V-Flyer

Got the chance to try the new BA club lounges in T5 this week. Well ... Virgin's Heathrow Clubhouse still wins hands down, though the comparison is surely impossible to make in this case in a reasonable way.

T5 has two (will be three) Club Galleries - one on each end of the terminal (North and South lounge). When the satellite opens, it will get a wee lounge, too, I believe.

BA has a huge advantage in T5, natural light. This has been used to reasonable effect in the south lounge, to much better effect in the north lounge (which, however, is smaller).

The south end of the terminal is closer to the pier serving international flights, while the north end is close to the gates which will be mostly used for European and Domestic flights. Given this, the south lounge is much larger. They've decided to break it down with lots of columns, partitions et al, which does negate some of the advantages of having so much glass around you. I think that's unfortunate - you come nowhere close to having the kind of wow effect you would get when entering the clubhouse. The north side is equally partitioned, but most of its space lies around the outer edge of the building, so you do get better light all round. It also has a space 'outside' the closed lounge area, which is really open.

This is probably the nicest space, since you get the soaring ceiling effect. Otherwise, ceilings feel low, and the whole experience feels more 'boxy' than the clubhouse in both lounges. Initially, the idea was that the north lounge would be for Club Europe passengers, and the south lounge for Club World - that seems to have gone for now, in light of the fact BA is still not servicing all its intercontinental flights from T5. No idea if this will change again once the building is at full speed.

There is obviously no waiter service in either Club Gallery. The offering replicates the whole sandwich/crisps, bagels and biscuits deal from T1/T4, and adds hot rolls, a salad, a soups and cheese/cuts bar similar to what used to be in T1, and finally a bar allowing you to scoop some pasta or mash, and pour various kinds of sauces and stews over them. The details of the pasta are too lewd to be posted in public. I can see how they are looking for a convenient way to serve some kind of hot food to folks, pasta is always chancing it in my mind.

Some decent wines, though not spectacular, to be had (had the St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc) coffee and teas, this is all much as before. The biggest missing item to my mind is some sort of selection of desserts and sweets that aren't strictly the usual riff on shortbread.

Now, to be fair ... T5 is huge. These places will get incredibly busy. Clearly, from a lounge perspective, BA is not aiming to put its club passengers in a VS Clubhouse - I don't see how they can. The First/Concorde lounges are probably a closer approximation, and may even do some things better; I'm not particularly planning to find out. But VS will keep enjoying a significant advantage, in the biz class space, when it comes to airport facilities.

Still, this is a great space to spend a couple of hours in an airport, I expect BA will have a lot of biz passengers transferring at T5, spending a few hours, and this is a great space. It beats the hell out of 99% of so-called lounges in the US. And the hot tuna melt roll was quite good. [:)]

Cool. Still not been through T5 yet so looking forward to having a look myself. Do the lounges have free Wi-Fi?

Thanks,
Sarah

Not used the T5 Club Galleries yet but usesd the FIRST and Concorde Room at T5 a fair few times and have to say the Concorde room is first rate. Excellent range of bars/lounge area (all waiter service), terrace area is very chilled. Restuarant first rate - lovely food sitting in booth type arrangement so private/discrete unlike LHR Clubhouse. The Cabanas (private shower, flat screen TV, day bed, sofa etc) are just so fab - no need to book them (yet) - we spent a couple of hours in one before going to J-burg with a bottle (or) two of champers and was just the ticket before concierge came to escort us to the aircraft door. Didnt try the spa - not my thing, but it looked good.

Rgds,

HG

Surely that should be 'FIRST rate'... [;)][ii]

Originally posted by HighFlyer
Cool. Still not been through T5 yet so looking forward to having a look myself. Do the lounges have free Wi-Fi?

Thanks,
Sarah

Yes, they do.

Thanks for the information MM.

For the first time ever, in August, I'll be flying LHR-JFK, not on VS and not using the CH[:#] I'm looking forward though to seeing how the BA Lounge(s)facilities compare to the CH (Not as good I suspect)

I'm also hoping to get a treatment in the Elemis Spa, but have heard it's hard to get an appointment.

As long as I can sit in peace with a nice glass of vino, I'll be happy.

Marked Man,

Thanks for the insight in to the BA lounges for which I will be able to try out myself in a few weeks when travelling from the UK back to BEG.
I will be travelling early morning so hopefully a bacon or sausage roll will be on the menu[:w]

Iain

A friend of mine is a manager at BA. Prior to T5 opening staff (non Lounge staff that is) were not allowed in the lounges for fear of leaking pictures to VS. By your report it seems that VS would not have been scared anyway!

I hope it doesnt break any forum rules by posting this link (mod: if it does please delete my post) but I I have found these pics which gives a good idea of what it looks like. I dont take any pics myself but will try to take some snaps on Saturday when I am next in Concorde Room.

http://www.sqtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4241

Nope, absolutely fine HG.

Where we get in trouble is where people DON'T link, or provide any credit to the original author, choosing instead to copy and paste the content directly into their own post here.

Originally posted by preiffer
Nope, absolutely fine HG.

Where we get in trouble is where people DON'T link, or provide any credit to the original author, choosing instead to copy and paste the content directly into their own post here.

Thanks preiffer. Now I know. [y]

Rgds

HG

Originally posted by iforres1
Marked Man,

Thanks for the insight in to the BA lounges for which I will be able to try out myself in a few weeks when travelling from the UK back to BEG.
I will be travelling early morning so hopefully a bacon or sausage roll will be on the menu[:w]

Iain

They actually had bacon rolls at lunch ... very popular they were, too!

HG, I think you hit the feel overall, spot on, and many folks here have commented that this is a key brand distinction between BA and VS - private vs open. The T5 Club Gallery South, big as it is, is all nooks and crannies, great if you want to squirrel yourself away with a nice chilled drink, do some work ... rather than have one big open bar, for example, most drinks stations are used as an occasion to put up a wall, and separate areas from each other. The wine bar is split out from the rest of the space by two huge glassed-in wine racks, sectioning off a little 'wine tasting' area.

Very much a case of each company playing to its strengths, I'd say. Are you an introvert, or an extrovert? Then you'll probably know where you will be happier. [;)]

Thanks for the link Hackneyguy, I for one had not seen those pictures before.

Very pleased to see that they have free Wi-Fi. I do not mind where I am sat as long as i can get online [:D]

Thanks,
Sarah

Very nice pictures Hackneyguy. They actually give more away than the official BA shots I saw earlier this year.

Concorde Dining looks great. And how ironic they have a statue of a Horse in BA's lounge [:D]

cheers!

Dean

Originally posted by Wolves27
Concorde Dining looks great. And how ironic they have a statue of a Horse in BA's lounge [:D]

That must be where they keep the hay .... [:D]

Thanks,
Sarah

Originally posted by hackneyguy
a bottle (or) two of champers and was just the ticket before concierge came to escort us to the aircraft door.
Rgds,

HG

We are doing First in September and can't wait for the Concorde Lounge - those photos look amazing. Your comment above - do we really get privately escorted direct to the plane or is that something special that you organised?

Originally posted by Ianflies

Originally posted by hackneyguy
a bottle (or) two of champers and was just the ticket before concierge came to escort us to the aircraft door.
Rgds,

HG

We are doing First in September and can't wait for the Concorde Lounge - those photos look amazing. Your comment above - do we really get privately escorted direct to the plane or is that something special that you organised?

I think we should be told! I have a trip in August in F. Thing is, the last half dozen times I've been in T5, the a/c for YVR is usually parked over at the satellite which is quite a trek from the lounge.

By the way, the Galleries lounges at T5 are, in my experience, already full to overflowing for a large part of the day. Compared to the CH there's absolutely no competition at all. I continue to recommend Plane Food despite having to pay for it - like the CH, it is a perfect reason to arrive a few hours early for your flight.

Howard

Originally posted by Ianflies

Originally posted by hackneyguy
a bottle (or) two of champers and was just the ticket before concierge came to escort us to the aircraft door.
Rgds,

HG

We are doing First in September and can't wait for the Concorde Lounge - those photos look amazing. Your comment above - do we really get privately escorted direct to the plane or is that something special that you organised?

Hi Ianflies,

It was not something we specifically paid for or indeed requested but it happens from time to time. In this particular case there was just a few of us left in the lounge going on this last flight of the day (to JNB) - we were full fare FIRST PAX and Prems but dont think that matters really these days. They checked that our luggage was on board then walked us down to the aircraft door. As I say it only happens now and again but we had the very same service on our return from JoBurg - however not had since but now the Concorde Room is much busier these days as more fights move over.

If you want to know anything else - happy to help. Feel free to PM me.

Regards and enjoy your CR and FIRST experience,

HG

So here I am sat in the South Galleries Club lounge in T5. Check in was ok, the usual self service machine and bag drop system seemingly working well. I asked a BA member nearby if there was a dedicated Club check in zone to which he replied no, but there is if you go for a wonder & want to use it. Plenty of open counters and check in was done in under a minute. Fast track security was open and I was through that in 2 mins. So the 10min from check in to departures hall seems to work so far. This was 6am in the morning though. I am not convinced that when all flights change over this will be the same. It just does not have that efficient feeling about it.
Security is interesting reminding me of a sushi bar where everything is on a conveyor belt. Everything must go in a tray then it whisks through the scanner where you collect it on the other side, but your tray does not stop for long so if you are slow at collecting your bits and bobs it moves along and you have to chase it[:?]
Good thing is that everything including laptops can stay in their bags[y]
Airside shopping is your usual BAA experience, dreadful, just the same Dixons, Harrods blah, blah. The longest queue I stood in was for WH Smiths which took more than 10 mins to get served. I had a look at the Gordon Ramsays menu and was under impressed and I did not want to fork out £20 for breakie.
Now unless you are first class pax and wish to go to the lounges you are subjected to a long trek. (First have a door straight after security which they can go through)The pleb lounge (Club) is also up on the third floor. I found the whole experience very average. Yes everything is new and shiny and wi-fi is free but it is full of your average biz man who is a banker and lacks feeling. Food and drink bars are very well stocked[y]. Hot offering was only a bacon roll or something with mushrooms in it. Lots of cereals and pastries and a nice champagne and wine bar.
Lots of PC stations dotted around so I may just leave the v-flyer page up on the screen(after log off, of course)
At the moment T5 is efficient but I dread to think how it will cope when all flights depart from here.

Iain

I asked a BA member nearby if there was a dedicated Club check in zone to which he replied no, but there is if you go for a wonder & want to use it.

Thanks for that Ian. I'm flying from T5 this Friday, with some apprehension! I had read on another forum recently that this was the case for Club pax, no dedicated check-in, just self-service [:0] That is just shocking [n]