It’s that time of the year again where British Airways is hell bent on confusing customers where to go to catch their planes.
The big takeaway is that more long haul services are moving into Terminal 3 from Terminal 5.
British Airways Airbus A380 at London Heathrow Terminal 5 – and yes, one of these will operate from Heathrow Terminal 3…
From the 14th October, the following services will switch from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3:
- Accura
- Cape Town
- Denver
- Las Vegas
- Miami
- Nariobi
- Phoenix
- Vancouver
The switch on the 14th October will apply to inbound flights as well as outbound flights – any flights arriving on the 14th from the above destinations above will come into Heathrow Terminal 3 as opposed to Terminal 5.
Interestingly, with the move of these long haul services – the Miami route will be moved which is operated by an Airbus A380.
In terms of passenger experience, it’s not such a rosy picture I’m afraid.
Firstly, there’s a strong chance of a terminal change needed – so plan extra time into your connections if you haven’t done so already.
And compared to the light of Terminal 5, Terminal 3 is… a little darker
The re-done T3 Exterior
T3 Exterior
T3 Interior – a bit darker.
Premium Passengers do have the choice of multiple Oneworld lounges though – including the British Airways Galleries First and Club:
T3 Galleries lounge complex
Galleries First
Champagne bar
As well as the venerable American Airlines Flagship lounge
Pastries and hot items
Cold food offerings
And also the Cathay Pacific Lounge (but check the opening times of it).
So as usual – check before you travel – and factor in time for terminal changes if needed – it’s still a fair old drive between Terminal 3 and Terminal 5.
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I’m upset about this. I live in Nairobi and am now absolutely shafted. The connections are awful, and suggest I should be doing Amsterdam for connections…
It’s not BA’s best move. I’d expect more terminal changes sooner rather than later.
The problem is simple – T5 is full already. Being bussed out to a plane shouldn’t happen at this hub – yet it does. At least at T3 long haul, you have a chance of a Jetbrige.
Cape Town really seems an odd inclusion in a list of cities probably considered more as tourist destinations (and therefore less likely to result in pax complaints d/t the move) than for business. This is a major downgrade for BA pax travelling to/from those cities as everyone knows that LHR transfers suck! Ugh!
I’ll be honest – if you’re going from terminal to terminal, they suck badly. But they’ve been fast the last few times I’ve transferred. With T1 out of the picture, I expect transfers to be a lot quicker than they were in the past.
But allow 90 minutes minumum. 2 hours to be safe.
T3 is like a mini Gatwick inside Heathrow.
It’s turning that way!
That may just be the least inviting lounge door I’ve ever seen, although at least it looks better from the inside.
I didn’t realize BA flew to Vegas from both Heathrow and Gatwick, I thought US destinations were either/or.
Vegas is an odd one – I’ll give you that. I think there’s demand for both lots of traffic to justify a full four-class service from LHR as well as a three class lesuire service from LGW.
And as for the lounge entrance… yeah. Not BA’s finest hour. But it is T3 – land of the lost.