Toronto / U.S. Travel Outrage

[Ben Rubinstein]

Heathrow is relatively good? News to me. Especially Terminal 5, the official luggage black hole...

I find CDG to be typically french and Frankfurt to be rather silly about security (one check to get into a terminal and another to get into a gate) but at least being Germans they're efficient at it. Trick is to have shoes/boots without metal and a removeable belt buckle so you can just put your bag on the conveyor and walk through. Works in the UK and Germany. Not in France where they made me take every single electrical item out of my bag that contained cameras, laptops, earphones, sundry USB and bluetooth cords, CF cards, etc. Took rather a while and I was running late for my connection.

[Mark D Segal]

The Skytrax posts for Heathrow T5 are better on the whole than those for Frankfurt. I personally haven't used T5 yet, but I've been through T4 umpteen times on BA before T5 was opened and they have never misplaced a piece of my luggage, but this happens with all airports; at the worst of times past in the UK security was thorough but at least polite.

[rcdurston]

Arrive early or else.

[Ben Rubinstein]

The Skytrax posts for Heathrow T5 are better on the whole than those for Frankfurt. I personally haven't used T5 yet, but I've been through T4 umpteen times on BA before T5 was opened and they have never misplaced a piece of my luggage, but this happens with all airports; at the worst of times past in the UK security was thorough but at least polite.

Couldn't care less what reviews show, I fly internationally about 85 times a year, I know what I see and experience...  

T5 has a particularly bad reputation for losing luggage on connections.

[Mark D Segal]

OK, good to bear in mind. But how has the security clearance procedure treated you -  if you've been through since December 25th?

[John Camp]

An associated Press story:


DALLAS - If you want a pillow and blanket in coach on American Airlines, it's going to cost you.

The airline will charge $8 for a pillow and blanket in coach class for domestic trips and some international flights longer than two hours, beginning May 1. The international flights are to and from Canada, Mexico, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Central America.

[Ben Rubinstein]

OK, good to bear in mind. But how has the security clearance procedure treated you -  if you've been through since December 25th?

I haven't been through since then though I'm flying twice in a couple of weeks, once through Frankfurt and once through Manchester. I haven't heard of there being any significant changes but I'll update.