Gatwick Airport opens new gates for arriving domestic passengers – no more buses

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

• krys_k says:

  26 Jul26 July 05:40

  WiFi in the air! How I dislike this concept. One of benefits of flying was Being cut off from the world and the peace that it brings. Truth is though, I refuse to use it. Even for personal browsing. But get how to others it’s the bee’s knees.

  • John says:

    26 Jul26 July 05:51

    You can achieve peace by waking up at 4am on a rainy day.

    • Rob says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:27

      Not if the reason is a urine-soaked child that has decided to crawl in bed beside you, in my experience.

      • BJ says:

        26 Jul26 July 09:06

        Be careful, you’ll be scaring @Genghis

        • Genghis says:

          26 Jul26 July 15:52

          🙂 We’ve got that to come, I’m sure…

      • Alex M says:

        26 Jul26 July 09:29

        It could be worse if it was a flat bed in business class, for which you paid thousands, and the child was not yours. For clarity – I did not have such experience in the past.

  • BJ says:

    26 Jul26 July 06:51

    My perspective is completely different. 3-4 years back I flew EDI-AUH in Etihad economy as something of an experiment to see how I’d get on long haul economy after flying business for years. It was my first experience of inflight wifi and I must say I loved it, I was in AUH before I knew where I was. A much better way to pass the time if you don’t sleep than IFE or handling a newspaper in an economy seat. However, I have not flew economy since, wifi alone is not enough to make me sit in economy for 12-15h.

    • Ben says:

      26 Jul26 July 09:39

      My main concern with WiFi in planes is people making phone calls. The last thing you want is the whole cabin on their phones for a flight?

      • Rhys says:

        26 Jul26 July 09:44

        Some airlines choose to block calling services. I believe it’s a requirement in US airspace!

        • Lady London says:

          26 Jul26 July 12:56

          Sadly, thinking about the little we truly know about how 9/11 went down I don’t blame them.

        • Callum says:

          26 Jul26 July 14:27

          It’s got nothing to do with 9/11 (not that I see how making a phone call would have been particularly useful – what can you convey on the phone that you can’t text?) or security. It’s because people find it annoying.

        • RakishDriver says:

          26 Jul26 July 20:13

          Onboard WiFi is allowed in the US – it is onboard cellular services that must automatically cease when approaching US airspace.
          Some airlines exercise the option to block incoming calls and sms. Some block data roaming to prevent bill shock.

      • Kipto says:

        26 Jul26 July 11:01

        My son flew in F with us to Washington in April. Last month he flew to Buenos Aires in economy with Norwegian Airlines. I asked him how the flight was and he said, “ Great, we had wi-fi all the way “
        Different priorities for different people.

  • Spaghetti Town says:

    26 Jul26 July 09:56

    I also don’t use the inflight wifi – I quite enjoy the peace away from everything.

    • Alex Sm says:

      27 Jul27 July 11:19

      Same logic about the tube worked for some time but now is out of date. And many people do work on planes, so it’s better to have an option but whether to exercise it or not – up to an individual

• John says:

  26 Jul26 July 06:16

  Wonder if today’s storms will affect the flight.

  • Bird Drops says:

    26 Jul26 July 07:02

    Maybe BA will drop the flight. And then then this drop will be dropped onto Instagram. Or the dropping of passengers from the dropped flight will be ‘dropped’. Is that dropped as in dropped or dropped as in dropped though?

  • AJA says:

    26 Jul26 July 07:20

    It could literally rain on the parade.

    I hope the event is successful, BA has invested heavily in this new product and it would be a shame if it doesn’t go to plan.

    I have a soft spot for BA despite BA’s poor handling of all the strife between pilots and BA and potential strike action by cabin crew too. It really is down to the actions of the 2 at the top.
    I just hope they all come to some mutually acceptable agreement.

    • Shoestring says:

      26 Jul26 July 08:11

      The last BALPA strike was in 1979, ie 40 years ago – I’d characterise industrial relations between BA and its pilots as generally rather harmonious 🙂

      • AJA says:

        26 Jul26 July 11:28

        Agreed. For clarity perhaps I should have inserted the word “current” before the word “strife” in my original post?

        It’s raining again here in west London as I type so looks like being a wet welcome for the A350. 🙁

• MT says:

  26 Jul26 July 06:57

  I used the Super WiFi on a recent flight, cost $10 for the 10 hour flight and I have to say I was impressed. I didn’t stream any content but did do some remote work that usually struggles on slower connections. I felt it was very good value.

  Now if Qatar would get the QSuites rollout sorted on the 77W they really would be my default option, so far ahead of the other options in hard product and the food was better than anything I have had in BA First in years!

• Boi says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:28

  OT:
  Re: IDC and UK MR accounts. I am trying to decide which way I should move them…..is there any sweet spots I should consider on Singapore Airlines travelling to North America? Also might go to Asia next year but have never used SQ. apologies for what might be stupid question.
  Hubby and I each have 35K in IDC accounts. We have more in the UK scheme. I wanted to transfer and close either at some point coz no point in keeping 2 plat cards with same benefits. (I mainly spend on SPG in UK, going to USA in August and will be going again in October).

  Also has anyone got the IDC pro-rata refund? I ask because my $550 fee earned MR and counted towards spend target which isn’t the case in uk.

  And Caxton fx worked…..

  Sorry for long post.

  • meta says:

    26 Jul26 July 07:52

    You wouldn’t want to move to UK account because you’ll lose value, especially with current exchange rate. If you move to IDC, you’ll get 24% more as per current exchange rate. You might want to wait for it to improve a bit.

    Regarding Singapore Airlines, depends on where in Asia. You might want to take a look at routes which have new Suites. For example, Singapore-Tokyo NRT. But real sweet spot is actually Europe to Middle East. You could try Lufthansa First to North America but it will have to be last minute.

    Perhaps you can downgrade to Green. Though there is still $100 fee and an extra $36 for MR account in second year.

    • Boi says:

      26 Jul26 July 11:44

      Thanks Meta

  • Bagoly says:

    26 Jul26 July 08:20

    I used to use Caxton FX but there are now competitors with much tighter spreads: currencyfair, revolut, transferwise, midpoint

    • Boi says:

      26 Jul26 July 11:02

      How did you use Revolut? My payment was returned when I tried it.

• Andrew says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:37

  I wonder if after the aircraft has been safely delivered today they will finally announce officially the Madrid flights it will he used on in August. I keep checking the seat map for my booking and it’s still showing the A319. At least with this new £1 cancellation thing I’ll not be out of pocket if the speculation on which flights are going to be A350 is wrong.

• Stu N says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:47

  Good news on domestic arrivals at Gatwick, as long as the small number of gates that can handle domestics are actually used for them.

  IMO it’s the best of the London airports for people with BA status for departures. The priority check-in is always quick, Fast Track is invariably proper fast and the Business and First lounges are much better than the Heathrow equivalents. With the improvements to the rail service from City/ London Bridge, it’s my airport of choice. Helps that fares are often significantly cheaper than LCY/LHR too.

  • Andrew says:

    26 Jul26 July 09:23

    It’s about time!

    Gatwick’s domestic arrivals have been a disgrace for years.

  • Rob says:

    26 Jul26 July 10:40

    V good news for domestics – gates 1-5 much closer than the long trudge along the main pier at LGW…. So next question is – when will Gatwick allow airside transfers from domestic to international? I don’t quite get the terminal geography, but gates 1-5 should make it possible – just a door and a scan, as at the long escalator at T5? Coming soon? Surely….?

  • Stu N says:

    26 Jul26 July 12:04

    Domestic arrivals at gates 1-5 don’t necessarily mean domestic departures will leave from there.

    • Rob says:

      27 Jul27 July 12:09

      Flew to EDI from gate 5 a couple of weeks ago, so it may be becoming a pattern.
      However, that’s not the problem. Domestic to international at T5 does not go through security again at Heathrow, whereas Gatwick bussing and layout means going landslide and back through security if you are connecting from domestic through to international flights.
      With luck, the new arrangement will make airside connections possible outbound. Inbound, of course, still involves going through the border and security…..That said, Gatwick Premium is pretty good.

• Roger says:

  26 Jul26 July 07:56

  When are BA publishing official LHR-MAD schedule?

  • Rob says:

    26 Jul26 July 08:23

    Good question, would have assumed it would be there now but not.

• Lyn says:

  26 Jul26 July 08:30

  O/T My OH will be using the First Wing for the first time to check-in for a long haul First flight. I have several basic questions and would be very grateful if anyone could help.

  How long beforehand can he check-in? Could I accompany him if I am taking either a domestic or short haul BA flight a little later than his? Am I likely to be able to join him in the Concorde Room?

  How are domestic flights handled at T5 – as in are areas of the terminal segregated for domestic flights? His flight would be likely to depart from the B or C terminals and mine from A. I could normally accompany him to B/C and then walk back through the tunnel to A if I was on a short-haul flight, but does this also work if I am on a domestic flight?

  • TGLoyalty says:

    26 Jul26 July 08:56

    He can check in whenever he wishes.

    Unless he’s a gold card holder (I’m assuming he’s not CCR for the Concorde lounge) I don’t believe he has any guesting abilities at either the first wing or the lounge.

    • Stu N says:

      26 Jul26 July 09:04

      This isn’t correct – different rules for F, you get a guest even if no status.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        26 Jul26 July 10:48

        Ah OK. I just looked at the BA lounge rules and it only mentioned a guest for card holders.

        However, I see flyertalk has a far more comprehensive guide and it does say “BA Concorde Room: Ticket holder and one guest. Both must be flying BA” and “BA owned Club/First lounge:
        Ticket holder and one guest. Both the ticket holder and guest must be travelling on a oneworld operated and marketed flight, though not necessarily on the same flight or same carrier.”

        BA First/Club pre-flight dining and Arrivals lounge are Ticket holder only.

  • Stu N says:

    26 Jul26 July 09:02

    How long beforehand can he check-in?

    —any time same day

    Could I accompany him if I am taking either a domestic or short haul BA flight a little later than his? Am I likely to be able to join him in the Concorde Room?

    —yes flying F you can take a guest via F check-in and into Concorde Room. The guest doesn’t need to be on same flight as host.

    How are domestic flights handled at T5 – as in are areas of the terminal segregated for domestic flights?

    —- there are specific gates in T5A that handle domestic flights, usually low-numbered gates but can be A10 (buses) or A21-22-23ish. The terminal isn’t segregated, they do a biometric scan when you enter security and again at boarding.

    His flight would be likely to depart from the B or C terminals and mine from A. I could normally accompany him to B/C and then walk back through the tunnel to A if I was on a short-haul flight, but does this also work if I am on a domestic flight?

    —- yes, but then you won’t get back into CCR. You definitely need to walk back, the transit will deposit you at immigration. NB Strictly you should be accompanied by your host in CCR but if he/ she were to leave earlier and you stayed in CCR then no-one would kick you out. Depends whether you prefer your partner or free champagne and cocktails…

    • Ben says:

      26 Jul26 July 09:44

      Just on the back of this – If I am Gold but my partner is Blue can we still both use the First Wing if flying in Y?

      • Spaghetti Town says:

        26 Jul26 July 09:58

        yes.

    • Lyn says:

      26 Jul26 July 12:29

      Thanks Stu N and TGLoyalty for the very helpful information. Now I can get on with booking my own flight.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.