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London’s Heathrow Airport is as Bad as it Gets. But You Can avoid it!
By The Anglo American | September 4, 2008
People hate JFK, that is, until they fly to London’s
Heathrow Airport.
They then discover how bad a major international airport can be. It is so bad that experienced travelers are now avoiding Heathrow by planning alternative ways to get to Britain’s capital city.
And it is the European rather than the British airlines that are being the most inventive and competitive.
Lufthansa flies from the States, via Munich, to London’s City airport that is only six miles from the very heart of London. Air France offers similar flights via Paris. These flights compete, financially, with direct flights to Heathrow. They also have good connections to London so the travel time is not significantly longer. They also offer the chance for an interesting layover. But, more importantly they move your travel karma to a significantly higher plateau.
London City Airport is 10 mintes from Tower Bridge
Heathrow was hardlwy the most pleasant of travel experiences even before 9/11, but it has become considerable worse since then. The British Government has limited input since British Airports Authority {BAA} that runs the airport is a private company. Farrovial, the Spanish airport operators took over BAA in 2006. Chief executive, Stephen Nelson, failed to resolve passenger processing issues and the appalling levels of lost luggage. And this was when the opening of Terminal five was a distant calander date. Nelson has now been pushed out of the BAA plane but the chronic overcapacity problems still remain. As with most of Britain’s public transport infrastructure, there appears to be no vision of next year, let alone even ten years from now.
Other tips used by ex: Heathrow veterans is to fly into and out of London’s Gatwick North Terminal where security lines are as short as they come. Delta Airlines offer a great flying experience. And with detailed planning you can even avoid Atlanta. But be careful of some of the American carriers. They are using planes more suited for medium-haul flights that lack the comfort offered by long haul aircraft.
Also check for the quality of connections out of the US. American Airlines have a great flight into Gatwick but if you are flying from Chicago, for example, there is a layover of nearly 6 hours at Raleigh Durham.
There is also a containership with a few cabins , bound for England, that leaves weekly out of Savannah. But that is another story altogether!
© The Anglo American
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