On Mon, 06 May 2013 18:22:21 -0500, Recliner
wrote:

I also prefer the Rogers' Heathrow T5 to his Barajas T4, though MAD is less
congested than LHR. The need to squash Heathrow's T5 into a limited space
has made it more efficient than the indulgent, sprawling
also-British-designed contemporaries in Beijing and Madrid.

(A late entry to this discussion!)

I really like T5, I hadn't thought about why but it's what you say --
it had to be squeezed in so it's not far to walk anywhere.

I think Barajas' T4 is a properly beautiful structure, though, and so
will forgive a recent change there where I arrived at one end of the
building and left from the other!

In the case of Heathrow vs other, I think it's impossible to ignore
LHR's history -- the "inertia" of workforce and clientele location --
and the many good (and about to get better) transport links to get
there. (It's just a pity that, from my direction, all my bus options
end at Heathrow Central rather than continuing to T5.)

It would be good to have the empty space to locate a Munich-sized
airport, but look at how relatively poor transport is there, although
maybe that's a special case, nothing much attempted while distracted
by a ridiculous monorail project.

Richard.