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BA moves to smooth Heathrow flight transfers

British Airways is pledging to improve passenger transfers between flights to ease connections at its Heathrow hub.

New vehicles have been drafted in to help travellers switch between flights at Heathrow Terminal 5.

The airline carries 123,000 passengers a day, with a large proportion transferring to other flights.

BA said: “When the airline knows lots of customers are transferring to the same flight, it will now arrange for a vehicle to transfer them to their next flight, cutting out the need for extra legwork.

“To help customers print out their boarding passes quickly and easily, new self-service kiosks have been set up in the flight connections area at T5.”

Chauffeur-driven executive cars will be made available for passengers travelling in first and business class, plus BA gold and silver executive club members, who are at risk of missing their onward connection.

“An initial trial has proved so popular that more vehicles are being added to the airline’s fleet,” BA said.

Dedicated connections managers have been employed to monitor flight arrivals. They will organise for passengers with tight connections to be contacted while they are in the air so they can be fast-tracked through flight connections and security checks.

Passengers who may miss their connection are now being re-booked with BA or any Oneworld alliance carriers while they are still in the air.

Information is relayed to cabin crew who can help travellers with their onward journey.

They are then met at the aircraft door by connections staff who provide them with a new boarding pass, refreshment vouchers and hotel booking if overnight accommodation is necessary.

BA head of customer at Heathrow, Tom Stevens, said: “We know how important it is for our customers to transfer through the airport quickly and smoothly, and all of these additional initiatives show them we’ll always go the extra mile to provide excellent customer service.”

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