Heathrow launches ‘upgrade’ initiative
Heathrow Airport is set to launch an ‘upgrade’ option for passengers who want VIP treatment when passing through the airport.
Passengers will get personal assistance from the airport’s team of Heathrow Helpers, expertly trained staff wearing purple uniforms.
For £9 passengers can get their own porter to carry up to five bags to the check-in desk or from the luggage carousel, and all the way to or from their train, car or coach.
If passengers would like a Meet & Assist service (departing or arriving) this starts from £100 for two people and includes meeting them straight from your car/taxi or flight and assisting and guiding them throughout the terminal before they get on their flight.
The Heathrow Helpers are also generally available across the airport to assist passengers who have not paid for the ‘upgrade’.
They are equipped with ‘tool belts’ with ‘all the necessary equipment to respond to the most popular passenger requests’, including cuddly toys to keep young children happy and technology chargers for business travellers.
Between them, the dedicated team can speak over 38 languages.
According to Heathrow, one passenger found a Helper so ‘wonderful’, they ended up marrying them.
The airport launched the upgrade initiative as it revealed the strangest passenger requests from the past 10 years.
Here goes:
1. Can I bungee jump from your control tower?
2. I am heading to Tower Hill; can I try the Crown Jewels on there?
3. What’s the difference between a toilet and a loo?
4. Are there ATM’s in central London? Can you mark them on my map?
5. Where can I exchange currency for some Scottish dollars?
6. Will most people speak English during my holiday in London?
7. Where can I see James Bond’s house?
8. Will I be able to see Beefeaters in the street?
9. Can I drink the water here?
10. Do I need to change the time on my watch or will it change automatically when I fly?
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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