FlyingB1975

Security was absolute chaos. Took me 20 minutes in fast track, regular queue was very bad. Thankfully I had the opportunity to press 5 sad faces from the priority scanners to the mall. Not that anyone will care.

The First lounge is a delight though. Calm. Friendly faces. Tasty food, though a bit limited and in all likelihood deadly.

FlyingB1975

Upon closer contact with the champagne bar I have to correct myself. No bubbly flutes. Saw a member of staff pouring the leftovers of a nearly empty bottle of Taittinger in a half empty bottle.

I tried the Castle naughty. Decided I'd rather take the health risk.

I am now sure I will die. At the very least I will not be kissed good night if the other half reads this.

jbfield

Have a nice flight!

FlyingB1975

Thank you!

sammyg901

My experience today was the complete opposite - I was sat in the new (?) Strada ordering a very respectable all day breakfast 10mins after I stepped off the tube and that included check in / luggage drop!

layz

Did you order from the menu or the gloop trays?

stifle

I thought the gloop trays had been enhanced in the T3 Flounge?

haasha

There is no hot buffet 12-18(?) as the lounge is pretty much empty, but they do appear in the evening.

FrancisA

You can order hot food from the menu during the afternoon. As noted, it is dead quiet so any gloop would quickly be congealed gloop!

layz

I hate almost everything about the T3 shorthaul experience, particularly the bussing, but I just don't find it a particularly pleasant terminal.

Some of these issues will hopefully change when Star Alliance gets moved to T2, hopefully all BA will get airbridges and the place won't be so crowded.

T3 GF is now my favourite BA flounge. It's quiet, well maintained and service of the hot food is quick.

There's also the CX (and AA) lounges to choose from in T3 and although I expected to use the CX lounge more after the catering enhancements I ended up sticking with the BA lounge and ordering off the menu.

If the T3 flounge was the current state of the T5 one (see my post about the champagne bar area being filthy and badly maintained) I would have probably moved to the CX lounge.

I know it must be easier maintaining a lounge that's so quiet, but that still doesn't excuse the state of the one in T5.

LTN Phobia

CX is a nice lounge but I often find the noise level intolerable.

For some reason it is extremely prone to people shouting down the phone, particularly while walking around the lounge so there is no escape from them.

After being subjected to loud mobile phone conversations x 4 at full blast for about 30 minutes I retreated to the quietness of BA F lounge. Some people seem to be unable to grasp the concept that their conversation should not be heard by others (many were engaging in confidential discussions about their work - I wasn't trying to hear it, I was force-fed). I have no idea why the CX T3 lounge attract them but every time I'm there I get it. Usually no such problems at CX CDG or the Wing HKG! Anyway I have given up using them after too many of these.

Anyway, on the contrary T3 BA F lounge is an oasis of quiet during the day and I really like it there. It's usually clean and quiet, with attentive staff members.

However, the general terminal area of T3 can be quite annoying. It has some advantages but not a lot. And the security screening at T3 can be more obnoxious than at T5. I don't generally like T3. Still, much better than LTN or STN!

stifle

T3 also seems to have a higher proportion of security people who do everything. ponderously. by the book. and walk really. slowly. to the side belt to retrieve bags that have been marked for search, then slowly. and deliberately. empty them out. And woe betide any passenger who asks for less languor, to be suppressed with a testy "we're keeping people safe, sir, and it takes as long as it takes" and a further diminution in pace.

BAg Lady

I had a very interesting/shocking experience at T3 Fast Track security this week. T3 security is usually a law unto itself but this week was eye-opening.

There were 4 people in front of me. The screener sent every single bag off to the side for a secondary manual check. While waiting for my bag to be checked I noticed that of the 5 people that passed through behind me, 4 had their bags sent to the side for a manual as well – 9 out of 10 bags!

By this time there was a line of annoyed passengers waiting for the manual check, and I told the man behind me that I though the screener was having a bad day and had something against the girl doing the manual checks. The girl doing the manual was having to deal with a mountain of bags in the face of customer anger.

When I got to the front (after 20 minutes!) the girl doing the manual checks said she had overhead what I said and that I was right! She was fed up with the situation and would I mind sending in a complaint. She gave me the form and said it was best to email the complaint in.

Not sure if this is relevant, but it I think it may be – the girl doing the manual checks was the only one not wearing a head-scarf.

Shocking. Thank God OTP flights switch back to T5 at the end of the month.

BA6501

Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday?

BAg Lady

If that was directed at me, I flew through on Thursday morning.