NEWS: Heathrow Express unveils new trains and what’s planned for the future and BA single use plastic

Heathrow Express unveils new trains

Heathrow Express last week released the first images of their new fleet of trains which reveal a range of features including at-seat USB power, new Business First seating and work tables and a striking external livery.

I am a big fan of the Heathrow Express and thought it is is worth mentioning how cheap you can get tickets. People often think it is pricey, but it doesn’t have to be. If you book 90 days in advance, you can get tickets from a bargain £5.50 one way and kids under 15 travel free too! Did you know if you have a Railcard you can use it to discount Heathrow Express tickets?

The reason I like the Heathrow Express is not just because it is speedy at around 20 minutes from T5 to Paddington. It’s the fact that it is designed for airport travellers. So many train/tube services have nowhere to store luggage, bad Wi-Fi and are generally grubby and old. Heathrow Express always feels very premium to me, and I am already enjoying my upgrades to Business First thanks to my new BA GGL status. I also like the fact that if you have luggage, it is all step-free. There is free Wi-Fi as well as 4G connectivity and BBC news on the TV screens.

Due for launch from summer 2020, the fully electric trains will be made up of 12 units or 48 carriages which will form six trains each 160m long with a total of 374 seats including 44 Business First. 

The fleet of Class 387 trains are being specially converted to offer a bespoke experience for air travellers with plenty of room for luggage, onboard HD TVs, at-seat USB power sockets and faster single-sign-on Wi-Fi meaning customers can stay connected from Paddington to plane.

Heathrow Express Director Les Freer said: “Our new fleet of trains will offer the same fast, frequent and reliable Heathrow Express service for years to come. Complete with at seat USB power, fast Wi-Fi, ample luggage space and the option of Business First the new trains deliver a dedicated airport experience for both business and leisure travellers.”

The specially converted Class 387 trains will replace the current Class 332 fleet, which have been in service for 22 years carrying more than 115 million passengers over 44 million miles.

Originally built by Bombardier in Derby and having previously served customers on the GWR network, the specially converted fleet of Class 387s will be stored and maintained by GWR at their Reading depot as part of a partnership announced in March 2018.

I chatted to Heathrow Express Communications Director Nathan Harrison to find out what else Heathrow Express have planned. He revealed that they are looking at doing an integrated service with a car/taxi service so you could book your whole journey in one transaction. This is similar to Uber helicopter in New York where you book your transfer from your location to the airport which includes the helicopter ride. They are also looking at extending the number of airlines that you can add on a Heathrow Express ticket to your flight booking. Currently, you can only do this with Aer Lingus. 

BA single-use plastic reduction target

Being in this job, I can hardly describe myself as an eco-warrior, but one thing that I am passionate about is single-use plastics when they are other ways around it. Water bottles in hotels rooms is a good example where they could instead have glass bottles that they refill or have a water fountain for guest use.

So I was pleased to hear that British Airways have announced a new target to remove more than 700 tonnes of single-use plastic on board its flights in 2020. This amounts to more than a quarter of a billion individual items of plastic and equivalent to more than 30,000 suitcases full of single-use plastic, even more than the number of bags customers check in with the airline at Heathrow on an average day.

The airline has already rolled out initiatives to remove 25 million individual items of single-use plastic on board each year, equivalent to 90 tonnes, and has now set itself an ambitious target to increase this by more than 700%.

British Airways has been working closely with its suppliers to identify alternatives to single-use plastic items, and this year it will replace as many as possible with recyclable or reusable items or items from sustainable sources. To date, the airline has achieved the following plastic reductions: 

• Swapped plastic stirrers with bamboo alternatives 
• Reduced plastic packaging on Club World amenity kits
• Swapped plastic wrapping for all bedding and blankets for paper wrapping (currently being rolled out across all cabins)
• Removed plastic wrapping on headsets and instead placed these inside paper charity envelopes in World Traveller cabins 
• Water bottles on board are made from 50% recycled plastic
• Removed inflight retail plastic bags 

The target also includes finding alternatives to single-use plastic cutlery, tumblers, cups, toothpicks and butter packaging on board. The airline described the process of making these changes as complex, with a significant amount of research required to ensure that the alternative products sourced are credibly sustainable, offer the same hygiene levels as their plastic counterparts and do not outweigh the items they replace.

Kate Tanner, British Airways’ Customer Experience Manager, said:

“Our customers have told us that they want to see these changes and we’re pleased to have made real strides in our journey to becoming more sustainable. We’ve spent a long time researching how to make sustainable changes without causing environmental impact elsewhere. For instance, we are looking at the amount of water and detergent needed to wash metal cutlery and how often it needs to be replaced versus using plastic or bamboo cutlery.

“We’ve looked at how we ensure blankets and other items can be kept clean without a plastic covering and the lifespan of all the new items compared to the existing ones. Some potential replacement options may be heavier, which would then have an impact on the weight of the aircraft and therefore on our emissions, so we must ensure we are making the right choices on all replacements.”

To mark the new target, British Airways commissioned eco-artist Sarah Turner to create a giant suitcase made from a thousand pieces of waste plastic, including 160 spoons, more than a dozen plastic stirrers, drinks lids, plastic wrap, bubble wrap, catering dishes and covers and bottles. The sculpture, which represents the 30,000 suitcases worth of plastic waste being removed, is currently on display at British Airways’ Headquarters near Heathrow.