Aviation News — February 2018

Wi-Fi and tea and coffee-making facilities. 

Odd-numbered rooms on the upper  oors

( fth, sixth or seventh) offer panoramic views

of the eastern half of the airport. between

the British Airways maintenance base and

Terminal 2, and its remote concourse in

the central area.  The parking stands at

Terminals 3, 4 and 5 are not visible, but

all inbound and outbound movements on

Runways 27L and 27R can be seen.  When

the aircraft movements are in an easterly

direction, most landings are on Runway 09L

and, unfortunately, the aircraft turn off before

coming into view, while many departures off

Runway 09R are rather high.

PHOTOGRAPHY

The triple-glazed windows do not open

but are distortion-free, fairly clean, and are

large enough for two people to photograph

from.  The north-facing view is suitable for

photography throughout most of the day. 

Aircraft landing on Runway 27L touchdown

right in front of the hotel – a 200mm lens

(1.3x crop body) is ideal for larger widebodies,

while 400mm is necessary for smaller jets

such as Airbus A320s, Boeing 737s and the

increasing visits of the Bombardier C Series

 own by Swiss.  Departures from Terminal

4 come even closer on the taxiway (around

70mm for the Airbus A380s of Etihad Airways

or Qatar Airways, for example). 

The hotel has a pleasant, roomy bar and

restaurant on the  rst  oor, with food and

drink offered at similar prices to pubs in the

area, and there is a coffee bar and sandwich

shop in the lobby. 

Bookings can be made through the hotel’s

website.  After receiving a con rmation

reference, an email requesting an upper-

 oor airport-facing room should be sent to

reservations.londonheathrowt4@whitbread.

com and staff will endeavour to allocate the

best available, but speci c rooms cannot be

guaranteed.

The Premier Inn Terminal 4’s panoramic

vistas over the air eld and its northerly

facing perspective make it ideal for

photography and an excellent choice for a

room with a view at Heathrow.

HOTEL DETAILS

Floors: 7

Rooms: 613

Rating: Budget Hotel Chain

Transport to/from airport: Covered walkway

from Terminal 4. Heathrow Hoppa bus to other

terminals (£5 one way, £9 return).  Free transfers

from T4 to other terminals via the Heathrow

Express rail service.  Free local buses round the

airport perimeter, including to Hatton Cross London

Underground station.

Parking: Valet £16.50 per night.

Internet access: Standard Wi-Fi free. High-speed

Wi-Fi £5 per night.

Website: http://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/hotels/

england/greater-london/london/london-heathrow-

airport-terminal-4.html

Telephone: +44 0871 622 2414

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 57

Qatar Airways Airbus A380-861 A7-APF (c/n 189) taxies from Terminal 4 to the holding

point for Runway 27L via Taxiway S on the southern perimeter, at 1500hrs. The photograph

was taken with a 100mm lens using a 1.3x crop sensor body. All photos BravoNovember /

AviationImageNetwork unless stated

Seconds from touchdown on Runway 27L: Airbus A350-941 ET-ATQ (c/n 40) at the conclusion

of  ight ET710 from Addis Ababa. British Airways’ Technical Block C and the eastern

maintenance area is in the background. It is not possible to see further up the approach path,

and photographs such as this require a 300mm lens.

Egyptair Boeing 777-36NER SU-GDL (c/n 38284) commences its take-off roll from Runway 27L on

November 5. Rooms are available from 1400hrs and the daily runway swap takes place an hour later,

enabling photographers to capturing both arrivals and departures. The hangar in the background,

known as ‘The Cathedral’, is to be demolished to make way for an extension to Terminal 2.

The upper- oor rooms offer views across the air eld to Runway 27R. Jet Airways Boeing 777-35R/ER VT-JEU (c/n 35160) is using Taxiway A

before departing on a late-morning  ight to Mumbai, and was photographed with a 200mm lens.

56-57_rwav_heathrowDC.mf.indd 57 05/01/2018 16:07