"tim....." wrote:
"Neil Williams" wrote in message
...
On 2014-09-06 12:18:25 +0000, Mizter T said:

Blimey, you've changed your tune pretty radically! Not so long ago you
seemed to consider Heathrow as one of the gates of hell.

That's because Heathrow has itself changed massively. First T5 (which
had a very bad false start but now seems to be working nicely) and
then the new T2 replacement. It is still overloaded which causes
runway/taxiway delays, but it's nothing like it was 10 years ago.

IME LHR has replaced one problem with another

There are no longer queues an hour long to get through security to check in

True, security queues Are now normally shirt.

Instead they have replaced this with a 2 mile long walk from your arrival
stand to immigration where there's an hour long queue to get your
passport checked (though the latter's also a problem the last time I was at STN)

Heathrow walks are generally no longer now than they were 20 years ago. The
immigration queues did get longer when the government demanded more checks
on EU passports, but seem to be better now. Human passport desks are still
quicker than the e-passport machines, though. However, the Heathrow
e-passport readers seem to be better than the few I've used abroad.

I arrived at Gatwick North yesterday evening and found no Immigration
queues. But you now do need a £1 or €1 coin to release a baggage trolley.
And while I waited a few minutes for my bag to arrive, I was able to buy my
rail ticket right after Immigration, with almost no queue, rather than when
I got to the railway station, where the queues were long. That helped me
catch an earlier train.

All in all, a very smooth experience, just like most Heathrow arrivals
(I've used Heathrow T1, T3, T4 and T5 this year, all without delays or
problems; I'm looking forward to using the new T2 later this year).
Stansted was a bit worse, but tolerable.

On my route home, as I had a heavy suitcase, I sought a step-free route. My
chosen route involved three trains, and all five lifts and one escalator
worked impeccably. Driving would have been quicker and easier, but wasn't
an option as I left from one airport and returned via another.