lostinlondon

Thanks for your comment! I've not really got a huge sweet tooth and I totally agree with you about sweet potato casserole... can't eat it! Hope yours didn't have marshmallows on top, blechhhh. Glad you get to experience Thanksgiving, it's definitely my favourite American holiday!

lostinlondon

Since it's not been photographed/covered too much besides the baths, I hope my short coverage of the arrivals lounge is useful!

BA T5 Arrivals Lounge

I disembarked the plane rather quickly and made my way to the train from the C gates. Got to immigration and to my surprise, there was just about zero queue! Made it to the baggage reclaim about 20 minutes after landing (not much taxi either), so that was fantastic! Unfortunately, bags took about 20 minutes to come... not sure what purpose the priority labels even have, but I digress.

Went out of the baggage hall and took the lift to the first floor to the arrivals lounge. Was welcomed with a smiling face and told the brief features of the lounge. Left my larger suitcase at the baggage room and went in search of a shower. Had to wait for a shower, so was given a pager and got myself a pain au chocolat and some coffee.

Horrendous picture I know, but the lounge itself is comfortable but maybe not as up to date as T5 galleries. It's quite small as well, with one main seating area as well as a few high tops/dining tables.


Took a tour of the buffet before my shower. Was quite a nice breakfast spread, and I saw that they would cook to order eggs if desired. Additionally had all the soft drinks/coffee/tea/juices as per the T5 GC.






No more than ten minutes had gone by and my pager was off and I was headed to the shower. The shower cubicle was quite plain, but did the trick. The shower head itself was very relaxing FWIW.







Aaaand this is where I made my mistake. After my shower, I made my way to the Elemis spa and requested a treatment. Was told I'd have to wait an hour and a half. The wait was fine seeing as I had nowhere to be, but I should have enquired earlier. My bad. Made my way back into the main lounge and got myself some hot breakfast.

Absolutely delicious black pudding - welcome back to Britain!! ^


After getting some uni work done, made my way to the spa for my back massage. The employees were all very friendly and the treatment was quite relaxing. The only issue was someone was sat in the waiting area on his mobile this whole time. Not the end of a the world, just a bit of an annoyance. Wasn't too commercialised or pushy on selling anything, which I appreciated as well.



After the treatment I collected my suitcase and made my way to the Heathrow Express. Of course, I had just missed the previous one by about a minute... no big deal. Made it home to Kentish Town via the HEx and the Tube in about an hour.



And there you have it! Thanks ever so much for reading the TR. I'll add more conclusions to the beginning, but in short: decent soft product, good hard product (for my body/sleeping position), and quite good ground experience. Not a class-leading experience by any means, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Please do give me any comments/concerns/questions! Thanks again!

turnleftbrighteyes

This was nice reading, thanks lostinlondon!

One is sometimes never free, even when several thousand miles away. I recently flew AA to South America and effectively got carded! And I am... 41 years old. (The long-winded details are in my trip report.)

lostinlondon

Thanks for the comment, turnleftbrighteyes!! Funny, as I've drank on AA and in Admirals clubs, but have been IDed on BA/in LHR lounges more often (but they're looking for 18). Looking forward to reading your TR!

Duke787

Nice wrap-up to the TR! Never flown BA J mainly due to lack of interest (ride fly PE in my pre-FT days).

I want them to be good, I love them as a brand, it just seems like they can't put it all together these days.

One of these days their cheap J TATL sales will tempt me to check it out.

lostinlondon

Thanks! Shame about BA nowadays. Used to be such a high-end, well-done brand and now it's turning into... who even knows. Hopefully they'll come around, seeing that US airlines that did essentially what they did have started to improve.

For convenience, price, and having a bed, BA Club is definitely worth considering. Would love to see another opinion on it!

turnleftbrighteyes

I actually find Club World to still be a very decent product (with the caveat that I've only flown on the upper deck, and not that frequently, but as recently as three weeks ago); I do not get the obsession with all-aisle access. I'd take Club World over a refurbed AA 763 seat any day. And even in comparison to AA's vaunted 77W seat, a Club World upper-deck window seat more than holds it own. I got better service, better booze, a better lounge, and frankly, a more comfortable seat on BA (I like the Z-position.)

I've never had a bad crew on BA, and I've enjoyed a few op-ups and the like. In short, I've had better all around experiences on BA than AA as a not hugely frequent flier. (BA's call centers are maddening, however.) But I suppose if I had a series bad MF experiences like reported in another thread, or if the thousand cuts continue, I'll more seriously consider other transatlantic options.

chris1979

thanks for the rest of the TR - very nice reading and nice pics.

again, agree with a lot of your comments - CW can be very good and 'solid' and it can be a bit hit and miss.

I came back Sunday overnight BOS and LHR and the turbulence was also very very strong - probably the worst I've had TATL in a good few years (often coming back from SIN or even HKG, it can get even bumpier than that). thankfully, i was nicely tucked up in F but i was feeling for anyone at the back of the plane given turbulence is always much much worse at the back.

anyway, nice TR - thanks for sharing. looking forward to the next one!

chris1979

shame there wasn't a magical beep on the way back...... !

michlflyer

Thank you for sharing. A while ago I read your TR on the trip you made to Oporto, so now I can thank you for both.

Sounds as if it was a comfortable, good value experience with the added bonus of being able to experience some home comforts again for a few days.

lostinlondon

Thank you for keeping up with it! The turbulence was horrific... I've only been on a few hundred flights in my short time, but I was very on edge (knowing the turbulence really isn't a huge problem).


Thank you for your kind words and remembering my other TR. Really does mean a lot! Definitely was comfortable and a good value - totally see how that could turn some people off, though. That said, there are certainly aspects that are often overlooked but superior to other airlines. Very nice to get home and, like I said, I am very fortunate to be able to come home so often.

oneworld82

Great report!

I have flown BA CW for work 6-7 times in the last 18 months and I have never had a bad experience - although probably only one flight was memorable. BA is always BA... never great, never bad!

enviroian

Thanks for a great report! I have redeemed saver J mileage for a prg-lhr-iad BA CE/CW flight. AA of course doesn't have saver J availability but the taxes/surcharge or whatever BA charges for flying J through London was only $220 one way from PRG so I took it.

That said I am flabbergasted at the food you were served...OMG...I can't believe how awful that looks. Should I eat before I get on the plane? Does anyone really pay hard earned cash to fly that?? Wow....it makes AA look like CX (LOL).

When is BA getting their new CW cabin? I assume probably not before my late November flight this year? If anything I'm flying a 744 and upstairs so I'll take that and enjoy it for what it is.