homeless” when UK immigration asks where you live. Their hair stands up, their pupils dilate and they start reaching for a giant rubber stamp that says, swear to God, ‘Off With His Head’. Though equally, nothing buys you out of a UK immigration bind like forking over your Lonely Planet business card. I’ve never seen people go all mushy so fast.
September 15th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I avoid Heathrow whenever I can. I haven’t been through there for about 8 years, knock furiously on wood. London has 3? other airports, they are much better. Can we say Gatwick? Less crowded, smaller and doesn’t want you to tear out your hair and scream and scream. Hell would be to be stuck in Heathrow for all eternity.