Comment: Terminal transforming

Powering in from Paddington - the nightmare connection to West London I'll leave for another day - I was looking forward to my first visit to Heathrow's Terminal 1 since the cataclysmic opening of its shiny new neighbour, T5.

And indeed I took a sharp intake of breath, having braced myself for the usual morning rugby scrum of check-in desks heaving with queuing passengers replete with mountains of luggage.

Instead of a baying mob of humanity there was - relative - peace and tranquility; instead of irate customers forming lines outside the door - it's happened before - isolated groups of people glided about scarcely able to believe that this was Terminal 1.

The building however, is still very much a work in progress of course - just witness bmi's incandescent response to arch-rival British Airways (BA) delaying its T4-T5 move and thereby putting a huge spanner in Nigel Turner's plans to redevelop its prime Heathrow location.

Construction work is still very much in a transition phase as BA sorts its act out with T4 and T5, leaving the jigsaw puzzle still bereft of its key components.

And bmi, as the flag carrier of Star Alliance at Heathrow, is having an extremely frustrating wait as airlines such as Air New Zealand and United have their plans to move into T1 thwarted by the temporary halt in the airline merry-go-round.

There's a slightly Heath Robinson feel to the whole of T1 at the moment with a plethora of temporary signs and workmen scurrying around. But despite bmi”s grumbles, there is already a sense of anticipation that this could actually turn into something rather good.

Many of our European friends might scoff given their relatively efficient airports - I am writing this from the glorious Helsinki Vantaa Airport - all Scandi wood and glass in a cool (in both senses) environment that really works - but it was really with a sense of semi-disbelief that I and many others just strolled around the virtual savannah-like plains of T1 - just because we could.

There is still a rump of BA - it was handling my Finnair flight to Helsinki - and it took quite a while to locate what is left of the UK carrier in Zone R. It took even longer to locate the BA lounge that oneworld members can use however, although I proceeded to it in such a state of unexpected serenity that I really didn”t care.

But just in case anyone thinks I've gone all soft on Heathrow after years of labeling it among the worst airport experiences in the world, I have to agree with IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani, who this week lost no time in ensuring the UK's gateway airport continues to receive a thorough kicking.

Addressing IATA's 64th Annual General Meeting in Istanbul last week, Bisignani provided a grim reality check to both Heathrow and its regulators.

"This year's Worst Regulator Award goes to the UK Civil Aviation Authority,” he said. ”Look at Heathrow. Service levels are a national embarrassment but still the CAA increased charges by 50% in the last five years, and plan 86% for the next five. Could anyone in this room ask for a fare increase of 86%? Nobody. That only happens in Monopoly-land."

Ouch, take that CAA, and it's a timely reminder that despite all the potential for Heathrow, its root structures and charging framework remain a source of huge contention - just ask the airlines - and potential conflict for years to come.