March 2006 was the last time I flew British Airways; after this recent flight, it might be prudent to wait another 17 years. Sarcasm aside, I clearly wasn’t the point person for BA advice.
However, having Oneworld airline alliance status meant that I was able to spend my long layover at the British Airways Club Lounge South. On that note, let’s cross the pond from Boston, and head over to London Heathrow’s Terminal 5.
Access
Not having any familiarity with Terminal 5 — i.e. if I say go south, would that help? if I say it’s near a particular shop, that shop might close, etc. — the best way I can describe initial access to the lounge is to link to this official London Heathrow site which demonstrates how to get there. If you’re transiting to the B and C gates, that hint might work, too.
It was a little confusing, but you have take the first escalator (pictured above) to reach all BA South Lounges, and then take a second escalator up to Level 4 to reach this one:
The British Airways Club Lounge South is open daily from 05:00 – 22:00 (10pm). As per the above photo, lots of categories of passengers who are also traveling on any Oneworld carrier that day can enter–
- Passengers in Club World & Club Europe
- BA Executive Club Silver Members
- Oneworld Sapphire & Emerald members
- Iberia Business Class
- American Airlines Flagship Business Class
How generous … but that also means it’s a busy lounge. Fair enough, I’m just adding to the commotion anyway.
Ambience
There was a lot of seating, both in terms of variety of seats and floor space; but, it was nearly all full the entire time I was there (it was roughly between 11:00 and 16:00 (4pm). Naturally, once I packed up to leave, my “entourage” joined to free up space to sit.
Still, with a laser-focus, I grabbed a good chair tucked away in the extreme right part of the lounge. One thing I noticed was that the seat that had tables didn’t have places to charge up, as if the lounge knew that computer users would want to stay a while.
However, the seats with immovable tables (in other words, where you’d put your drinks/plates) have charging portals.
For those of you who like to spot the planes, there is a fair amount of seating by the window, to the left and the right of the lounge entrance.
Food & Beverage
In short, plenty of food!
Not only were there ample drink bars (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) sprinkled throughout the lounge, but the central eating/drinking area also had a champagne section, a juice/sandwich section, and a number of snacks and main dishes.
Ultimately, I had a decent time at the British Airways Club Lounge South if only because I was hypervigilant about finding the right seat. Until then, it was just lots of foot traffic, loud phone calls, and bad lighting. Still, the rest of the terminal was equally heaving, so I might as well be near an unlimited coffee machine while awaiting my flight.
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