Airport Luxe: New Terminals Spare No Expense

Big changes are coming to London's Heathrow Airport. Two major airlines with routes to the United States are upgrading terminal facilities at the hub airport that is a major gateway to Europe for many Americans.

A sneak peek at the new British Airways Terminal 5 which will have an outdoor plaza with trees, fountains and an outdoor café.

(British Airways)
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The first, and perhaps biggest change, comes from British Airways, which on March 27 opens its long-anticipated Terminal 5. The new terminal is filled with light, offers a first-class lounge with a cinema and a view of Windsor Castle and Wembley Stadium.

Virgin Atlantic has already opened its new Terminal 3 at Heathrow. The airline is selling the smaller terminal as a place where passengers have "a seamless and simple journey through the airport."

A British Airways Boeing 747 approaches its stand on Heathrow's new Terminal 5.

"We are also pleased to be able to open our facilities to the public months before BA opens the giant Terminal 5," Richard Branson, president of Virgin Atlantic said in a statement. "We think our new facility goes to show that bigger is not always better, as our passengers will benefit from shorter distances between their check-in and security checks."

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One Big Building

To say that Terminal 5 is big would be a massive understatement. The terminal is five times the size of Terminal 4, the airline's current base for long-haul flights.

The new terminal cost about $8.5 billion to build and was designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership. Its distinctive roof is likely to become a landmark on the Heathrow Airport skyline.

Terminal 5 has a new air traffic control tower, a 3,800-space parking garge, a 605-bed hotel directly connected to the terminal building and a total of 60 aircraft stands -- 14 of which have been designed for the new Airbus A380, the double-decker jet that has replaced the 747 as the world's largest passenger aircraft.

The design of the new terminal has been praised by the British press. The Guardian newspaper said the terminal is "an architectural and engineering tour de force that raises the standards of British airport design 100 percent." The Daily Mirror called it "an awe-inspiring temple to the twin gods of air travel and shopping."