Londoners fear misery at Heathrow will drive away visitors - Time to BOYCOTT Heathrow

Media worldwide have been reporting on the many THOUSANDS of
pieces of luggage now being lost daily at Heathrow!!

How do the airport authority plan on improving service?

Or, do they still get their exorbitant pay even though they are
obviously incompetent?

With all this bad publicity, passengers will sooner go to Manchester, or even
Schiphol/Amsterdam, and then take a train, if they must go to London!!

Forget about people coming for the Olympics - it won't be happening.


On Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:19:01 +0200, Earl Evleth wrote:

Londoners fear misery at Heathrow with drive away visitors

The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 1, 2007

LONDON: London's ambition to overtake New York as the world's pre-eminent
city faces a big obstacle: its gateway, Heathrow Airport, is enough to make
visitors feel like flying home before they even see Big Ben, Buckingham
Palace, or the financial superhub known as the City.

Notorious security checks, a labyrinthine layout, and shoddy service combine
to form the "Heathrow Hassle."

With fears mounting of chaos when the city hosts the Olympics in 2012,
government officials and business figures are calling for urgent
improvements at the world's third-busiest airport.

In the past week, Heathrow has come under a barrage of criticism.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone called it a "shame" on London. A junior
government minister claims the airport is so infuriating that it could hurt
London's business prospects. And a business executive remarked that some
people will do anything to avoid flying through Heathrow.

The airport once was a name that evoked the jet-set allure of international
travel. In recent years, however, it's become associated more with
complaints about crowded terminals, long shuffles through security and
passport lines, lost luggage and a depressing decor.

The hammering began with news that Heathrow would seek a broad injunction
against protests planned at the airport for mid-August by groups opposed to
plans to build a third runway, which opponents say would severely increase
noise and air pollution.

Green groups said the injunction was so broad that it would allow police to
detain potential protesters not just at the airport but on parts of the
London Underground and railway network and sections of highways near
Heathrow.

"This is the mother of all injunctions. We've long known the airport
operators to be arrogant, but trying to ban 5 million people from coming
near them is conceited even by their standards," said John Stewart, the
chairman of the Hacan group that opposes the new runway.

Livingstone was livid.

"Someone there must be out their skull," the outspoken mayor said Tuesday,
referring to officials at the British Airports Authority, which runs
Heathrow and London's other two airports, Gatwick and Stansted.

"What BAA has done is guarantee massive coverage of what was going to be a
minor encampment."


Now all the world, not just the Brits know all about the serious problems at
Heathrow.

Livingstone didn't limit his criticism to the protest row.

"Certainly Heathrow does shame London. It is typical of the English
short-termism, lack of planning, lack of investment," he said.

"Its quite clear the current management, and management before them, thought
they could keep people almost as prisoner in this ghastly shopping mall so
they can extract vast sums of money from them while they wait in appalling
conditions."

And you though airports in Canada and the US are awful.
When even the mayor must criticise the management, then you know conditions
are woefully substandard.

This is supposed to be Britain, not Russia.

A spokeswoman for BAA said the airport has been plagued by the lengthy legal
and planning process required for improvements. For example, the airport's
nearly completed fifth terminal was held up for 20 years by red tape.

Terminal 5 is to open in March and will allow the airport to raise its
annual passenger capacity by 30 million, said the spokeswoman, who spoke on
customary condition of anonymity.

Heathrow was designed to serve about 45 million passengers a year but now
sees around 68 million.

BAA also plans refurbishments, new inter-terminal transports and other
projects it says will make Heathrow a new airport by the 2012 Summer Games.

But Economics Secretary Kitty Ussher warned this week that the airport's
hassles could discourage business.

No doubt about it - customers will soon be BOYCOTTING Heathrow!!

"I don't want New York or Dubai executives saying 'Oh God, I don't want to
go through Heathrow,'" she was quoted as saying in The Financial Times.

Already people are saying this, and passing on this advice to others.

Sir Thomas Harris, vice chairman of Standard Chartered Capital Markets, told
the newspaper that Heathrow faces stiff competition from rival transport
hubs.

"There are lots of people who will fly through Amsterdam, Paris or Frankfurt
or do almost anything to avoid a Heathrow connection if they can," he said.

Right on - time to teach those stupid managers of Heathrow a lesson.

Why are they not being fired, and even prosecuted for their negligence?

Clearly, thinking that Heathrow is in USA-Canada, therefore posting this in
travel.usa-canada. Another substantiation that there are indeed those who
still maintain that once a Brit colony, always a Brit colony.

"Jean Valjean" wrote in message
...
Media worldwide have been reporting on the many THOUSANDS of
pieces of luggage now being lost daily at Heathrow!!

How do the airport authority plan on improving service?

Or, do they still get their exorbitant pay even though they are
obviously incompetent?

With all this bad publicity, passengers will sooner go to Manchester, or
even
Schiphol/Amsterdam, and then take a train, if they must go to London!!

Forget about people coming for the Olympics - it won't be happening.


On Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:19:01 +0200, Earl Evleth wrote:

Londoners fear misery at Heathrow with drive away visitors

The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 1, 2007

LONDON: London's ambition to overtake New York as the world's pre-eminent
city faces a big obstacle: its gateway, Heathrow Airport, is enough to
make
visitors feel like flying home before they even see Big Ben, Buckingham
Palace, or the financial superhub known as the City.

Notorious security checks, a labyrinthine layout, and shoddy service
combine
to form the "Heathrow Hassle."

With fears mounting of chaos when the city hosts the Olympics in 2012,
government officials and business figures are calling for urgent
improvements at the world's third-busiest airport.

In the past week, Heathrow has come under a barrage of criticism.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone called it a "shame" on London. A junior
government minister claims the airport is so infuriating that it could
hurt
London's business prospects. And a business executive remarked that some
people will do anything to avoid flying through Heathrow.

The airport once was a name that evoked the jet-set allure of
international
travel. In recent years, however, it's become associated more with
complaints about crowded terminals, long shuffles through security and
passport lines, lost luggage and a depressing decor.

The hammering began with news that Heathrow would seek a broad injunction
against protests planned at the airport for mid-August by groups opposed
to
plans to build a third runway, which opponents say would severely increase
noise and air pollution.

Green groups said the injunction was so broad that it would allow police
to
detain potential protesters not just at the airport but on parts of the
London Underground and railway network and sections of highways near
Heathrow.

"This is the mother of all injunctions. We've long known the airport
operators to be arrogant, but trying to ban 5 million people from coming
near them is conceited even by their standards," said John Stewart, the
chairman of the Hacan group that opposes the new runway.

Livingstone was livid.

"Someone there must be out their skull," the outspoken mayor said Tuesday,
referring to officials at the British Airports Authority, which runs
Heathrow and London's other two airports, Gatwick and Stansted.

"What BAA has done is guarantee massive coverage of what was going to be a
minor encampment."


Now all the world, not just the Brits know all about the serious problems
at
Heathrow.

Livingstone didn't limit his criticism to the protest row.

"Certainly Heathrow does shame London. It is typical of the English
short-termism, lack of planning, lack of investment," he said.

"Its quite clear the current management, and management before them,
thought
they could keep people almost as prisoner in this ghastly shopping mall so
they can extract vast sums of money from them while they wait in appalling
conditions."

And you though airports in Canada and the US are awful.
When even the mayor must criticise the management, then you know
conditions
are woefully substandard.

This is supposed to be Britain, not Russia.

A spokeswoman for BAA said the airport has been plagued by the lengthy
legal
and planning process required for improvements. For example, the airport's
nearly completed fifth terminal was held up for 20 years by red tape.

Terminal 5 is to open in March and will allow the airport to raise its
annual passenger capacity by 30 million, said the spokeswoman, who spoke
on
customary condition of anonymity.

Heathrow was designed to serve about 45 million passengers a year but now
sees around 68 million.

BAA also plans refurbishments, new inter-terminal transports and other
projects it says will make Heathrow a new airport by the 2012 Summer
Games.

But Economics Secretary Kitty Ussher warned this week that the airport's
hassles could discourage business.

No doubt about it - customers will soon be BOYCOTTING Heathrow!!

"I don't want New York or Dubai executives saying 'Oh God, I don't want to
go through Heathrow,'" she was quoted as saying in The Financial Times.

Already people are saying this, and passing on this advice to others.

Sir Thomas Harris, vice chairman of Standard Chartered Capital Markets,
told
the newspaper that Heathrow faces stiff competition from rival transport
hubs.

"There are lots of people who will fly through Amsterdam, Paris or
Frankfurt
or do almost anything to avoid a Heathrow connection if they can," he
said.

Right on - time to teach those stupid managers of Heathrow a lesson.

Why are they not being fired, and even prosecuted for their negligence?

"Jean Valjean" wrote in message
...

Forget about people coming for the Olympics - it won't be happening.

Yes it will.

You don't think the chance of an airport cock-up will put off someone who
wants the 'holiday of a lifetime' do you?

Most of the charter flights don't come into Heathrow anyway, they turn up
at Stanstead and Gatwick. The people on package tours won't even see
Heathrow if they're lucky

But the reality is that people who fly once a year when they go away on
holiday don't even consider the chance of a cock-up at the airport, that's
not what they're thinking about...

--
William Black


I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Barbeques on fire by the chalets past the castle headland
I watched the gift shops glitter in the darkness off the Newborough gate
All these moments will be lost in time, like icecream on the beach
Time for tea.

"Jean Valjean" wrote in message
...
Cretin, the article is being published worldwide, so that potential
tourists
to the UK know IN ADVANCE about the HORRORS of Heathrow.

When they know, they can then make an informed decision, such as to AVOID
Heathrow, and use a more civilised airport, whether Manchester, Schiphil,
Frankfurt and Paris even.

Guess you must be involved with all the problems including theft at
Heathrow,
what?

[chuckle] Of course not. I - unlike you - know my geography. Please
present your reasoned, logical, well geographically founded rationale for
posting about Heathrow in rec.travel.usa-canada, with supporting
references/links/citations. I anxiously await your scholarly explanation
why your post properly belongs in a newsgroup aimed at travel within USA and
Canada. The only plausible geographical one I can come up with is that you
really believe that Heathrow is in the USA/Canada...but far be it for me on
my part to put words in your mouth and I accordingIy wait to hear what you
have to say.

On Aug 2, 2:29 pm, "William Black"
wrote:
"Jean Valjean" wrote in message
Forget about people coming for the Olympics - it won't be happening.

Yes it will.


The Olympics is a separate issue from the airport. Interest in the
Olympics in a sport-saturated world has been steadily declining - both
in terms of visitors and TV ratings. The Olympics isn't special
anymore, when there are so many TV or cable or satellite channels that
show sport 24-7, and when you can watch almost any conceivable sport
frequently, not only once every four years.

You don't think the chance of an airport cock-up will put off someone who
wants the 'holiday of a lifetime' do you?


Of course it's ridiculous. As has been pointed out in other threads,
Heathrow is really not that bad when compared to many Third World
airports, or even many of the other large hub airports in the US and
Europe - New York-Kennedy, Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles-LAX, Athens,
Amsterdam-Schipol, Paris-CDG. There is heavy security and frequent
(but rarely long) delays, but it has a subway connection into central
London, and has plenty of shops to pass the time - what more do you
need from an airport really? Being inconvenienced for an extra half
hour in the airport is not a reason to avoid visiting one of the
world's most cultural, historic, and important cities.

Most of the charter flights don't come into Heathrow anyway, they turn up
at Stanstead and Gatwick. The people on package tours won't even see
Heathrow if they're lucky


Almost all visitors from the US take regular flights, not charters.
Most tours have people get to London on their own, and then start the
tour from there, once the Americans, Aussies, Japanese, etc. all get
to London.

"Iceman" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Aug 2, 2:29 pm, "William Black"
wrote:
"Jean Valjean" wrote in message
Forget about people coming for the Olympics - it won't be happening.

Yes it will.


The Olympics is a separate issue from the airport. Interest in the
Olympics in a sport-saturated world has been steadily declining - both
in terms of visitors and TV ratings. The Olympics isn't special
anymore, when there are so many TV or cable or satellite channels that
show sport 24-7, and when you can watch almost any conceivable sport
frequently, not only once every four years.

You don't think the chance of an airport cock-up will put off someone who
wants the 'holiday of a lifetime' do you?


Of course it's ridiculous. As has been pointed out in other threads,
Heathrow is really not that bad when compared to many Third World
airports, or even many of the other large hub airports in the US and
Europe - New York-Kennedy, Chicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles-LAX, Athens,
Amsterdam-Schipol, Paris-CDG. There is heavy security and frequent
(but rarely long) delays, but it has a subway connection into central
London, and has plenty of shops to pass the time - what more do you
need from an airport really? Being inconvenienced for an extra half
hour in the airport is not a reason to avoid visiting one of the
world's most cultural, historic, and important cities.

Most of the charter flights don't come into Heathrow anyway, they turn
up
at Stanstead and Gatwick. The people on package tours won't even see
Heathrow if they're lucky


Almost all visitors from the US take regular flights, not charters.
Most tours have people get to London on their own, and then start the
tour from there, once the Americans, Aussies, Japanese, etc. all get
to London.


I consider the Olympics, both the winter and the summer games, to beBORING,
BORING, BORING. I wouldn' cross the street to see an event even if I had
free tickets.

On Fri, 03 Aug 2007 05:48:10 GMT, "sharx35"
wrote:

I consider the Olympics, both the winter and the summer games, to beBORING,
BORING, BORING. I wouldn' cross the street to see an event even if I had
free tickets.

*yawn*

So pleased to hear that - we'll be likely to never meet.

There are few things more boring than people who list the
things that bore them.

Cheers, Alan, Australia
--
http://loraltraveloz.blogspot.com/

"Jean Valjean" a écrit dans le message
de ...
Media worldwide have been reporting on the many THOUSANDS of
pieces of luggage now being lost daily at Heathrow!!

How do the airport authority plan on improving service?

Or, do they still get their exorbitant pay even though they are
obviously incompetent?

With all this bad publicity, passengers will sooner go to Manchester, or
even
Schiphol/Amsterdam, and then take a train, if they must go to London!!

Forget about people coming for the Olympics - it won't be happening.


On Thu, 02 Aug 2007 17:19:01 +0200, Earl Evleth wrote:

Londoners fear misery at Heathrow with drive away visitors

The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 1, 2007

LONDON: London's ambition to overtake New York as the world's pre-eminent
city faces a big obstacle: its gateway, Heathrow Airport, is enough to
make
visitors feel like flying home before they even see Big Ben, Buckingham
Palace, or the financial superhub known as the City.

Notorious security checks, a labyrinthine layout, and shoddy service
combine
to form the "Heathrow Hassle."

With fears mounting of chaos when the city hosts the Olympics in 2012,
government officials and business figures are calling for urgent
improvements at the world's third-busiest airport.

In the past week, Heathrow has come under a barrage of criticism.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone called it a "shame" on London. A junior
government minister claims the airport is so infuriating that it could
hurt
London's business prospects. And a business executive remarked that some
people will do anything to avoid flying through Heathrow.

The airport once was a name that evoked the jet-set allure of
international
travel. In recent years, however, it's become associated more with
complaints about crowded terminals, long shuffles through security and
passport lines, lost luggage and a depressing decor.

The hammering began with news that Heathrow would seek a broad injunction
against protests planned at the airport for mid-August by groups opposed
to
plans to build a third runway, which opponents say would severely increase
noise and air pollution.

Green groups said the injunction was so broad that it would allow police
to
detain potential protesters not just at the airport but on parts of the
London Underground and railway network and sections of highways near
Heathrow.

"This is the mother of all injunctions. We've long known the airport
operators to be arrogant, but trying to ban 5 million people from coming
near them is conceited even by their standards," said John Stewart, the
chairman of the Hacan group that opposes the new runway.

Livingstone was livid.

"Someone there must be out their skull," the outspoken mayor said Tuesday,
referring to officials at the British Airports Authority, which runs
Heathrow and London's other two airports, Gatwick and Stansted.

"What BAA has done is guarantee massive coverage of what was going to be a
minor encampment."


Now all the world, not just the Brits know all about the serious problems
at
Heathrow.

Livingstone didn't limit his criticism to the protest row.

"Certainly Heathrow does shame London. It is typical of the English
short-termism, lack of planning, lack of investment," he said.

"Its quite clear the current management, and management before them,
thought
they could keep people almost as prisoner in this ghastly shopping mall so
they can extract vast sums of money from them while they wait in appalling
conditions."

And you though airports in Canada and the US are awful.
When even the mayor must criticise the management, then you know
conditions
are woefully substandard.

This is supposed to be Britain, not Russia.

A spokeswoman for BAA said the airport has been plagued by the lengthy
legal
and planning process required for improvements. For example, the airport's
nearly completed fifth terminal was held up for 20 years by red tape.

Terminal 5 is to open in March and will allow the airport to raise its
annual passenger capacity by 30 million, said the spokeswoman, who spoke
on
customary condition of anonymity.

Heathrow was designed to serve about 45 million passengers a year but now
sees around 68 million.

BAA also plans refurbishments, new inter-terminal transports and other
projects it says will make Heathrow a new airport by the 2012 Summer
Games.

But Economics Secretary Kitty Ussher warned this week that the airport's
hassles could discourage business.

No doubt about it - customers will soon be BOYCOTTING Heathrow!!

"I don't want New York or Dubai executives saying 'Oh God, I don't want to
go through Heathrow,'" she was quoted as saying in The Financial Times.

Already people are saying this, and passing on this advice to others.

Sir Thomas Harris, vice chairman of Standard Chartered Capital Markets,
told
the newspaper that Heathrow faces stiff competition from rival transport
hubs.

"There are lots of people who will fly through Amsterdam, Paris or
Frankfurt
or do almost anything to avoid a Heathrow connection if they can," he
said.

Right on - time to teach those stupid managers of Heathrow a lesson.

Why are they not being fired, and even prosecuted for their negligence?

"Runge3" wrote in message
...

"Jean Valjean" a écrit dans le
message de ...
Media worldwide have been reporting on the many THOUSANDS of
pieces of luggage now being lost daily at Heathrow!!

/snip/

ok...I give up. What exactly is your point of re-posting here in
rec.travel.usa-canada Jean Valjean's rec.travel.usa-canada entire Heathrow
tirade without - as far as I can determine - any comment from you?

"Greg Carver" wrote in message
...

Cretin, the article is being published worldwide, so that potential
tourists
to the UK know IN ADVANCE about the HORRORS of Heathrow.

When they know, they can then make an informed decision, such as to AVOID
Heathrow, and use a more civilised airport, whether Manchester, Schiphil,
Frankfurt and Paris even.

Guess you must be involved with all the problems including theft at
Heathrow,
what?

From: "Jean Valjean"
Newsgroups:
rec.travel.usa-canada,rec.travel.europe,uk.politics.misc,rec.trav el.air,soc.culture.europe,soc.culture.usa
Sent: Thursday, August 02, 2007 11:02 AM
Subject: Londoners fear misery at Heathrow will drive away visitors -
Time to BOYCOTT Heathrow


Cretin, the article is being published worldwide, so that potential
tourists
to the UK know IN ADVANCE about the HORRORS of Heathrow.

When they know, they can then make an informed decision, such as to AVOID
Heathrow, and use a more civilised airport, whether Manchester, Schiphil,
Frankfurt and Paris even.

Guess you must be involved with all the problems including theft at
Heathrow,
what?

/snip/

Fascinating - "Greg Carver" reproducing without any comment whatever (as
best I can determine) word for word, punctuation for punctuation everything
"Jean Valjean" posted on Thursday, 8/2/07 11:02 AM. One can but wonder
what point "Greg Carver" is attempting to make.