Airport Lounge

malkie76

It doesn't matter how much money you offer, you can't pay to get into the BA/Virgin lounge unless you have an eligible ticket or frequent flyer status.

With the exception that you can buy status with Qantas for cash and then enter BA lounges under their OneWorld agreement. Not worth it for one trip, but a good idea if doing a RTW trip with many stops.

It depends. Some people love them, others find them a waste of money.

Personally I think the pay-to-enter lounges are a waste of money. The premium lounges offered by airlines are generally good; the lounges at LHR T5 are excellent, and I do enjoy a shower and a proper breakfast when I land in London, and .

For the money spent on a pay-to-enter lounge you can enjoy a proper meal and decent drinks at an airport restaurant. You'd be hard pushed to comsume £20 of crisps in a pay-to-enter lounge.

spugzbunny

I pay to go into the servisair lounge. I hear a lot of people saying they dont like it but it's perfect for me. I fly alone, long haul to Singapore once a year. I hate flying and the chaos of heathrow stresses me out. For me, £18 for the lounge is money well spent. I could easily spend £13 on a couple of glasses of wine and a sandwich in the airport. The £18 is well spent on some peace and quiet, some nice free wine and some cheese and biscuits, nuts etc.

Doshwaster

malkie76 wrote: »

With the exception that you can buy status with Qantas for cash and then enter BA lounges under their OneWorld agreement. Not worth it for one trip, but a good idea if doing a RTW trip with many stops.

Fair point. It's a nice loophole in the One World rules.

Personally I think the pay-to-enter lounges are a waste of money. The premium lounges offered by airlines are generally good; the lounges at LHR T5 are excellent, and I do enjoy a shower and a proper breakfast when I land in London, and .

For the money spent on a pay-to-enter lounge you can enjoy a proper meal and decent drinks at an airport restaurant. You'd be hard pushed to comsume £20 of crisps in a pay-to-enter lounge.

but rather easier to drink £20 worth of wine and G&T!

Yes, the T5 lounges are very good (especially the smaller T5B one). I have a Silver card with BA so get lounge access when I fly with them. It's a nice perk but I don't bother paying for lounge access when flying on other airlines.

malkie76

Fair point. It's a nice loophole in the One World rules.

If memory serves I think it's about £300 to join for a year - a rather expensive loophole, but potentially worth it if doing many flights.

Yes, the T5 lounges are very good (especially the smaller T5B one).

I personally prefer Galleries South in T5A, but totally agree that T5B is lovely - it tends to be a bit quieter. I've only ever been in for a short while prior to a T5B departure, waiting for boarding to commence.

tiff

Just back from New York and used the Admirals Club (American Airlines) lounges at Heathrow and JFK as DH is a frequent flyer, platinum.

Isnt there a difference in lounges at different airports? Heathrow was great with croissants, fruit juice, milk, tea, coffee etc although we didnt have loads of time to enjoy. Coming back, JFK seemed quite miserly with carrots, celery and dip or a snack mix. We did get complimentary vouchers for the bar though. Loved the peace and quiet! Managed to get our kids in at no extra cost (they are 12 and 10), they just sat using the computers the whole time.

malkie76

US lounges are well known for being terrible, and the Admiral Clubs aren't one of the better ones - typically you have to pay for drinks there Simialrly, I was in the Delta Lounge (when flying BA) in MCO recently, and all they had on offer was nuts (but a free-flowing served bar).

If flying AA from Heathrow you can use the BA, Qantas and Cathay lounges in T3 with your DH's status. They typically have a better offering than the AA lounge

tiff

He didnt know that about the other lounges, so thanks he'll try them out soon. Didnt realise that about the drinks either, we were given 4 complimentary vouchers for the bar, so made good use of those. He's been flying there for four years, think we need to wise up lol

malkie76

If you've got a couple of hours at T3 then do a lounge tour and try them all and give us your verdict. Similarly I always tell people to try all of the lounges at T5 and find your favourite!

Dave_Z

My Wife always says the Cathay lounge is the best OW T3 lounge, though she may be biased working for them lol. Says they always have a lot of BA pax opting to use their lounge instead of BA's own. I used the AA Admirals Club at T3 a couple of years ago and was ok i guess. Both the AA lounges in T3 have just had an overhaul though so may be better now. My airline uses the Admirals Club lounge in T3 so i might go have a nose around one night.

Doshwaster

malkie76 wrote: »

If you've got a couple of hours at T3 then do a lounge tour and try them all and give us your verdict. Similarly I always tell people to try all of the lounges at T5 and find your favourite!

I also tend to do a "lounge crawl" at T5 as it helps pass the time! The only trouble is that once you get to T5B you really can't get back to the main terminal. I just wish BA would confirm T5B departures sooner as you find yourslef hanging around in N or S lounge then having to dash to the B lounge for a couple of final G&Ts!

Personally I prefer to N lounge. Getting to the S one is like completing an obstacle course with BAA insisting that you fight your past all of their "retail opportunities" then scale several escalators.