MaximusDecimusMeridius

So this month certain BA flights will move fom LHR T5 to T3.

This includes flights to LAS.

We have First seats booked for December. For a while now the 747s to LAS have been old First, sold as Club. With the move to T3 they will be New First, sold as First.

Will this mean the 747s on this route will be the old aircraft with new cabin fittings or will they be randomly assigned aircraft from the fleet?

And has anyone been through the T3 Flounge recently and noticed if they have improved the lounge in preparation for the new First departures? Has the Elemis spa been revived as they said it would?

corporate-wage-slave

Fleet selection can happen at any stage, so while at T-72 hrs (after lunch) you would get a hefty clue, that's about as far as it goes. It can quite easily change a couple of hours before departure.

Elemis was still closed a few days ago, I expect it to be working within a few weeks though I haven't any direct intelligence there. First lounge was in tip top condition - and it helps when there aren't so many guests - but apart perhaps from some extra dining options I wouldn't expect anything more than that.

sts603

The T3 F lounge is often a better experience than the T5 lounge. Obviously attendance will increase with these flights moving over but my guess is it will remain relatively less crowded than T5. My guess/hope is that with the long hauls coming, the mid-day buffet will return (right now, its only menu ordering for mid-day hot food due to low passenger numbers - there is a cold buffet). But otherwise the offerings are identical. But service faster, lounge cleaner, and quieter.

KARFA

The hot buffet options were out at t3 gf when I was there on a Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago. See my photos in the galleries first food thread (sorry on phone so can't link to it).

haasha

At your service, sir: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/25449368-post183.html

KARFA

Many thanks

paul4040

Any intel on a mini-CCR option at T3, now it's become a permanent home to a quite a few (admittedly, second-tier) F destinations?

A P Yu

Id be very surprised if it gets any kind of CCR. it would have surely been announced formally by now.

haasha

It will be mini version of T5 GF if the Emirates lounge does not open before the new destinations move to T3 (i.e. crowded since EK pax use it now).

MaximusDecimusMeridius

According to Emirates:

mikeyfly

Are the longhaul flights from T3 using jet bridges or bussing? Been years since I've flown from T3 (maybe BKK?) and we were using busses last time!

corporate-wage-slave

Air bridges, there isn't much bussing going on in T3 now. One thing to bear in mind is that some of the T3 gates are a distance from the lounge area (which is very central), so allow a good 15 minutes to get to the outlying ones if you're not familiar with the layout. Gates close at 20 minutes, so you may be looking at leaving the lounge 40 minutes before departure in some cases.

Land-of-Miles

I am heading to YVR for Xmas and the NY and spoke recently to BA about the options given the flight had dislodged from T5 where it was due to depart when I booked in F. Basically nothing is being offered additionally in T3 from what is currently there. Since I originate in MAN this now means that we have the choice of being forced to re clear security unnecessarily at the infamous T3 FCC and give BA an additional opportunity to lose our snowboard in the connection (a feat they have proved remarkably adept at on simpler point to point journeys in the past), leave the day before and overnight at LHR or simply do a one way car rental to LHR. Our connection times currently look brave too in the event of even minor disruption at LHR given the additional terminal to terminal shuttle faff, all to get an even poorer ground product than that in T5.

Had I known when I booked what I know now I would have flown AA from MAN connecting to CX in JFK.

KARFA

I am not sure what is infamous about T3 FCC. Having used the new one I was through in minutes and you exit on the corridor on which the lounges are on. My recent experience was exiting aircraft on A17 to sat in CX lounge took 35 mins, and that was with 5 mins of looking around T5 FCC to see the new epassport machines.

CaroFos

The Elemis Spa is now open but we could only get one walk up appointment within 30 minutes of out gate closing despite arriving 3 hours early..

The food was nice. So much eaten by my husband he didn't drink anything or eat any of his F meal at all! What a waste!. I thought the Flounge felt a bit tired and dismal compared to T5 but maybe was the weather?

The champagne was not chilled enough so I switched to the rather lovely white wines instead.

I thought the lounge was pretty busy.. It was hard to find comfy chairs with power.

I was really disappointed we didn't get the T5 CCR experience but the crew on our flight to YVR were superb and incredibly generous which more than made up for it in the end.

I didn't get to try the t3 arrivals lounge as everyone wanted to get home.