Heathrow Terminal 5 First Wing security is now fully open

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• Chris W says:

  22 Mar22 March 07:51

  Can you imagine the hell the Gold Card holders would rain down on the security staff if the first security was closed and they were sent to normal security and couldn’t take their full-sized liquids through

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    22 Mar22 March 09:52

    And those people should learn to behave a bit better!

    But once all the machines have been changed over it won’t be an issue.

• Luca says:

  22 Mar22 March 07:53

  A Gold cardholder is only allowed one guest so a family of four can only go through if both parents are Gold.

  The one rule I absolutely hate. Give me some ‘wildcards’ otherwise there is little benefit being gold when travelling with my 3 kids and wife.

  “We don’t care about you unless your company is paying” is how I read it..

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    22 Mar22 March 08:13

    So the extra baggage allowance and free seat selection aren’t useable benefits?

    Lounges are busy enough as it is without extra guests.

    • Stu_N says:

      22 Mar22 March 08:19

      Especially children

  • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

    22 Mar22 March 08:27

    What’s the “company is paying” line about?

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      22 Mar22 March 08:52

      Distraction technique

      I make Gold with no help from any company trips – as many other people manage to do as well.

  • Andrew. says:

    22 Mar22 March 08:32

    You’re airside, the kids will be perfectly safe.

    Just leave them with their phones or ipads and a Boots meal deal each in the main area and go off to the lounge with your wife.

    • pete says:

      22 Mar22 March 09:13

      🙂 he didnt tell you they are both 3 years old.

      • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

        22 Mar22 March 09:53

        Luca said he had 3 kids but not thir ages

      • Brian says:

        22 Mar22 March 10:17

        Even better. He can probably forget the Boots meal deals, then.

    • John says:

      22 Mar22 March 09:40

      My kids are 2 and 4

  • Nick Burch says:

    22 Mar22 March 09:21

    Just fly a bit more! GGL can take 5 guests as long as they’re all on the same flight. Ought to be enough for your other half, your kids, and maybe even some in-laws…

  • ankomonkey says:

    22 Mar22 March 09:34

    The 3-year old kids could be the GCHs and could be guesting the parents through.

  • Ziggy says:

    22 Mar22 March 14:11

    I absolutely don’t want to see any ‘wildcards’ issued. Ever.

  • Andrew J says:

    22 Mar22 March 16:14

    If you and all your kids fly First, then you can all use First Wing.

  • SG says:

    23 Mar23 March 12:11

    Lounges are busy enough already without every Gold member being able to bring in their whole family. The policy is obviously sensible or it’ll become hellish for everyone else.

    • Luca says:

      24 Mar24 March 07:32

      Even with current setup, I can’t use normal fast track with the family on the same booking let alone first wing, that’s my beef.

      Baggage allowance is plenty as short haul is mostly hand baggage though I grant you seat selection is really the only benefit I can use when travelling as a family.

      Kids are 13,11 & 10 so don’t cause havoc. I don’t care about the lounge, just the security. I know it’s hard to control at the first wing as it goes straight into lounge.

      I just find it a bit annoying the one time I come through with family benefits are limited but also get it that with BA holidays double TPs they shouldn’t offer any additional perks and need to get GCH numbers down.

• Andrew. says:

  22 Mar22 March 08:20

  The Waitrose rebate is everywhere. 10% on Barclaycard & Virgin on purchases over £30, no obvious limit. 8% on BoS, Halifax & Lloyds on every transaction, max rebate £30

  • Skywalker says:

    22 Mar22 March 08:41

    There is a good Waitrose offer on Curve card too, which doesn’t require a minimum spend, just 8% off.

    • Brighton Belle says:

      22 Mar22 March 12:35

      Not on my Curve card is any Waitrose offer. They are doing a first class job of reasons to cancel. From Hero to Zero in a few years of trimbacks, cutbacks and benefit hacks. Been with them since day1 but no renewal likely now.

      • Tariq says:

        22 Mar22 March 18:06

        +1, metal goes in April as far as I’m concerned

  • RussellH says:

    22 Mar22 March 10:16

    10% off £30 is obviously a much better deal, but Waitrose prices are so extortionate that it is almost certainly much better value to shop almost anywhere else without 10% off.

    • Lady London says:

      22 Mar22 March 10:33

      I find them quite reasonable for the quality. And No, I’m not doing a JDB. I am quite ordinary.

      • HampshireHog says:

        22 Mar22 March 13:27

        I thought everyone sent their housekeeper to collect comestibles that the tradespeople had omitted to deliver ?

        • lumma says:

          22 Mar22 March 23:33

          Best thing about Waitrose, it keeps the riff raff out of the Selfridges and Harrods food halls

• Aliks says:

  22 Mar22 March 08:52

  Note also that First Wing may have problems checking in Iberia tickets. Something to do with Iberia wanting to add their own PNR separate from the BA PNR.

  In this situation I was sent back out from First Wing to the small Iberia checkin section, although I could still go through the First Wing gate once checked in.

  • Nick Burch says:

    22 Mar22 March 09:17

    Iberia are on a different computer system, so this has been an issue for a few years now (since they upgraded the T5 computers to be able to cope with anyone other than BA). At least the Iberia business checkin is now nearer the First Wing, for a while it was down at the very other end…

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    22 Mar22 March 12:07

    Rule of thimb always check in with the airline you are flying with!

    Access th F wing security and lounge is different from accessign the F wing to check in.

• David S says:

  22 Mar22 March 09:48

  No Waitrose offer on any of my cards. And had just stocked up on their wine offer yesterday (might have had to buy more – hic)

• Ben says:

  22 Mar22 March 10:12

  Could you explain what the new liquids rules are for the first wing?

  • Rob says:

    22 Mar22 March 10:27

    Whatever you want, within reason. Maximum 2 litres per bottle, with no limit on the number of bottles.

    But, as noted, you’ll be pouring it all down the sink if First Wing is closed for any reason.

    You can’t bring any of it back home, of course, because you’re probably returning from an airport with the old scanners ….

    • Paul says:

      22 Mar22 March 10:36

      Is that true? I know the machines are there in order that the rules can be changed but I thought the 100ml rule would remain until all airports could operate to the same standard.
      Moreover how will this work if you transit a second or third country/airport where the rules remain 100ml.
      If the rules for First wing have changed then that is incredibly silly for the reason you highlighted but also because it will, not for the first time, add complexity to a process that should be a simple, single repeatable process.

      • Andrew J says:

        22 Mar22 March 11:28

        Yes it’s true. There have been no liquid restrictions at LCY for a long time now. But as Rob said, this rule is only available at LHR currently for First Wing users, and you run the risk of liquids being wasted if the Wing is closed for some reason.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          22 Mar22 March 13:40

          I also took them through Luton had they have the new scanners in a boarded off section vs the old ones.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        22 Mar22 March 13:39

        No one says the rules have formally changed because there’s a risk that you’ll need to go through another scanner but the reality is they will allow you to take what you want through the first scanners now.

    • lumma says:

      22 Mar22 March 23:34

      Tirana Airport is all new style scanners with no limits

• Bagoly says:

  22 Mar22 March 10:18

  Why did Peel agree to lease out the airport rather than sell/run it for warehousing?
  Has the council offered some huge amount of money?
  Or is Peel group expecting it to fail and will then be able to say “It wasn’t just our management – it really doesn’t work as an airport”
  Or did the council threaten to expose/sue about promises made by Peel relating to the road improvements?

  • Rob says:

    22 Mar22 March 10:26

    If the council made it clear that it wouldn’t approve a planning applcation for change of use then it has a lot of bargaining power.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      22 Mar22 March 10:30

      And that would be illegal.

      A planning committee can only consider an application based on the information contained in it and any objections made.

      Anything outside of that would be grounds for the applicant to appeal

      The council can make statements such as ‘would like / prefer XX to happen to the site’ but that’s as far as it can go.

      • Robwiz says:

        22 Mar22 March 11:28

        A planning committe also takes into account the current and previous uses of the land, its local plan (or core strategy), the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and, if relevant, neighbourhood plans. Decisions have to be substantiated with reasons relating to planning policy – so commercial issues should not come into consideration.

      • Will says:

        22 Mar22 March 21:27

        The council being allowed to indicate a preference for its use and proposing an offer to lease it for such use would surely indicate to the land owner that it’s up against it with respect to change of use.

        The whole concept of land ownership and change of use needs a total rethink, it’s the council and society that bring the value to the land and yet we still go on rewarding private landowners for council decisions on change of use driven by societal needs / changes.

        It’s all a bit bonkers. Annual land value tax and much more pro active long term planning from council / gov for intended development areas would make a considerable difference to the way we develop land and structure communities.

  • ken says:

    22 Mar22 March 11:03

    Peel are specialists in land banking, and their timescales are measured in decades.

    A £4.5bn plan for ‘Wirral waters’ in Birkenhead was announced 17 years ago.
    Progress is glacial.

    The lease will undoubtedly have break clauses. Will anyone be able to run it and make money ?

    • Novice says:

      22 Mar22 March 12:30

      If they get the right airlines then I am sure it can be a success. There’s definitely demand. And there’s a lot of people sick of having just Manchester as the main airport in the north.

      • ken says:

        22 Mar22 March 13:20

        Manchester, Leeds-Bradford, East Midlands, Humberside airports all within 1 hr and a few minutes drive, north, east, south and west.

        How much demand is there ?, it’s hardly convenient for that many people.

        Obviously I appreciate that local authorities like the willy waving of having an airport, and look with envy to Manchester, but I struggle to see it working.

        • Novice says:

          22 Mar22 March 13:43

          Man is the only decent one with proper decent connections out of all the others. I should know I live in the north and the only airport that ever has the connections I need is MAN. The others are crap.

          This airport needs some legacy carriers and good flight times. It can be a success.

          I don’t know why you are so negative about it.

        • Navara says:

          22 Mar22 March 21:00

          Doubt the Mayor has a Willy to wave

      • ken says:

        22 Mar22 March 14:37

        Easyjet, Flybe and Wizz couldn’t make it work.

        THe much maligned Manchester does at least have a rail station that serves as far as Glasgow with direct services.

        We can fantisise that a new billion pound airport could be built for Doncaster but its simply not realistic.

        • Rob says:

          22 Mar22 March 15:03

          Rail is a bit of a red herring at Doncaster. Even if there was a station, passengers wouldn’t live anywhere near a convenient station to get to it. You don’t live in that neck of the woods without a car – my brother has three on very modest public sector salaries. The key is having affordable parking.

        • Novice says:

          22 Mar22 March 15:07

          @Rob I agree with you.

          When I used it drop off and pick up was free. I think they should keep that free and charge a decent price for parking then it would be ok.

• mark2 says:

  22 Mar22 March 10:20

  Pleased to see the Waitrose offer; am running out of discounted gift cards and in danger of paying full price.

  Check additional cards as on there too (in my case).

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