T8191

Noted that. Of course it is ... it's the sunset of BA's presence at LGW

Gorey Voyager

I passed through the lounge again on Friday- a very different and tired food offering compared with day 1 -when all the management were on parade.

The real news is that there is a new lounge being built now 'for our gold card and First passengers' which should be ready in 'late February or March'.
I understand it is downstairs next to the Aspire lounge and as I pass through today I will see if I can find out more.

The real challenge-will BA badge it and bring their standards back for their premium passengers or will it be another No 1 lounge with all the implications that has?
If, as someone has indicated, No 1 are marketing promotions for Easter, I suspect it may be the latter.
Who has influence with the BA management and can start campaigning for some BA ownership of this?

corporate-wage-slave

You may have a scoop there. I went down and had a look, this is on level 1 (No. 1 Traveller and MyLounge are on level 3, same as the main departures level). And this is what I found:



The door was locked, but peering through the gap under the door (the things I do for Flyertalk) there is building work going on, and it's at an early stage, builders bins and floor composite all over the place.

In other news, they are now handing out letters, which there weren't doing for the first few weeks:



Interestingly it comes from the Global Lounges, rather that BA LGW management, which strikes me as significant. Probably isn't really.

Mapman

Well done for the investigative journalism at LGW today

It shows the contempt that BA shows for its premium customers that a senior manager won't put his or her name to the letter, simply a faceless department. Presume whoever is in charge doesn't want their inbox filled up....

Raffles

Downstairs used to be the Delta lounge, IIRC? Which means it shouldn't be difficult to turn it back into one.

You will then have the choice of a crowded No 1 or a windowless room which has been empty for years and turned back into a lounge on a budget of £100 but will have free champagne :-)

rapidex

As this is Flyertalk,I bet I know where everybody goes.Especially Jamier45^

A P Yu

Am guessing the new box for golds and firsts will only be open till 3 anyway based on previous appeoaches

FrancisA

I personally would take the free Champagne and premium spirits in somewhere windowless, but not crowded.

The old F lounge didn't exactly have inspiring views and at this time of year any time before 8am or after 5pm would be in darkness outside anyway!

Given that you weren't a fan of the old F lounge, I thought you'd see a windowless hole as an improvement.

All I can say, as a positive, is that this may indicate that BA have listened to feedback and are addressing the issue for Gold and F pax at least.

DYKWIA

I'm pretty sure they don't take details of a PP guest. At least I don't recall that happening at other PP lounges. Not that it matters either way, the plod have got far more important things to worry about than thefts (people posting nasty things on Twitter for example).

FrancisA

Does it matter in the slightest whether they have the names of those in the lounge or not?

Unless the thief is caught red-handed or there is evidence, such as incontrovertible CCTV footage or witnesses, the police would have no basis to approach anyone who was in the lounge. Even if a notorious thief were in there, the police will do nothing without any evidence.

Whatever you may think of police priorities, fishing trips have never been one.

I'm afraid those who felt more secure in the BA lounges are a little naive and the prime targets that professional thieves really love.

corporate-wage-slave

MyLounge option

Having had 2 recent visits to No. 1 Traveller - which I found OK, though well short of the Flounge experience - for my third visit I volunteered to go to MyLounge. I had to go out of my way to do this, the lounge agents at the desk (who are not employed by BA but check details on BA's computer) were quite keen that I go to No. 1 instead - both lounges were fairly empty at the time. One of the agents whispered in the ear of the BA team next door but they had no objection. Anyway I actually think it's a valid alternative compared to a heaving No. 1.

For starters it is cooler and has better air ventilation than No. 1. As a Northerner I melt easily, and No. 1 is a bit on the stuffy side. Also, as you can see, at the time I was the only punter, so it was quite quiet. Well - but for the background muzak, which was depressingly Corinne Bailey Rae at 06:30 hrs, and a bit louder than I would have liked. They probably think that's a hip choice, but oh well.

But that apart, I felt it was a viable alternative to a No. 1 Traveller lounge, should it be heaving with those happy families off to DXB and all inclusives heading to Punta Cana.

It isn't large, these photos show about 80% of the lounge, there are some smaller areas at the back, including one with the table football area, just visible in the top of the second photo.





The breakfast options were as good as, and in some cases, better than the Club lounge options, but the only hot food is the porridge (in the silver urn).



The bar is self service, here is the wine, beer (Coors Light and Magners cider) and soft drinks. The water, still and sparkling, is in the pump on the left. There is also a limited supply of Schweppes mini tins in the fridge below.







So in short, if it isn't crowded then I personally don't think it's a bad alternative, the self service is a positive and if a glass of cheap wine is all you're looking for then I think it's viable. I'll probably use it in the future.

BerksFlyer

The new South Terminal Lounge will have 'enhanced catering'

corporate-wage-slave

They aren't on Flyertalk. This is BA speak for "kitchen". The previous arrangement in North involved a fridge and 2 microwaves.

FrancisA

For once this is good news as it means that BA intend to bring LGW up to the raised standard of catering they introduced when T5 opened.

LGW catering didn't get worse, it's just that BA upped the game at LHR - this ought to bring LGW back to a comparable standard.

GadgetGal

Just like countless others, I was unimpressed by the No. 1 lounge after visiting about a week ago.

The place might be accessible in *theory* but still not fun to navigate if you rely on step-free access. I would have preferred the quieter library, had I noticed the other door near the desk but couldn't get to it from the inside.


This is what the gluten-free beans-on-toast looks like:




The bread wasn't so much toasted as vaguely waved in front of a flame. It was cold by the time it was served to me.

Eve though plates sooo last century using a chopping board for beans on toast is ridiculous.