Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
THIS is one article that has been doomed from the start. I first made contact with British Airways in early 2008 requesting the opportunity to enlighten GulfWeekly's readers about British Airways' new Heathrow home at Terminal 5.
I could clearly recall the miserable experience I had endured on my first trip to Bahrain to meet my new colleagues using the old Terminal 4.
It really stunk. The seats were missing from all the dirty stalls in the gent's toilet in the departure area, the mirror was cracked and there was no soap in the washbasin dispenser.
The queues at check-in and security were mind numbingly long; the staff members were arrogant and rude and despite it being just before Christmas, the only decoration I spotted was a pitiful old plastic Christmas tree hidden round a corner, out of the way.
There was no comparison to the wonders and delights awaiting passengers at little Bahrain International Airport with Santa in full swing on his slay surrounded by a marvellous display of lights.
The public relations company I was dealing with at the time confidently promised me that my visit could be accommodated in May 2008, "which means you will still be the first publication in Bahrain to visit T5 the very first week of its opening", the account manager said.
It was 20 years in the planning, cost BD2.6 billion to build and its staff underwent six months' training before it opened.
But none of that could prevent the first day's operation at Heathrow's Terminal 5 descending into chaos after the baggage system collapsed.
Thousands of passengers had their travel plans disrupted and British Airways was forced to cancel at least 34 flights in and out of the terminal.
In a big embarrassment for Heathrow's owner BAA and the UK's flag carrier, travellers were restricted to carrying hand luggage only. Early glitches saw thousands of BA customers fly off without their bags, suffer delays at luggage carousels or have their flights cancelled following a catalogue of errors.
The situation worsened in the afternoon as airport sources said the entire baggage handling operation had 'fallen down', triggering angry scenes at BA information desks as passengers deluged staff with complaints after baggage check-in was suspended.
Just hours after BA's chief executive, Willie Walsh, had toured the terminal promising a new era for Heathrow travel, the airline was forced to apologise once again for farcical conditions at Britain's biggest and busiest airport.
My press trip was cancelled.
It was some months later that BA announced that flights from Bahrain would be landing at Terminal 5 and I put my request in again to sample its delights and tell readers of my travelling experience.
By this time the agency promoting the airline in Bahrain had changed and my request had to go over the various hurdles such as 'no, you cannot see the article before it appears in the paper, I will write an honest account of what I find, take it or leave it, etc...etc...'
The tickets were booked and my pre-festive short stay in London was arranged.
As I queued at Bahrain airport to book in I chatted to an American Saudi Aramco worker who was flying back to the States to his heavily pregnant wife.
He told me he was travelling through Heathrow for the first time in many years despite vowing never to use the airport again because its inconsistent service made it impossible to reliably book connecting flights. But he had heard that BA had improved considerably and was willing to give it another chance.
Ouch, I felt for him as I nodded off in the airport lounge after it was announced that the flight had been delayed for 'technical' reasons by a couple of hours.
But thanks to the wonders of long haul travel much of the lost time was swiftly made up on route and we touched down at Heathrow in good spirits after a comfortable journey.
Terminal 5 still has that spanking new look about it - very futuristic in design with an array of bare pipes and tubes on display even though I think the designers may have overdosed on the colour grey.
But slick service was the word and this is one critic who was soon mightily impressed by its boring but brilliant functionality - lifts and escalators were spacious and fast, an electric train trip to passport control and baggage waiting to be picked up from the carousal in the blink of an eye.
I was seriously impressed. There was even soap in the dispenser in the gent's toilet although strangely enough, the toilet seat was missing. Maybe there's a mad hoarder of airport loo seats out there and he's just added one in Terminal 5 to his collection.
The arrivals arena was light, bright and extremely welcoming. The festive display of Christmas trees was impressive and there was even a magnificent touch of humour in the air too.
Dangling just above the arrivals sign was a giant bunch of mistletoe. I only had to wait moments to catch a couple kissing a warm welcome beneath it. What a picture. What a photograph.
Coming back was not so simple and I was totally to blame, although flexibility is not something Terminal 5 staff members have in their vocabulary.
I have been away from London for so long that I do not appreciate the time one needs to allow for travelling on the Underground during rush hour.
And, instead of checking in online, like most sensible people do, I decided to do it in person and missed the boat, or rather the plane, by 43 seconds.
If you don't book in 40-minutes before the flight you don't get on and there are NO exceptions to the rule.
My name and ticket number had been wiped off the system. Despite my pleas there was nothing anyone could do to assist.
Funnily enough a similar thing happened on our summer holiday to Cyprus ... and this time I can solely blame the good lady wife, Kathryn, who had confiscated the ticket details in case I lost them and forgot to check the departure time.
We had five minutes before take-off and a lady at check-in sorted out the baggage and personally escorted us through security and on to the plane without blinking an eye.
The personal touch can be lost when procedures are in place, although it was politely explained to me that as a result of strict rules departure times were vastly improved so it was all for my own good.
Fortunately, my new found friend from the BA press office managed to change my ticket for a late night flight to Dubai and I was able to simply book a connecting flight on line to Bahrain for the world's shortest ever visit to the UAE.
The result was a 12-hour delay and a much more thorough look at the delights of Terminal 5 than I ever envisaged.
Every aspect of the travel experience, I was told, has been carefully considered to make the customer experience smooth, simple and stress free ... unlike the horrors of the past few years ... Terminal 5, the airline says, is all about 'putting the passenger first'.
Instead of endless queuing British Airways aims to give customers back their time to spend as they choose - such as relaxing, eating, shopping or working.
It is estimated that around 80 per cent of all passengers departing via Terminal 5 will check in online or at one of the 96 check-in kiosks within the departures hall.
Having learned the lessons of their opening gambit the 'fast bag drop' desks are nowadays just called 'bag drop' desks, just in case things go wrong.
They really have nothing to worry about; the system appeared very sound providing you follow the check-in rules.
Travellers then make their way through security (shoes and belts placed with wallet and watch in the container and the buzzer still goes off, why is that?) then enter the retail area on their way towards the aircraft gates.
The retail facilities have redefined airport shopping to offer the ultimate in retail therapy and the 144 stores and restaurants spread across 200,000sq ft of retail area ensure an unsurpassed shopping and dining experience.
A few of the renowned names in Terminal 5 include Harrods, Paul Smith, Tiffany, Mulberry, Hughes and Hughes, Mappin & Webb, Links, Smythson, Caviar House & Prunier and Cafe Amato, Starbucks.
Members of First, Club World, Club Europe, Gold and Silver Executive Club, can also take advantage of the British Airways lounges, which are collectively known as 'Galleries'.
I've sampled two of them and a marvelous complimentary 15-minute neck and back massage at Elemis Travel Spa and thought more than once about the possibility of moving in, like the chap in that movie who lives for days in an airport terminal.
There is everything you could possibly want; good food and beverages, newspapers, magazines, comfortable sofas, TVs, computers, showers ... and toilets that even have seats on them.
Terminal 5 has got it right which aptly brings me to my doomed scenario. No sooner had I put finger to the keyboard to write this travel review that news broke that British Airways cabin crew were planning to strike over Christmas, throwing the plans of thousands of holiday travelers into uncertainty at one of the busiest times of the year.
A British High Court injunction prevented the strike from going ahead but the damage to BA's reputation will once more be in tatters. Hundreds of passengers planning their festive breaks to and from Bahrain were making hasty rearrangements or cancelling bookings and taking steps to fly with competitor airlines.
One student studying at a British university I know had to change her original Heathrow travel arrangements and fly via Amsterdam which resulted in a marathon wait for a connecting flight and an unhappy family cursing BA.
The airline, which is struggling as the global downturn eats away at demand for air travel, has defended its cost-savings measures which have sparked the dispute as necessary to return to profit.
So, to all the travellers who were unable to sample the delights of Terminal 5, all I can say is you missed a very enjoyable experience.
As for the airline's management and staff all I can hope is that your latest blunder doesn't prove to be terminal for the company. It's a shame; you now have a terminal to be proud of.
