Historic opportunity for first Terminal 5 customers

A chance to buy a moment of history becomes available today this week when tickets for the first flights from London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 go on sale. Approximately 75,000 tickets will be available for passengers wanting to travel on one of the 380 flights that will operate into and out of the £4.3 billion building on day one.

The new terminal, which is the biggest airport development in British history, will restore the prestige of the UK’s national hub and set standards of passenger comfort and convenience which will surpass those of its European rivals at Paris Charles De Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol and Frankfurt.

Terminal 5 will be used exclusively by British Airways customers. The first flight to take off from Terminal 5 will be BA302 to Paris and the first arriving flight will be BA026 from Hong Kong.

Robert Boyle, British Airways commercial director, said: “British Airways’ customers buying these first tickets for Terminal 5 will have the chance to be part of this once in a lifetime opportunity. Terminal 5 is going to be a great advertisement for Britain – and this group of customers will be able to say, ‘I was there when it all began’."

He went on: “The new terminal will transform the flying experience for millions of British Airways’ customers. The entire airport experience at Terminal 5 has been designed to make the ground journey faster, smoother and simpler. It will exceed the best you can find at any other airport.”

Tickets for travel on the opening day, March 27, 2008, are now on sale at BA.com.

The first customers to travel from Terminal 5 will benefit from investment in customer facilities to make the airport experience easier, quicker and less stressful.

Check in queues will be significantly reduced, punctuality and baggage arrival waiting-times will be improved, and flight connections will be smoother.

Travellers will have more time to do the things they want - whether that is shopping in the world’s most exclusive airport shopping mall, enjoying a world-class meal in one of the top restaurants or relaxing in the £60 million British Airways’ suite of lounges.

Collectively known as the ‘Galleries’, the lounges will set new standards in comfort and luxury for the airline’s First, Club World, Club Europe and Gold and Silver Executive Club customers.

Combined, they will cover 15,000 square metres – the world’s largest airline lounge complex. Facilities will include space to relax, work, eat and drink and a new travel spa. They will host up to 2,500 people.

British Airways' move to Terminal 5 will be the most complex in the airline’s history. The move is planned in four phases between March 27, 2008 and October 2008. More than 90 per cent of British Airways flights will operate from Terminal 5 with the remainder being co-located with oneworld alliance partners in the nearby Terminal 3.

Phase one will involve moving 70 per cent of British Airways flights to Terminal 5.

Phase two is planned for the end of April 2008 when a further 20 per cent of flights, including longhaul flights from Terminal 4, will move to Terminal 5. Tickets for these flights will go on sale from May 10, 2007.

The move to Terminal 3 will happen in two phases. The remaining small number of shorthaul flights will move from Terminal 1 at the end of June 2008 and the BA/Qantas codeshare flights will move from Terminal 4 at the end of October. *

Terminal 3 will also benefit from investment in customer facilities, including a new dedicated British Airways lounge and will be upgraded as part of BAA’s Heathrow development plans.

*BA/Qantas codeshare flights (Bangkok, Singapore, Sydney and Qantas flights handled by British Airways) will move to Terminal 3 at the end of October 2008, as part of the move by all oneworld airlines.