"Welcome to the faux Terminal 6"

Monday, December 24, 2007

Welcome to the faux Terminal 6  
By Roger Yu
USA TODAY


Flanked by the Spice Girls, Virgin Atlantic founder Richard Branson recently
touted the opening of his carrier's Terminal 6 at London Heathrow. 
The only problem is that the building in question is not new, and the
airport has only four terminals, plus a fifth under construction. 

So it was a bit of a fib, but it was the flamboyant billionaire's way of
highlighting some renovations in Virgin Atlantic's Terminal 3 while needling
British Airways over its much-hyped Terminal 5, which is set to open in
March.

Virgin Atlantic completed Terminal 3 renovations on Dec. 13. The carrier
cleared out an old check-in hall for economy classes and remodeled it to
accommodate the increase in passengers using the Web or self-service kiosks
to check in. It features 29 kiosks. Airline agents roam the area to assist
passengers with the machines and baggage check. 

The terminal's remodeled second floor is dedicated to business-class
customers, who have their own check-in area, security lanes and clubhouse.
It also features valet check-in: Passengers can drive up to the building,
unload bags and get a boarding pass.


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