Originally Posted by
cheaptom
The lounges provide you with anything you'll need as far as Internet, food, drinks, and booze. 9.5 does seem like a long time, but lounge access will be priceless, especially compared to all the other people outside who have to sit in a hard chair in a noisy terminal. Not sure if you're an experienced Euorpean traveler or not, but one thing to look out for is that they do NOT announce what gate your flight leaves from until about 40 minutes ahead of time. And sometimes, they won't announce the gate until 15 minutes ahead. That means you may literally have to run to your gate. As an American, it seems impossible to me that I have 9 hours to kill, but then I still have to run to my gate. But that is a strong possibility in Europe. Especially at LHR. YOu simply can't go sit by your gate, because they don't tell you the gate.
great tip, def lounge access will be nice. i looked at the No 1 Heathrow lounge and it seems nice, they do have showers so thats good. as far as gate announcement, when it comes close to departure within the hour i will def have my app up on my phone and watch the screen for gate announcements. i am sure we will be ready to leave the airport at that time !!
Gagravarr - i don't think we'll be able to go visit london with that time, my wife needs a transit groundside which i don't think we'll be able to get without paying an expedited fee so it won't be that big of a deal to get it. i will try to see if we can get a visa there but i highly doubt it ...i can get a TWOV as a US citizen but my wife isn't a US citizen yet.
well , i guess it'll be booze, sleep, and shop for that time haha.
does anyone how can i extend my stay at the lounges? fo rexample , the No. 1 Heathrow has a max of 3 hours...so would i be able to 'leave' the lounge and re-check in after lets say 15 min? never done or have any experience in doing though so i was wondering.
thanks for all the tips and help so far !