If you travel business with British Airways here are the lounges you can use at T5 London Heathrow
In recent months I have passed through London Heathrow several times, often from T5, other times from T3. I finally saw again [...]
British Airways
Oneworld
LHR
I have passed through London Heathrow several times in recent months, often from T5, other times from T3.
In this article:
I finally saw the airport again as I remembered it in the pre Covid world: crowded and full of noise, not the cathedral in the desert I saw on my last visits.
Of course, from December 2019 to the present, every time I passed by I saw some signs of recovery, but we were far from what the "world before" was. This time, however, it felt like 2019, when I was taking my last intercontinental in October before the borders closed.
When I went through security, I looked out and saw a square full of people: queues for toilets, queues for restaurants, and especially crowded lounges like I haven't seen in a long time. I had already made a comparison between the two independent lounges in the terminal, so it seemed fair to do the same thing for the two lounges dedicated to British Airways business class passengers.
BA's lounges at T5 London Heathrow
Terminal 5 is the home of British Airways in the London mega hub, there are several lounges scattered around the main terminal and satellites.
The main body is the block in the southern part of the terminal, here are housed 3 different lounges on two floors: on the third floor is the South Galleries; downstairs the First Galleries e the Concorde Room.
Here there was also the free spa for guests, but the pandemic eliminated this service and now something new is being built.
Depending on the class of ticket and status held, you have access to one of the lounges. Who travels in First with British Airways, or is he a Concorde Key holder. can access the Concorde Room.
Passengers who have the Gold level in theBA Executive Club or an Emerald status in the OneWorld alliance can instead access the First Galleries regardless of the ticket held.
Then there are twin lounges: the Galleries North and South, located at the ends of the terminal. Other lounges can be found in T3 and in the satellites of T5 accessible via pedestrian link or underground shuttle.
Access
These two lounges are open to all BA business passengers and other OneWorld carriers, as well as all holders of Silver level or higher in the BA program or other alliance members. In a nutshell, these are the lounges where you can enter If you are traveling in business and do not have a status allowing access to higher-level ones.
There is no paid access or through other cards such as Priority Pass or the like. However, there are two alternative halls in this terminal and many others in the other terminals.
Lounges
Since they are in fact identical in many respects, I will do a single review, partly because the South I had already reviewed it in late 2019, just days after the Delta variant broke out. Now, however, with the end of restrictions and the return of passengers, it is all different music.
The two lounges are located at opposite ends of the terminal. The decor is similar, but the facilities are different.
North is definitely more beautiful: the ceiling is very high due to the fact that it is open to the terminal, so it is flooded with light.
South, on the other hand, is much darker, the ceiling is much lower, and it has only a partial view of the runway. Otherwise, the hall is spread out in the interior of the terminal. The South is definitely larger; I have no idea of the capacity, which is back to 100% since the restrictions in England have been completely lifted.
To enter the North today I queued for five minutes, how exciting. When I walked in, it was definitely difficult to find a seat. I made the rounds a couple of times, but finding a comfortable seat was practically impossible, almost like it was before the pandemic.
Getting into the South was definitely faster, finding the place however was equally a bit of a treasure hunt. Of the two I have to say that I prefer the North because of the light, the South because of the layout which is more elegant, although very similar.
Services
North offers little less than South; both have a small children's area.
A work area with the ability to print and scan documents and they offer barely enough wi-fi connectivity, so much so that I used 5G thanks to the fact that for Italian operators UK is still in Europe and there is free roaming.
South additionally has showers, which can be booked via app. The spa has been closed and work is now underway to reuse the space where free treatments were previously offered to all passengers.
Food & Beverage
The restrictions have been lifted, but in the lounges the service has remained as it was during the pandemic period. Compared to my first visit in 2019, the only change is that now the drinking part is back to self-service.
Scattered throughout both lounges are islands where guests can help themselves to hot and cold drinks and spirits. Obviously being the lowest level lounge, the quality of the offerings is not very sought after.
On the other hand, as far as eating is concerned, the service via app is still active. You scan the QR that identifies the table and order what you want from the menu, as many times as you want of the quantity you want.
The problem is the waiting; it is clear that the staff is understaffed both in the dining room and in the kitchen. For a sandwich I waited almost 40 minutes, I had practically forgotten that I had ordered something when I heard someone call my name: it was the waitress in front of my table with a tray full of plates being delivered.
PS Note the thickness of the slice of cake, perhaps it was better to call it a wafer rather than a slice.
In conclusion
BA like Lufthansa offers 3 levels of lounges to its customers, those who get to the Gold level are the ones who get the most, even paying the least. KLM by not offering first class treats everyone equally, as Alitalia has always done and as ITA Airways or Iberia does now. Air France offers different treatment only to La Premiere passengers, otherwise there is no difference between a Platinum or Business class passenger.
These lounges are not perfect, the quality of the food on offer is not the best, and the champagne is considerably cheaper than what is offered in the other BA-branded lounges, however, they are accessible to all passengers, even those flying short-medium haul, and this is a considerable benefit for a decidedly cheap ticket.
This is just one of many reviews you can read on our site. Every Wednesday we publish a review of a lounge airport, while every Friday you can read the review of one of our flights or a hotel where we stayed.
