The new Heathrow Terminal 2 - home of Star Alliance

by Katie Edwards Heathrow Terminal 2

London, 22nd October 2014

Welcome to the New Heathrow Terminal 2!

The new Terminal 2 throws open its doors today to welcome South African Airways first passengers to depart from the terminal.

From the moment you arrive at T2 the journey has been designed to make life as easy as possible.

Passengers can check in on flysaa.com or via their mobile, to save time at the airport, and have more time to relax and enjoy the stunning new terminal and the choice of 33 retail shops and 17 restaurants

We're delighted to be moving from Heathrow's oldest terminal to its most modern one, one with state of the art facilities in a truly beautiful piece of architecture – a royal experience that echo's the title, Terminal 2, The Queen's Terminal.


 London, 19th October 2014

3 days left before our move to the new Heathrow T2!

FunFact#1: The entrance to your new Fast Track through security is less than 20m away from our Business Class check-in desks. Just about the same as 4 giraffe strides or 7 springbok jumps.

FunFact#2: Did you know that big cats can sleep up to 20 hours a day? Check-in online on flysaa.com or on your mobile to save time at the airport and have more time to relax and enjoy the stunning new Heathrow Terminal 2.

FunFact#3:Excited about your trip to South Africa? Update your Facebook status with 45 mins free Wifi in T2.

FunFact#4:Slipstream is the longest permanent sculpture to be built in Europe. The 76-metre, 77-tonne structure is suspended, appearing to float as if airborne.


London, 14th October 2014

From Wednesday 22nd October we will be moving into Heathrow's new Terminal 2, The Queen's Terminal, the new home of Star Alliance at London Heathrow.

Check-in on flysaa.com or via your mobile from 24 hours before you fly to save time at the airport and enjoy this remarkable new terminal.

Enjoy Terminal 2's stunning architectural features, fantastic restaurants and numerous shops. The 10 metre glass walls flood the terminal with natural light and there is also free wifi and a play area for young children.

SAA will be operating out of Terminal 2B which is connected to the main T2A by a moving walkway. T2B has additional shops including a currency exchange, pharmacy, coffee shop and duty free.

If you are a Premium Class passenger, you will now be whisked through Fast Track to enjoy one of theStar Alliance member lounges. The new Maple Leaf Lounge in T2B has large windows overlooking the airfield, a bistro, a spa-like shower and tv-equipped relaxation pods, providing a comfortable start to your journey.

Whether flying to London or making a connection, T2 will provide you with an unrivalled travel experienceand easy transfers with our Star Alliance partners and the largest route network in Southern Africa.


London, 17th June 2014


 


London, 6th June 2014

New Heathrow Terminal 2 opens!

The new Terminal 2 – the home of Star Alliance at Heathrow – threw open its doors to welcome its first passengers, marking the start of a new travel experience for the 12 million Star Alliance passengers who pass through this leading UK airport every year.

Star Alliance member airline United is the first to move in to the new facility, known as Terminal 2 | the Queen’s Terminal for her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. All 23 Star Alliance airlines operating Heathrow will move over the next six months: the first time all member airlines will be collocated at the airport.

The first flight to arrive at the new terminal was United's service UA 958 from Chicago, which landed at 05:43 local time and reached gate B38 at 05:49, six minutes ahead of schedule. The Boeing 767-300 had 178 passengers and 11 crew on board.

Terminal 2, designed by lead architect Luis Vidal, was jointly developed by Heathrow, Star Alliance and its member carriers, with the aim of establishing a true seamless hub at one of the world’s premier international airports. Optimised for today’s air traveller, the facilities of the 23 Star Alliance airlines are integrated to an unprecedented level – laying the groundwork for customer service excellence. Once all airlines are in residence, connections for transfer passengers will be smoother than ever before at Heathrow, with a standardised minimum connection time of just 60 minutes.

Move dates for the remaining 22 airlines have been carefully planned to ensure that each group of airlines has time to embed its operations before the next set of carriers moves in. Air Canada, Air China and ANA will be the next new occupants, transferring their operations to T2 from June 18th. In July, Aegean, EVA Air, THAI, and Turkish Airlines will move in, together with Avianca – which will launch a service between London and Bogota on July 4th. After a break for the European summer holiday period, moves will resume in September with EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines and Singapore Airlines. Then finally, October sees the arrival of Air New Zealand, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, South African Airways, SWISS and TAP Portugal. SAA are set to begin operations in October.

The 23 Star Alliance airlines serving Heathrow are Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca*, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines,South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI, and United. Together they operateover 121 flights per day to 45 destinations in 25 countries. Each of these flights acts as a gateway to the full Alliance network of more than 18,000 daily flights to 1,269 airports in 193 countries.

The strong Star Alliance hub at Heathrow is expected to act as a catalyst for growth in global passenger traffic to London and to increase the attractiveness of Heathrow as an international transfer airport. It will enhance Heathrow’s standing for the truly frequent international traveller. *Note: Avianca will commence service between Bogota and London-Heathrow in July 2014.

>>>Discover T2 opening in pictures here


London, 8th May 2014

Heathrow Terminal 2 Trial Day

We were very proud to help with the testing of the new Terminal 2.

Heathrow Terminal 2 Trial Day

>>>See more pictures here


London, 11th December 2013

Terminal 2 is 'construction complete' - take a sneak peek inside!

Star Alliance Heathrow Terminal 2

From today, the latest part of Heathrow’s transformation, Terminal 2 : The Queen's Terminal, comes to the end of its construction phase and moves into testing and commissioning.

The ‘core’ of the main terminal building (T2A), satellite terminal (T2B) and phase one of the multi-storey car park are all construction complete with some work continuing behind hoardings to finish programme change areas and retail stores.

This means that those people visiting the terminal will experience it just as our passengers will next year, without the need for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and with the vast majority of the building looking complete and ready to operate.

This is the culmination of years of planning, and the expertise of tens of thousands of construction experts who delivered to a high quality and set a new benchmark for construction safety in the UK. At Heathrow the work was led by Development Director Steve Livingstone, T2A Project Director Duncan Pickard, T2B Project Director Julian Foster and Landside Projects Lead Andy Weber.

Now the terminal is construction complete and has become Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) free, it will be progressively handed over to operational teams. The rigorous programme of familiarisation, testing and trialling is already well underway with 40 trials already complete and more than 100 trials involving thousands of volunteers to be completed, as planned, by 4 June 2014, all PPE free.

Trialling, testing and training will take priority over all other activities until we open, so we can make the opening as smooth as possible for our passengers. A team of 16 trainers and 32 hosts will deliver a memorable familiarisation experience to the 24,000 people from 160 organisations who will work in the new terminal. The programme has been designed to make sure that everyone has been familiarised in their new environment and trained in their new facilities before the terminal opens, so they’re able to do their jobs confidently and with pride from day one.

Terminal 2 : The Queen’s Terminal will welcome its first passengers on 4 June 2022 and will be home to Heathrow’s Star Alliance airlines plus Aer Lingus, Virgin Atlantic Little Red and Germanwings. Once fully operational, two thirds of Heathrow passengers will be travelling through new terminals and the rest through refurbished terminals.

Terminal 2 construction in numbers:

  • 5.5 million hours without a reportable accident or injury
  • 35,000 people involved in the construction
  • 30,000 - light fittings
  • 4.3 kilometres of baggage belts
  • 5,700 - gate area seats
  • 1,800 - CCTV cameras
  • 2,000 water sprinklers
  • 99% - of the old Terminal 2 recycled or reused
  • £2.5billion - total investment in Terminal 2

London, 12th December 2012

Heathrow has announced that the new Terminal 2 will be the home for all Star Alliance member carriers when it opens in 2014. The announcement means that at Heathrow, Star Alliance members will offer the best passenger facilities of any major hub in Europe and will be the new home to South African Airways.

Vuyisile Kona, Acting Chief Executive Officer at South African Airways comments: “We are delighted with today’s announcement by Heathrow. For many years South African Airways has led the way by investing in new products and services that we offer our customers.  We believe our move into what will effectively be Heathrow’s newest terminal, will offer our customers an unrivalled passenger experience upon arrival, on departure and also when connecting with our Star Alliance partners.”

“By joining up our extensive network of over thirty destinations in Southern Africa with our Star Alliance partners at Heathrow,” continues Kona, “South African Airways will continue to offer our customers an amazing experience and will reinforce our position as South Africa’s most awarded carrier.”  

Once the new Terminal 2 opens in 2014, the 23 Star Alliance member carriers operating at Heathrow will move in various stages from their current locations. South African Airways currently operates out of Terminal 1. Star Alliance is the second largest alliance at Heathrow, offering more than 21 per cent of all available seat capacity from the airport. 

Now the way is clear for the creation of a true alliance terminal, which will offer many innovative features. The latest technology as well as integrated facilities and aligned processes among the member carriers will contribute to significantly improve the traveller’s experience. Moreover, having all Star Alliance members collocated in Terminal 2 will allow the minimum connecting time between flights to be halved to just 45 minutes, thereby increasing the number of possible flight connections by 31 per cent.

South African Airways was one of the original Star Alliance partners that began work with Heathrow to create an Integrated Terminal.

Star Alliance commended the announcement by Heathrow Airport to designate Terminal 2 as the new home for its member carriers serving one of the world’s most important international airports. “We are delighted by today’s decision, which gives the green light for creating a new travel experience for our customers and allows our member airlines to operate an efficient hub in London,” said Mark Schwab, CEO Star Alliance. “After many years of intensive planning for a world leading alliance terminal together with Colin Matthew’s team at Heathrow, we can now shift into implementation mode.

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