WillTo
Senior Member
I've been bused upon arrival on British Airways at Heathrow, and on Lufthansa at Frankfurt (a 747 no less).
Even at their own hub airports, they run out of gates, especially in the morning.
I think T3 and T1 made alot of sense when they were first designed, but a combination of technology and a change in processes has made them non-nonsensical.
Back in 1993, you would just line up for the check in counter, then head to security. Nowadays, you might need to use a kiosk. You may or may not have to tag your own bag. You have to find the correct line (e.g. economy, bag drop only, premium economy, business, first, loyalty program). Or you could be using the self bag drop. The machines and the stanchions cause a bit of clutter. T1 has been able to adapt OK but T3 is a hot mess.
I remember back in T3 if you were flying to the States, you could get your bags weighted at check in, then walk right past the counter to US clearance since there was no conveyor belt in the way. Now there's an awkward cluster of check in counters.
Another major change that threw things off is going through security before US preclearance. At T1 this involved converting an area that was formerly used for check in for security. So now you check in at a check in, then have to back track and potentially venture off to the other side of the terminal to get to security.
Also for international, I believe there used to be a security entrance to the left and right of the US customs hall, but now only to the right. So if you are using a check in to the left, you gotta back track to the right. It's messy.
Even at their own hub airports, they run out of gates, especially in the morning.
I think T3 and T1 made alot of sense when they were first designed, but a combination of technology and a change in processes has made them non-nonsensical.
Back in 1993, you would just line up for the check in counter, then head to security. Nowadays, you might need to use a kiosk. You may or may not have to tag your own bag. You have to find the correct line (e.g. economy, bag drop only, premium economy, business, first, loyalty program). Or you could be using the self bag drop. The machines and the stanchions cause a bit of clutter. T1 has been able to adapt OK but T3 is a hot mess.
I remember back in T3 if you were flying to the States, you could get your bags weighted at check in, then walk right past the counter to US clearance since there was no conveyor belt in the way. Now there's an awkward cluster of check in counters.
Another major change that threw things off is going through security before US preclearance. At T1 this involved converting an area that was formerly used for check in for security. So now you check in at a check in, then have to back track and potentially venture off to the other side of the terminal to get to security.
Also for international, I believe there used to be a security entrance to the left and right of the US customs hall, but now only to the right. So if you are using a check in to the left, you gotta back track to the right. It's messy.
