moneypenny20

Does anyone care? Apparently some bimbo in the US has tried to copyright the word Bananas. WTH is that all about?

Notts_bloke

Talking about Gladiators is more interesting than the subject topic to be honest.

Notts_bloke

Haha I didn't know that. I wonder if he called him a smeghead.

renth

Yeah, my Mrs. almost made it on she was doing really well at the auditions but had never been on a running machine before and fell off the back - no second chances. She would have been brilliant. She would have beaten the crap out of all the female gladiators.

Rainydaze

LAX is basically just a warehouse. Full of hyper paranoid/aggressive jobsworths. It's the Twilight Zone.

DadAgain

Last year I travelled back to Heathrow T5 and thought it was AWESOME. Easily the best (large) airport experience I've had - got bags in no time at all, no queues at passport control and strolled out to meet my dad who was parked just a few yards away by the door....

Coming back we walked striaght up to a baggage check in desk with no queue, strolled through the security checks with no queues and had a pleasant meander around the usual overpriced shops for a while before sitting on workable chairs (not super comfy lounge chairs - but acceptable) at the gate. No complaints from me at all - makes me want to chose to fly BA every time just to get that terminal!

By comparion:

Sydney had us queued for ages (the inevitable queue for the quarantine check in case god-forbid someone might have tried to smuggle in a piece of cheese or other dangerous contraband) and was grubby and unpleasant.

Brisbane although clean and pleasant always suffers from long check-in and passport queues.

Paris had us baffled looking for check-in desks with no signage whatsoever, a gate that was no more than a small grey room with fold up deck-chairs?! and a complete lack of any facilities whatsoever. Worst airport in the world? Paris-CDG EASILY!!!!

This year of course I'm going to Heathrow T4 (thanks to Qantas 'kids4free' fares) - so I may understand the anti-heathrow sentiment a little better! (Although I dont remember having any issues with Heathrow T1, T2, T3 or T4in the past)

MartinLuther

But did they lay on some chirping bluebirds?

MartinLuther

Completely agree. Worse than JFK.

SNH

Heathrow's even worse when you're travelling on a non-EU passport.

You are interrogated like a terrorist and treated like you're not even human.

The place is a mess too - the last time I was there we were walking through construction sites; the roof and walls were stained and falling apart; barriers were made out of flimsy pieces of string.

And on top of that it's staffed by the rudest people you will ever find.

DadAgain

My wife never has any problems - she joins me and the kids in the "EU passports " queue and we go through without any issues... (never a word of complaint from the passport officer as they stamp her non-EU Australian passport and wave us through with a smile)...

Obviously I've caught people on 'good days' and you've caught them on 'bad days' - I hear lots of stories of rudeness from BA and BAA staff - but in all my time I've never had an issues with Heathrow (..Gatwick - theres another story....)

jimmie2807

made even worse when flying from Singapore which is probably the best airport in the world and easily the best I have been to by a very very considerable distance

fraser

I like Heathrow, always have. Although we're going to have to queue with the non EU as the boys only have Aussie passports

quoll

Never had a problem with Heathrow. When we arrived recently, DS and I went through EU passport channel and DIL and DGD went through aliens. The chap she had was very sweet and told her that next time she should go through the EU channel as we were obviously a family together.

Obviously with a huge airport you are going to get transfer issues but personally I find the staff and the process at Sydney transferring to domestic to be far more annoying. I have met some really surly busdrivers on that transfer - talk about jobsworths

fraser

So would you say it's definitely worth trying to all go through the EU one?

MartinLuther

I've been told (although not experienced this myself) that you are allowed through the EU channel if some of the family has UK passports.