Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,804
The lounges aren't always crowded, T5 empties out quite nicely from about 15 hrs onwards, LGW too after about 17 hrs. The only logical reason I can think of for this is if BA targetted Bronzes on an upward slope in the middle of their membership year, where a bit of extra travelling would get them ensnared into Silver. So BA would email them ahead of their (e.g.) evening midweek flight and say "hey, have a lounge visit on us", in the hope that this would spur them to make further flights or take up POUGs etc. At which point they may as well do some sort of status challenge, something they seem to strenuously avoid compared to some airlines, and much to BA's credit in my view.
However Priority Pass / Dragon Pass would seem to me to be the Bronze traveller's friend. The Plaza Premium lounge, which isn't Priority Pass, is also very good in T5.