Curious to hear of any other non-BA one -world experiences at LHR T4. Had a long layover there last week and tried to access
the BA Club lounge upstairs in the lounge
pavillion with my CP Gold card (1-w Sapphire). The gatekeeper told me that since
I was flying economy (groan) I had to use the Executive Club lounge two floors down. I
went down to this and got in without problem,
although the sign on the stairs says 'Executive Club Gold and Silver Members Only'.

The BA timetable says that 1-w sapphire grants Club lounge access, so I queried this
with the Executive Club gatekeeper and got
an explanation that the lounge upstairs was
not a 'Club' lounge but rather a 'Club World'
lounge. Or something. I didn't push it.

The Executive Club lounge is pretty poor, except for the great view of Concorde. It
is especially poor on a Friday night when it
fills up with parties catching the Amsterdam
flight for the weekend and trying to get a
head start on the BA beer. It hasn't been 'Terraced' like many other BA lounges have.

Any experiences either with 1-w sapphire access to the Club lounge or 1-w emerald access to the First class lounge at T4?

Travellin_man

P.S. One thing I discovered - there is a nice
little BA lounge at the other end of T4 that seems much less used.

I hold an Emerald card (AA Executive Platinum) and have used the BA lounges quite a lot over the last 12 months. Frankly, I don't think you missed out on much. All the lounges seem to have a reasonable supply of liquid refreshments and they all seem to be very stingy when it comes to food (with the exception of the Arrivals lounge in T4). This is something I don't get - do they really want their First and Club passengers totally plastered when they get on the plane?

In terms of business facilities you can't go past the lounge in T1 - BA needs to do something similar in T4, particularly after ripping me off GBP37 to access my email (because my calling card toll-free number was barred).

If you have the chance, experience the arrivals lounge in T-4. It's terrific. Also, afternoon sandwiches in the (airside) First Class lounge and the lounge at the far side of T-4 is always quiet.

------------------
speedbird001

speedbird -- agree wholeheartedly on the Arrivals Lounge - best in the world by far. Great shower facilities, free suit pressing, full English breakfast (or continental if you want something lighter), and the relaxation center. Only wish there was something similar at other airports around the globe.

Travellin_man,

I think that the distinction is "Executive Club" versus "Club [class]" This crops up in a variety of BA lounges around Europe. When the gardener and I flew out of Zurich a couple of months ago, I wanted to spend some time in the Spruengli store, so I sent him off to the lounge ahead of me, bearing all the bags. He returned a few minutes later fuming because they wouldn't let him in - apparently his Club World ticket wasn't good enough: it was an Executive Club lounge, not a Club (Europe) lounge. So I duly trotted off with him and flashed my card, which allowed him entrance as my guest.

This makes sense most of the time in Zurich, as the club is tiny and fills up rapidly with all the commuting consultants, bankers etc, but we were flying on a Sunday morning, and were the only people using the lounge. I have to wonder whether the lounge attendant was simply too lazy to let the gardner in and clean up after him.

[The Spruengli lady, however, saw the steam coming out of his ears and offered him a free truffle, which did do something to sweeten his mood.]

I'll have to check the fine print on the oneworld info I have (from BA), but your experience seems to indicate that when there is an Executive Club lounge, that's the one to which you'll be admitted. In quieter airports the Exec Club club and the Club club are very often one and the same.