British Airways--bad news

Terminal 5. Could be terminal for certain.

The planned move of the airline's long haul services from Terminal 4 to Terminal 5 will be deferred until June, although this morning, the CEO said it could take as long as October, depending on negotiations with BAA. (Note the difference between BA, the airline and BAA, the company that runs the airport.)

BA and BAA announced, "We will work together to iron out any remaining problems, including the baggage system and its operation and develop a robust timetable for phasing the move of Terminal 4 services into Terminal 5." Robust? I do love exec-speak.

Direct quote this morning from the Executive Director of the Association of Retail Travel Agents. "I moved through Terminal 5 on Saturday and can report that at this time passengers need a minimum of three hours for transiting. You need the three hours to allow for luggage transfers. Some planes are using stairs although mine used a jetway. The jetways are very long and its a long walk to the transit bus. I was going to Terminal 4 and the bus announcement said it would take 18 minutes. However when arriving at Terminal 4 there was a huge lineup to go through security. Transit passengers must go through security again and there are only two X-ray machines. It took 50 minutes to get through and many people did not catch their flight. They would not put anyone through who had a tight connection unless you were in Fast Tract or a wheelchair. They could care less. The airport operator BAA is in charge of security so you can't blame BA. "