London Heathrow ConcordeLHR60m passengers a year / 2 runways.
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London Heathrow Concorde |
Heathrow is huge, vast, and a right mess of design. The terminals are large and walking distances can be long. Signage is good, but the coach between terminals is a hassle if you are in a hurry. Its much quicker to use the underground walkway, or even quicker, walk around at ground level.
Punctuality is the second worst out of the 27 airports monitored by the Association of European airlines. 26% of flights are delayed more than 15 minutes.
The hotchpotch development of Heathrow has created a monster for transferring passengers, particularly as domestic flights use Terminal 1 and most British Airways long-haul flights go from Terminal 4.
There is also a huge range of eating options - from Garfunkel's, to Est Est Est.
You can now enjoy the freedom of working wire-free in the departure lounges with broadband internet access from BT Openzone.
There is a great BAA interactive map
London Heathrow Terminal 1 |
Boots the chemist in Terminal 1 dispenses prescriptions (the only one at LHR to do so).
London Heathrow Terminal 1 Airside Departure hall |
Tap and Spile Pub, LHR T1 |
There is Fosters on draft, and some bottled beers - but they are pretty pricey. Food is limitted, with only soggy sandwiches, and the staff are appauling, stroppy, and so lazy its hard to distract them from their gossip to get them to pour you a pint.
Open 0600-2300
London Heathrow Terminal 2 Departure hall |
It is notorious for its check in desks in a hall with lots of pillars - and a very low ceiling. Up the stairs are the departure and arrival gates, with a much higher ceiling.
London Heathrow Terminal 2 Departure hall |
Shopping is limitted in Terminal 2 airside - either do your shopping landside, or walk over to Terminal 1 airside through the hidden corridor.
London Heathrow Terminal 2 Airside shopping |
Wetherspoon's bar at LHR T2 |
Food is very good, with a separate checkin counter for eating.
Open 0600-2300
London Heathrow Terminal 3 |
It's got an L shaped checkin, with all the Virgin desks on the side as you walk in from the tube station, then the racks of checkin counters. After these go up the stairs to the second floor of the departure hall, where there are more shops and a boots, before going into the main hall.
London (LHR) Terminal 4 |
London (LHR) Terminal 4 |
Wetherspoon's bar at LHR T4 |
Service is dreadfully slow - the staff realise that few people will come back for a second serving, so really just don't bother. However it is a pretty decent bar to hangout in if you are forced to do so landside. Not too smokey, with OK food, and 2 TVs (alas showing sky) despite it's strange location it works. Cider is £1.20 a half.
Open 1100-2300
Wetherspoon's bar at LHR T4 |
Wetherspoon's bar at LHR T4 Airside |
Food is pretty good, with good variation on burgers. Service is remarkably fast, as perhaps it should be in an airport where there and many people catching flights. Alas the clientelle in here resembles pondlife with little to recomend them - it's pure chav territory getting cheap flights to Florida. The two TV show continual sky sports. There are departure TVs, however these are hung from the rack in the middle of the bar - don't sit here if you want to see when your flight leaves.
Of interest, historical photos of Heathrow dot the walls.
Open 0600-2300
Est Bar Deli at LHR T4 |
Est Bar Deli at LHR T4 |
Admittedly service is very slow (thanks mainly to the staff you are far too snobby to be working at LHR), but the Hoegatten on draft makes up for that, as does the wonderfull food. Even the olives on a platter are something to send a postcard back home about... when you get to your destination.
Open 0600-2300
Heathrow Terminal 5 will be the national airline’s gateway to the world, a single complex offering all BA customers a logical path to and from their aircraft instead of the confusing routes in existing Terminals 1,2 and 3. It will also spare connecting passengers the nightmare of changing terminals and provide the airline with the opportunity of making enormous savings in terms of manpower and resources.
The new terminal will enable Heathrow to challenge Amsterdam Schiphol and Paris Charles de Gaulle, airports that have been successful in siphoning UK interline traffic away from London with their quicker connections. Most of BA's Oneworld partners are also likely to use the terminal and pick up extra business. It will increase Heathrow's capacity to 90m passengers a year, compared to the 72m who passed through the world’s busiest international airport last year.
We will still have to wait until Spring 2008 to use it - but that is a short time compared with the 20 years of political and planning wrangles that preceded its construction and the experience should be worth the wait.
For the first time, Heathrow will have a properly integrated railway station, with six platforms beneath the terminal, two for the Piccadilly Line, two for the Heathrow Express and a further pair to safeguard capacity for future rail links to the west. Whilst those who use the M25 may curse the current problems caused by road widening scheme, access to T5 should be easy, with no narrow tunnel to pass through or long drive, like that from the motorway system to T4. Although 4,000 car parking places are being provided, BAA, which operates the airport, says it expects half the surface journeys to and from T5 to be by public transport.
The journey through the terminal should also be more straightforward for passengers. After checking in, mostly at self-service machines with e-tickets, they will pass immediately through security. They will also be able to see where they are going so that route through the terminal will be more intuitive; after trooping off an aircraft, the arrivals hall will be visible, even if some distance away.
Some gates are being designed to accommodate aircraft of the future like the Airbus A380 superjumbo. The terminal itself is jumbo in size, occupying a site the size of Hyde Park, with the main concourse 396m long, 39m tall and 176m wide. There are two terminals under construction, the main building plus satellite B connected by an underground people mover. Much of the below ground work is also being constructed for satellite C, expected to come on stream in 2112, whilst a further satellite, D, is also earmarked for future development.
Another benefit for British Airways is a consolidated baggage system which will not only handle items within T5 but those from the four other Heathrow terminals and that transferred from Gatwick. To assist in the management of different bag routings a computerised 'itinerary' is developed for each item which is controlled throughout its journey to the aircraft, including details of flight delays.
The French group Accor has won the race to operate the new flagship hotel at T5 under its Sofitel brand. The five-star property, connected by walkways to the terminal, will also open in the spring of 2008 and will be the icing on the cake.
London Gatwick South Terminals Arrivals |
LGW32m passengers a year / 1 runway.
London Gatwick is London's second airport, and has a strange combination on low-cost European flights, and charter airlines, plus a few regular airlines, such as BA which a decade ago started using Gatwick as a second hub - and then promply abandoned the idea.
If you arrive early enough, you can get pampered at the Clarins studio in BAA's South Terminal, offering 17 different treatments with the needs of air travellers in mind. For £17.65, a bronzing session will give you a head start in the tan stakes; a full leg and bikini wax costs £26; and eyebrow shaping £9. Open 5am-11pm (01293 507249).
If you need a second opinion on your holiday outfits, you can phone ahead for a personal shopper to guide you round the airport stores. For the ultimate in laziness, they'll even pick out the goods for you, while you have a pre-flight shandy.
LGW Village Inn |
LGW Frankie & Benny's |
SIN30m passengers a year / 2 runways.
Singapore Changi Terminal 1 waterfall |
Walking through terminal 2 is a delight, with internal waterfalls cascading through the departure lounge - or rather, as it seems, the shopping mall.
Short-stay hotels are located within both terminals, (single room, S$56.65, £22), and in Terminal One, there's an outdoor pool on the roof.
Singapore Poolside Bar |
Its right by the outdoor pool, which is fairly small but worth the detour. It costs S$10.30 to use the pool, although there are few checks on who is in it. Theres also a small sub-tropical garden. day.
Open 0700-2300 Credit cards taken even for just one beer.
Bangkok BKK Terminal 2 |
BKK30m passengers a year / 2 runways.
Any visit to fun-in-the-sun-with-culture land that is Thailand will involve a visit to BKK. It serves the city and the areas around it and acts as a hub for Thailand and other parts of South East Asia. The airport is very busy, due to its long thin layout, and the uneasy pairing of business travellers and backpackers.
Bangkok International Airport has two international terminals and a domestic terminal, all of which are new but pretty grubby - rather like Thailand really. The Airport's Authority is improving facilities at BKK in order to handle increasing amounts of traffic, and plans to open a second international airport for Bangkok in 2004.
Short-stay tourist visas have to be obtained at airport immigration before entering the city even for a few hours, so entry queues are often long and exhausting.
BKK Bangkok Terminal 2 |
There are three terminals, however International Terminal 1, and International Terminal 2, are side by side along the long corridor which forms the airport, so few people notice the difference. The Domestic Passenger Terminal is 500 metres from Terminal 2 and is connected by an air-conditioned walkway (which in effect makes it another extension of the long corridor) and a free-to-user bus shuttle.
The slightly larger of the two bulks along the main corridor, Terminal 1 handles Thai, SAS Scandinavian, Malaysia, Korean, EgyptAir, Aeroflot, AirIndia & El Al. Terminal 2 is about two thirds of the size, and handles flights for Lufthansa, Singapore, KLM, China, Kuwait, Qantas & British Airways. Most of the shops and all the airline lounges are in Terminal 2.
Many flights from the UK to Australia stop off in BKK to refuel. Beware that if you get off the aircraft you'll be on the arrivals floor, and to get up to the departure level to make sure you catch your swiftly departing plane, you need to walk up the fire escape between floors which is signposted No Access. Every year dozens of passengers stop off for a few minutes, and end up staying 24 hours, by being stranded on the arrival floor.
Thai temple / shop in BKK T2 |
Thai food is served at the Thai Restaurant on the 4th floor of Terminal 1 and at the Savoy restaurant in the Domestic Passenger Terminal. Thai food is also available at the airport's food court in the parking building of Terminal 2 and at other points in the terminal complex. The Nopponte Japanese Restaurant offers Japanese food on the 2nd floor of Terminal 2.
Most shops are on the 3rd floor. There's a King Power Duty Free, Airport Duty Free, a florist Bangkokgreen (although few countries will let you import the flowers you buy) and a clothing store, Shanghai Goldsmith.
Bangkok cafe at BKK T2 |
SYD24m passengers a year (8m International) / 3 runways (Main one is 16R/34L, also 16L/34R, 07/25)
Sydney Airport terminal 1 |
The International terminal is first class, with a nice atmosphere than Singapore. It features seats and tables that wouldn't be out of place in a business class lounge. On pier C there is a pleasant walkway over an inside forest.
The International Terminal 1 is divided into Pier B and C. Pier B is mainly Qantas and BA with no access to pier C where all the other airlines are.
Sydney Terminal 3 |
Most of the lounges are located on pier C.
Singapore Airlines: Silver Kris Lounge on Level 3.
Air New Zealand: Lounge on Level 3. This lounge is vast, with a really good salad bar.
Guruda: The Sakura Lounge and Executive Lounge on Level 2.
United: The Red Carpet Club and First Class Lounge on Level 2.
Malasian: The Golden Lounge on Level 1.
The Southern Cross Lounge gerenic lounge is located in Pier C on Level 2.
As for pier B, Qantas: The Qantas Club is located in Pier B on Level 3. Domestic Lounges are available in SYD Terminal 2.
Studio Mode Bar at SYD T1 |
Food is pretty good, with ham and eggs benedict a delight. The club sandwiches are pretty good too, and make a decent breakfast.
Open 0600-2200
Slipstream Café at SYD T1 |
Melt-in-the-mouth cakes, Turkish pockets and a salad bar which is ok. A choice of bistro style hot meals, plus a good selection of Aussie beers.
Decent food with New York style pizza, and a full cooked breakfast.
Open 0600-2200
Open 0600-2200
Café at SYD T2 |
Open 0600-2200
Café at SYD T3 |
Open 0600-2200
Velocity Café at SYD T3 |
Open 0600-2200
AMS36m passengers a year / 2 runways
Amsterdam Schiphol Lounge 3 |
Amsterdam Schiphol Lounge 3 |
There are plenty of delights to keep you amused airside or while waiting for a plane. One of the most civilised is the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol (On the Holland Boulevard, in the area beyond passport control between the E and F Pier, open 0700-2000, entrance free). The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol hosts a permanent exhibition of ten works by Dutch masters from the Golden Age from the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The temporary exhibitions change a couple times a year.
The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol is a joint and unique initiative of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The Rijksmuseum is the first museum in the world to have a branch at an airport and Schiphol is the first airport to have a museum in its terminal building.
It can take about 40 minutes to walk from one end of the terminal to the other - so it pays to go to a bar close to where you are leaving from.
A neat trick - if you are flying on BA - is not to go through security near the BA check-in area. This lands you in the Shengen area, and there can be long waits at passport control for the non-Shengen routes back to LHR. Instead, walk down the terminal past the KLM check-in desks, and go through security there, which combines passport control and security in one. There is only one queue and it is much shorter. Alas this trick doesn't work with bmi passengers wanting to use the lounge, as bmi have their lounge in the Schengen area!
Amsterdam Schiphol Bubbles |
Amsterdam Schiphol Grand Café Het Paleis |
There is an extensive menu which offers a variety of dishes for all times of the day. Breakfast is served all day. Het Paleis offers full service inside and on the rather bleak terrace - for a better atmosphere, sit inside.
Amsterdam Cone bar |
Famous for its seafood, the bar is also well known for its view of arriving aircraft - they seem to come right into the terminal. Service is some of the quickest at the airport.
Amsterdam Schiphol Café Amsterdam |
Amsterdam Schiphol Café Amsterdam |
Heiniken is the mainstay, at €3 for 0.4l, with simple hot sandwiches at €4. A salad comes in at €9.30.
Note that this bar is very male dominated - women may prefer going just opposite to Sandwich Island, which, when it is open, serves some great snacks.
FRA48m passengers a year / 2 runways
Frankfurt Airport |
The size of Frankfurt should be daunting, but it isn't. Finding your gate is easy and the facilities are well dispersed, so you can eat, drink and keep an eye on your departure gate all at the same time.
ReykjavikKeflavik airport |
KEF10m passengers a year / 1 runway.
Some of the cheapest flights to the US are with Iceland Air, passing through their home base of Keflavik. Although the airport prides itself on speedy connections, (planes arrive overnight from New York around 6.20am, with departures onwards to London at 7.45am and Glasgow at 7.55am), there are benefits for those willing to linger.
A second flight to London leaves late afternoon, allowing a full day to explore the naturally-heated Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, located in the middle of a lava field, 15 minutes' drive away. A taxi there costs approximately £15. Entry for three hours is 800 Icelandic Krona (£5.60), each additional hour is 100 Krona (70p) and swimming costumes and towels can be hired. Entry times differ throughout the year, but until the end of August it's open from 9am to 10pm daily. The natural minerals should soothe you after a long flight.
MunichTerminal 2 |
MUC30m passengers a year / 2 runways.
This is one of my favourite airports now that Terminal 2 has opened. The range of shops, cafés and eateries in the landside Central Area and in Terminal 2 (landside and airside) are excellent.
There are two well- stocked Edeka supermarkets (one in the landside Central Area and the other in Terminal 2 landside), an airport micro-brewery (oh yes!) in the excellent and cheap AirBräu restaurant in the Central Area (AirBräu also has other outlets in Terminal 2 - they brew good beer and the tasty food is amazingly good value for money), a good Asian restaurant and sushi bar in Terminal 2 landside, free coffee/tea and newspapers in Terminal 2 airside departure areas and excellent facilities all round.
Terminal 2 is very spacious, bright (lots of natural lighting) and has excellent toilets and other facilities. Try the open sandwiches on freshly baked breads of various sorts in one of the trendy snack bars in the extra-Schengen departure lounge. There is even a fully equipped hospital with about a dozen beds in the Munich Airport Centre - you can fly in, have an operation and fly out again without ever having left the airport. Airports don't get better than this. It puts UK airports to shame.
When MUC was inaugurated in 1992, some critics said that it`s an airport that can only be reached by air. Unfortunately, nothing has changed during the past 12 years. It is really a pity that it takes 45 minutes from the central station to get to the airport some 50 kms away. Nobody really understands why there is no train going directly to the airport without a stop every 5 minutes? And it is only one per hour!
Munich Wiener's bar |
If, however, you weigh up the arguments before going ahead and want to order 15 pints and a whisky chaser, Munich could be the airport for you. It has its very own brew pub churning out nearly 53,000 gallons a year of Bavarian party juice.
Open daily from 10am to 1am, it has local bands on Thursdays.
Shops include duty-free, a tobacconists, toy shop, leather goods shop, shoe shops, a jewellers, opticians, florists, sweet shops, gift shops and a clothing accessories shop.
Palma de Mallorca Airport is located 11km (7 miles) southeast of Palma.
Cologne/Bonn Terminals 1&2 |
CGN10m passengers a year / 1 runway.
Once a small rural airport for Lufthansa (Serving, incidentally, the then capital) Cologne (or Koln in German speak) has agresively expanded over the past few years, mainly to cater for low-cost flights.
Cologne/Bonn Terminals 2 |
Cologne/Bonn Terminal 2 airside |
In terminal 1 the Non-Schengen gates (all 2 of them) are stuck in the basement, after additional pasport and security checked. There is one tiny shop down here, and that's it, so avoid going down until the last possible moment.
Cologne/Bonn Green bar landside |
Cologne/Bonn Bäckerei Kamps landside |
Paris CDG |
CDG48m passengers a year / 2 runways.
Paris CDG |
The gleaming glass and steel of Terminal 2 is open and light, but not at all welcoming, and the punctuality record is the worst of all the big European airports. Connections are often chaotic - the French, bless them, haven't yet got the hang of a simple connection and will clog the whole thing up with pinch points. Terminal 1 (where bmi and Lufthansa fly out of) is notoriously bad.
Paris CDG train ticket machine |
As for getting away from the airport - only the French would install ticket machines at the International airport railway station (RER) which are unable to accept credit cards unless they are French credit cards. Otherwise, it's Euro coins only. Chaos ensues with 95% of those attempting to use the machines failing to purchase tickets and all of them completely bewildered as to why they have failed. Several attempts by each person takes a long long time for the queue. There is of course a ticket office with five windows, only one of which is operating, and queues half way around the station. It takes longer to buy a ticket than to travel by train into Paris. The ultimate irony - A fast train with extremely slow tickets.
There is a good selection of shops, including Hermes and Cartier boutiques, and several upmarket groceries for that essential foie gras. Restaurants cater for both fast-food and gourmet palates. However, the shopping and restaurant area is underground and located a considerable distance from the gate areas.
Vienna International |
VIE12m passengers a year / 1 runway.
Vienna International |
Top marks to this modern, well-designed airport, which makes changing aeroplanes a doddle. It's big enough to have all the facilities that you would expect from a hub airport, but without big walks between gates, and with the best punctuality record of the big European players.
Only 13% of flights are delayed by more than 15 minutes.
For further information, visit www.viennaairport.com.
Vienna International |
The most innovative feature of the new service is that you can now check in for your flight before getting onto the train in town, as well as make reservations and collect tickets (if tickets directly booked at Austrian Airlines).
Vienna Bar Johann Strauss |
KUL12m passengers a year / 1 runway.
Nipping into the Malaysian capital on a short layover isn't really an option, as downtown KL is 50 miles from the glitzy new international airport.
Kuala Lumpur International Airport |
However, next door is the Sepang Formula One circuit, home to the Malaysian Grand Prix. For 35 Malaysian Ringgit (£7), you can spend 10 minutes driving round in a locally-built Proton. Hardly Schumacher material, but there's also a go-kart track where you can reach a top speed of 80mph, with planes taking off 100m away.
Back in the terminal, the Plaza Premium Lounge and Business Centre, on the mezzanine floor, are available to all passengers for 60 Ringgit (£11) Facilities include internet access, showers and a golf putting range. Secretarial support is also provided.
A four-minute walk away over a connecting bridge, the five-star Pan Pacific hotel will allow transfer passengers to use its outdoor pool and health club complex, including Jacuzzi and sauna, for 30 ringgit (£5.50).
KUL Cheers Bar |
Food comes in the form of sandwiches, burgers, wraps and pizzas. A variety of alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic cocktails are available.