Soupey202

Hi, we are off to Philly (and then back) next month in F. The lounge guide on here advises that pre flight dining is unconfirmed but BA’s website says that there is pre flight dining as well as a buffet. Has anyone been through Philly recently (or going imminently) that knows for sure if it is open and if so what the menu is? It’s not that I don’t trust BA’s IT but …………

T8191

Are you referring to the BA Lounge near the A-Gates? We last used it in 2018, and were somewhat underwhelmed ... See Post #3 in this TR >>> https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/29889883-post3.html <<< for photos of what we on offer. (You need to scroll down a bit).

Back then we saw no obvious signs of pre-flight dining, just a wounded self-serve buffet. But we were in J: I didn't explore the options for F [if indeed they existed!].

Soupey202

Thank you, yes it is the lounge near the A gates I gather we will need to use. I understand the pre flight dining when it exists is for F (and I assume Golds) but if all there is to eat is a sad buffet we will try and stop on the way to the airport.

T8191

Having re-read what I wrote, the First section didn't seem much better. The BYOPizza may have been a clue, or just a dietary norm!

Quite a nice airport, albeit requiring some long walks!

rossjamesparker

Also flying out of PHL soon, in J as BA Gold. Found a good rundown of the lounge on this blog, with good photos of pre-flight dining. However, this was from 2017 and may have changed since.

Stopwatch430

Prior to mid-2017 there was a proper buffet in the J lounge and a true sit-down F menu with a differentiated menu. Late in 2017 they went to only offering the early flight, they went to a single lighter buffet (and removed any F differentiation other than the right to sit at those tables). The buffet improved a bit to be more substantial in the years since but I never saw the true F dining again (as had remained at IAD, BOS, and I believe EWR and ORD - and of course JFK in the CCR). I assume that PHL has recently been like IAD and BOS with no differentiated F offering (though IAD let F passengers sit in the F section) and order-through-the-app burgers or lousy pasta. I imagine the AMEX Centurion lounge upstairs provides better dining at present.

Genius1

There is still differentiated dining although AIUI it's fairly minimal; you can view the menus here when the lounge is open:

First: https://phlf.yourmenu.cloud/
Club: https://phlc.yourmenu.cloud/

Make up a table number and the code of the day is the same as the current wifi password.

Soupey202

Thanks everyone, the link to the menus shows as unavailable and I vaguely recall that someone else posted that you needed to be logged in to the lounge wifi to see it. I will try calling YouFirst to see if they can help otherwise I guess we choose to try and eat on the way to the airport which will be inconvenient or take pot luck in the lounge knowing the food on an inbound is not usually good.
Thanks

EDIwanderer

F lounge was basically scraps on the buffet when I flew last month. If there is online ordering then it wasn’t mentioned / advertised / posted on tables. Bubbles was a California sparkling. I wouldn’t get to the airport early just for the lounge.

*edit to fix minor typo

T8191

“Scraps” was our recollection, as shown in my TR photos. On other occasions we used AA lounges, and they were … dismal too on the F&B front. For a major hub, Dom and Int, we were always surprised how poor the lounges were.

wfiring12

I'd concur. I flew to Doha on QR from PHL this past January and used the designated AA lounge. Incredibly underwhelming as I wanted to have dinner before the 21hr departure so I could go straight to sleep on board. My chosen was something unmemorable ordered from the bar. I later left the lounge in search of even a burger but everything in the terminal was closed. Personally, I found PHL to be one of the most disappointing airports in the US. And that's saying a lot!

Soupey202

Oh dear, we will try and eat on the way and just go to the lounge for a drink whilst we wait to board. Thank you everyone for your replies.

Genius1

The links are working for me now - you need to access them when the lounges are open, remembering the time difference.

flyerkit

I was there last week. A weak buffet offering. No proper dining. Friendly staff. Good bar.

Soupey202

Thank you I’ll try this evening when they have re-opened.