BA plans dedicated business check-in at T5

A dedicated business class check-in area at Heathrow Terminal 5 is being planned by British Airways.

The disclosure came as the airline marked the 100^th day of operation of the £4.3 billion terminal since its disastrous opening in March.

BA claimed today that the terminal was seeing “significant gains” in improved punctuality and baggage performance.

Chief executive Willie Walsh said: “Every day I get emails, letters or comments from customers telling me how much they enjoy using the terminal.

“When the terminal opened, it was handling around 40,000 customers a day. As the summer holidays approach, passenger numbers are expected to rise from an average 57,000 a day at present to more than 65,000 a day.

“We have worked tirelessly to improve every aspect of our operational performance and our customers are seeing the benefits.

“Our punctuality and baggage performance levels are significantly improved on this time last year and check-in queues are much reduced.

“We know there is scope for further improvement and we are absolutely committed to achieving it. But we have made a very encouraging start to life in our new home.”

BA is looking at creating a dedicated check-in area for business class customers and will shortly open an additional business class lounge in Terminal 5 “B”.

Extra facilities are also being proposed to help business class passengers through ticket presentation as they approach security.

A further 29 long haul routes will move from Terminal 4 into Terminal 5 on September 17, taking the number of flights per day to more than 480.

By the end of October the final long haul routes will move in and the number of flights per day will grow to around 510.

*See linked BA monthly performance story.

by Phil Davies