Darky

First post - have read the forums for a while - go easy on me...!

I am flying FIRST on xmas day from LHR T4 to Sydney at 21:30 or so.

I think that the first class lounge in T4 = shut down, so I have to use the T5 one instead...

So a few questions:

1. I assume I must check in my luggage at T4?

2. Then I assume I need to get to T5 somehow if I want to use the first class lounge / concorde lounge...

2a. Does anyone know if the buses or tube is running on xmas day, or must I get the Heathrow Express (which is slow to transfer)? Or do they offer a direct bus transfer?

3. When I get back to T4 I assume I need to go through security all over again? It all seems like a right pain...

BA have not really communicated anything useful to me, and the added complication is that it is xmas day so I assume less transport is running...

Thanks in advance,
Darky

srt8

https://www.britishairways.com/trave...=searchResults

UncleDude

If flying from T4 you cannot use T5 Lounges so Only Choice is old First/Business/Emerald/Sapphire Lounge near gate 1. It does have a small Private Dining Room for First Passengers only.

Heathrow Express is a Bus on Christmas Day and no other Public Transport in London as far as I know.

HEX Detail here : https://www.heathrowexpress.com/tickets.asp?SID={645B77D0-188F-48F7-A2CD-AE903D3107A8}

Darky

Thanks for the quick replies. So basically I cannot use any First class lounges

Darky

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

Details of the HEX service here;

https://www.heathrowexpress.com/engineeringwork.asp?SID={B16FAC68-1FEE-4706-888A-B0568133B392}&SUID=410&type=0

It is a bus with last service leaving paddington at 2010. ( although the railway takes 20mins or so I would allow lots of extra time for the bus journey)

As uncledude said, you can only use T4 Gate 1 combined lounge and you will not be able to access T5.

Welcome to flyertalk and the BA forum!^

Regards

TBS

tom139

When I travelled F to BOS in October the CCR was closed. I would highlight your disappointment with BA. This, together with some service issues on the flight gave us 20k miles each (and it was an MFU).

vla

We recently had a couple of threads on this, available from the search function:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ng-out-t4.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...xperience.html

To be honest, if you are travelling First class on Christmas day, there will be no traffic whatsoever at that time of night, so I would book a car with Addison Lee and aim to arrive at T4 as close to the flight closing time as possible. You will find it a creepy, spooky, haunted ghost town. Drink copious amounts of champagne upon arrival at Gate 1.

Ironic for a premium travel experience to the longest long-haul destination, but there we are.

AusEuroFlyer

T4 Gate 1 lounge is not a particularly pleasant experience and not really worth visiting in my opinion, if it weren't for the fact that there is nowhere pleasant to sit in T4 anywhere, anyway. Better a free drink in a not-so-good environment than an expensive drink in a not-so-good environment.

At least on Christmas day it (hopefully) will not be a zoo there like it has been lately.

I hope they get this lounge sorted out, or I'll be defecting to non-BA/QF for LHR-SYD/BNE/MEL soon.

jakesterUK

I can't believe that the handful of long haul flights could not have been termporarily accommodated at T5, this would have been a far better short-term solution to the problem and would have kept all First & Business Class flyers happy (well after the T5 problems were sorted anyway). Anyway, sure this was covered on previous threads (to death no doubt), but Qantas don't use BA staff at T4 any more, so probably more complicated than first thought....

3 flights on BA/Qantas to BKK
4 flights on BA/Qantas to SIN
1 flight on Qantas to HKG

(missed anything?)

Swanhunter

Sage advice. T4 is just spooky, the lounge crap and overcrowded. Get there 1h15 before hand, spend 30mins tracking the champagne down and then be grateful to get on the plane.