Bad news - BA's NCL lounge reportedly to close permanently
#151
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: York, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, Honors Diamond
Posts: 1,181
It was very quiet last week, I think only Boots was open (even duty free was closed - had to go through some corridors to get to departures).
#152
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 599
The first holiday flights to Portugal started yesterday and BA begin their limited Sat/Sun schedule (Portugal) this weekend so this may prompt more outlets to open.
#153
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Newcastle UK
Posts: 1,114
According to the airport website Caff Ritazza should be open, but that seems to be it. Not one bar even open.
#154
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Join Date: Mar 2006
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Once you see your BA flight pull into gate 3 then go downstairs and sit by the area outside where the lounge used to be. If everyone boards early, the aircraft departs early and you can be halfway to London on the HEX before it's even due to land!
Does anyone know what the building work at the airport is? When walking to the smoking area there's a lot of bits boarded off, when on the plane I looked up and it seems like there's an extension being built. Does anyone know what was being planned there?
#155
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Up North.
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 310
Was there yesterday and that was the case. Also Boots and WH Smith. No bars open, no duty free. The smoking area is open though (and nobody smoking) it's hidden behind (closed) Dixons and it's usually for customers of one of the closed bars, for the moment they have a few notices directing you towards it and they have set the access code to 1234. It gives you a good view of the apron.
Once you see your BA flight pull into gate 3 then go downstairs and sit by the area outside where the lounge used to be. If everyone boards early, the aircraft departs early and you can be halfway to London on the HEX before it's even due to land!
Does anyone know what the building work at the airport is? When walking to the smoking area there's a lot of bits boarded off, when on the plane I looked up and it seems like there's an extension being built. Does anyone know what was being planned there?
Once you see your BA flight pull into gate 3 then go downstairs and sit by the area outside where the lounge used to be. If everyone boards early, the aircraft departs early and you can be halfway to London on the HEX before it's even due to land!
Does anyone know what the building work at the airport is? When walking to the smoking area there's a lot of bits boarded off, when on the plane I looked up and it seems like there's an extension being built. Does anyone know what was being planned there?
Again another sign of just how far away we are from early 2020 :-(
#156
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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Join Date: Feb 2010
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I've heard from two sources that BA are "reviewing" the lounge situation, though I don't want to build up any false sense of hope here. Aspire opens on 1 June at NCL (and elsewhere), and by coincidence BA has renewed third party lounge contracts in all sorts of places with effect from 1 June, the extent of that we will only find out towards the end of next week.
#157
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,214
If - and I appreciate it's a very big if - the Aspire lounge does become available to eligible BA passengers then I hope that part of the agreement includes capacity guarantees. I would occasionally try and use the Aspire lounge with my Priority Pass when flying BA but they would often refuse me access on the basis it was full. It was never full or even close to it, but the justification was that they had X number of passengers on the Emirates flight to DXB. Being able to have a proper cooked breakfast was the main attraction so fingers crossed that we do have some good news on that front in due course.
#158
Join Date: Mar 2020
Programs: British Airways GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond & Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,602
Currently at NCL.
Security was a whole 3 people deep....
Boots / WHSmith / Caffe Ritazza are open for F&B
Duty free is open
Sad to see so few flights, but positive to see BA return to the regions.
Security was a whole 3 people deep....
Boots / WHSmith / Caffe Ritazza are open for F&B
Duty free is open
Sad to see so few flights, but positive to see BA return to the regions.
#159
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Newcastle
Programs: BA Silver, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 80
My first flight in over a year is in 7 days. Really looking forward to it. The lack of lounge will be a pain but at least its the start of travel again.
Im hoping once numbers start to pick up BA will revist the lounges. We have to remember BA we going through money like nothing and closing the lounges will have saved money. Our company did something similar with Head Office space.
Im hoping once numbers start to pick up BA will revist the lounges. We have to remember BA we going through money like nothing and closing the lounges will have saved money. Our company did something similar with Head Office space.
#160
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: The North
Posts: 1,824
I've heard from two sources that BA are "reviewing" the lounge situation, though I don't want to build up any false sense of hope here. Aspire opens on 1 June at NCL (and elsewhere), and by coincidence BA has renewed third party lounge contracts in all sorts of places with effect from 1 June, the extent of that we will only find out towards the end of next week.
All in all, it's no longer a pleasant place to wait and it's very difficult to get work done compared to the tranquility of the BA lounge. Something approaching that would be lovely...
#161
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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Since the refurbishment a few years ago, the general departure area at Newcastle has felt more cramped. It may just my perception, but it feels like there are fewer seats that aren't within a catering establishment, so you end up having to buy something if you want to sit down.
#162
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Newcastle UK
Posts: 1,114
Yes I think that became painfully evident recently. Though most of the venues are shut (and the one catering venue open has few seats) even with the very low number of people flying has meant that people are sitting in some of the bar areas, there isn't enough open seating for the pathetically low number of travellers. If you go through NCL and spot that, by all means give the airport feedback via the website or Twitter.
#163
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Yes, you can still sit in the corridor between gate 2 and 3, which was the corridor in front of the former lounge, people have been doing that for years, some nicking BA's wifi bandwidth in the process. The double queue at the gate 3 entrance tends not to be there since there is now usually only one person doing the gate scan, so having 2 queues in doesn't really work, but joining the only queue is going to take 30 seconds of your life and the aircraft won't be leaving any sooner. Alternatively you can just watch the queue from the corridor and board when most people are already down the airbridge. They do broadcast an airport wide tannoy about three quarters of the way through boarding.
[Idle curiosity time, thougn I'll find out soon enough, I guess they shift the aircraft around the other side of the pier for the Faro services, after landing at NCL from LHR]
[Idle curiosity time, thougn I'll find out soon enough, I guess they shift the aircraft around the other side of the pier for the Faro services, after landing at NCL from LHR]
#164
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: York, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold, Honors Diamond
Posts: 1,181
Is there any reason why they couldn't board an international service from gate 3? I get that when they come back it will be international so can't use gate 3.
#165
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There may be some HMRC rule or something, I don't know, beyond the general SOP at NCL. I vaguely recall an easyJet service outbound to Schengen going from that side of the pier, presumably the inbound being the Belfast service. But I will find out soon enough.