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LHR Terminal 2 UA UC (open), GS Lounge (open) & Arrivals Lounge (now open)

Old Jul 25, 2014, 8:21 pm
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Last edit by: seanp7
related thread: Consolidated connection time/logistics at LHR

Comparative Review of Five Different Star Alliance Lounges at Heathrow T2

United Club Hours 5:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m. daily (as of October 2023) (standard UC access policies0
​​​​​​Global First Class GS / VIP lounge (newly open May 2022) (GS and at time 1K Polaris customers -- based on space)

Arrival Lounge Hours 6:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. (open as of June 13, 2022)
The arrivals lounge at London Heathrow, located immediately after immigration and customs, is a shared space with shower suites, breakfast items and more. This lounge is exclusively available for United Polaris business class travelers.
Eligible travelers must be flying on a same-day ticket arriving before noon and cannot bring guests. Additionally, United Club memberships and one-time passes dont grant access to this lounge.

Archive thread: LHR Terminal 2 United Club, GS Lounge (was GFL) & Arrivals Lounge Discussion[Archive]
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LHR Terminal 2 UA UC (open), GS Lounge (open) & Arrivals Lounge (now open)

Old Jun 22, 2022, 9:55 am
  #736  
 
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Originally Posted by kirkwoodj
I believe so, since it's ben marked as a Star Gold lane before
Thanks for the clarification. So I guess there's no benefit to UA 1K over UA Gold flying in economy at LHR? It seems like all the perks except maybe boarding will be the same.
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Old Jun 22, 2022, 10:22 am
  #737  
 
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Originally Posted by sau54
Thanks for the clarification. So I guess there's no benefit to UA 1K over UA Gold flying in economy at LHR? It seems like all the perks except maybe boarding will be the same.
Separate earlier boarding on UA-operated flight
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Old Jun 22, 2022, 10:25 am
  #738  
 
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Originally Posted by kirkwoodj
Separate earlier boarding on UA-operated flight
So the advantage of 1K boarding earlier than Gold on UA-operated flight is the only advantage at LHR?
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Old Jun 22, 2022, 10:54 am
  #739  
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Originally Posted by sau54
That's unfortunate! Why? I thought LHR was pretty important to at least UA and SQ! I thought there would be more of an effort at least alliance-wide to match the T3 and T5 experience provided by VS and BA.



Do you have more details on the access requirement? Surprisingly, none of the travel blogs covered it. I do see information on VS and BAs priority security in T3 and T5. Is it 1K that can access or it's simply because 1K have *G that can access fast track? If so, I'm assuming UA Gold and Platinum will have fast track when flying in economy as well?
I would start here as it gives a side by side comparison. Blogs are great if you want to be pushed a credit card or whatever their deal du jour is::

https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly...s/premier.html

VS and BA are supposedly British airlines, UA isn't and LHR is just an outstation to it.
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Old Jun 22, 2022, 11:41 am
  #740  
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Originally Posted by sau54
So the advantage of 1K boarding earlier than Gold on UA-operated flight is the only advantage at LHR?
In terms of the airport experience, that's pretty much universally true. I suppose there are a few dedicated 1K checkin lines in some airports, but that's about it. The last 1K-specific clubs closed, what, 20 years ago?
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Old Jun 22, 2022, 12:08 pm
  #741  
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Originally Posted by sau54
So the advantage of 1K boarding earlier than Gold on UA-operated flight is the only advantage at LHR?
I'm always in Polaris, but I think 1K/Polaris T2 checkin is combined at the podium(s) just downwind of the GS checkin podium? It's right next to Premier Access podiums, so worth a quick look.
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Old Jun 22, 2022, 8:23 pm
  #742  
 
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Originally Posted by sau54
That's unfortunate! Why? I thought LHR was pretty important to at least UA and SQ! I thought there would be more of an effort at least alliance-wide to match the T3 and T5 experience provided by VS and BA.


There is an effort. That's why United has an arrival lounge there and also why the United Club at Heathrow is probably the best United Club in the network (at least it used to be). I suppose maybe the next step would be a Polaris lounge but the roll out has been very slow, even in the US hubs

Originally Posted by sau54
Thanks for the clarification. So I guess there's no benefit to UA 1K over UA Gold flying in economy at LHR? It seems like all the perks except maybe boarding will be the same.
This thread is about lounges at Heathrow and not general 1K benefits - in terms of lounge access, as stated, all Star Gold have same entitlements.
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Old Jun 23, 2022, 10:45 am
  #743  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
In terms of the airport experience, that's pretty much universally true. I suppose there are a few dedicated 1K checkin lines in some airports, but that's about it. The last 1K-specific clubs closed, what, 20 years ago?
Originally Posted by IAH-OIL-TRASH
I'm always in Polaris, but I think 1K/Polaris T2 checkin is combined at the podium(s) just downwind of the GS checkin podium? It's right next to Premier Access podiums, so worth a quick look.
So given what you guys have said, and I know it's not a perfect comparison, but it's safe to say that flying VS and BA will give the best experience flying into and out of LHR?

Originally Posted by ani90
There is an effort. That's why United has an arrival lounge there and also why the United Club at Heathrow is probably the best United Club in the network (at least it used to be). I suppose maybe the next step would be a Polaris lounge but the roll out has been very slow, even in the US hubs


This thread is about lounges at Heathrow and not general 1K benefits - in terms of lounge access, as stated, all Star Gold have same entitlements.
From the pictures that I've seen of the English breakfast served at the UC, I think you may be right. I had the privilege of checking out the breakfast at UC SFO and it was a massive disappointment. I haven't flown UA to LHR during the pandemic so I don't know what the breakfast spread is like. The OneWorld and Virgin lounges at LHR T3 are simply fantastic! Plus, there's the Centurion Lounge.
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Old Jun 23, 2022, 8:02 pm
  #744  
 
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Originally Posted by sau54
So given what you guys have said, and I know it's not a perfect comparison, but it's safe to say that flying VS and BA will give the best experience flying into and out of LHR?



From the pictures that I've seen of the English breakfast served at the UC, I think you may be right. I had the privilege of checking out the breakfast at UC SFO and it was a massive disappointment. I haven't flown UA to LHR during the pandemic so I don't know what the breakfast spread is like. The OneWorld and Virgin lounges at LHR T3 are simply fantastic! Plus, there's the Centurion Lounge.
There is no comparison between UC SFO and UC LHR!
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Old Jun 23, 2022, 9:14 pm
  #745  
 
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I was at LHR in March and earlier this month (June). I had the privilege of checking out all of the Star Alliance lounges -- Lufthansa, Air Canada, Singapore Air, and United.
  • The United Club is indeed beautiful and nicely laid out. However, it was very busy on both of my visits. On my most recent visit, the staff seemed to be having trouble keeping the food area stocked.
  • Air Canada was quieter and felt more spacious than the United Club. Their food & bar area is very nice, with appealing food offerings. Of all the lounges, they had the best English bacon & sausages.
  • The SQ lounge is my favorite, especially for ordering a hot meal that is brought from the kitchen to your chair. The LHR food isn't as good as it is in the SIN lounges, but then, nowhere is better than Singapore... ;-)
  • Lufthansa was standard Lufthansa. The food & drink in the Senator Lounge was identical to the Business Lounge, but the space was quieter.
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Old Jun 24, 2022, 6:02 am
  #746  
 
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20 minutes from check in through Fast Track security to the lounge today. Regular security was a winding mess out the door.



Painfully slow progress on the ramp continues
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Old Jun 24, 2022, 6:57 am
  #747  
 
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Originally Posted by Dyce
20 minutes from check in through Fast Track security to the lounge today. Regular security was a winding mess out the door.
Thanks for the update...good to know! I'm flying out or LHR tomorrow, and have been wondering how early I needed to get there. I'm shooing for 3ish hours (mainly to give myself some time to hop around to the misc lounges...I'm flying out of T2A, so will have to make the walk back from T2B at some point).
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Old Jun 24, 2022, 7:28 am
  #748  
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Originally Posted by sau54
That's unfortunate! Why? I thought LHR was pretty important to at least UA and SQ! I thought there would be more of an effort at least alliance-wide to match the T3 and T5 experience provided by VS and BA.
VS is outstanding at LHR and really cant be beat. But BA is more on a par with UA. At T5, top tier and First get a unique security lane but an indifferent lounge. Biz class and other elites get two very poor lounges and one adequate one. UA get only a *G security privilege (personally the longest wait I have experienced in over a hundred flights was 4 minutes), but a choice of 3 very good lounges.
BA at T3 benefits from the CX lounge which is excellent. But, generally, the key difference between BA and UA is that BA offers First whereas UA doesnt.
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Old Jun 24, 2022, 7:35 am
  #749  
 
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Originally Posted by lhrsfo
UA get [...] a choice of 3 very good lounges.
Out of curiosity, which lounge are you not including in the list of very good lounges...there's UA, AC, LH, and SQ. I'm assuming you think one of them is not in the 'very good' category?
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Old Jun 24, 2022, 9:00 am
  #750  
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Originally Posted by mpiotrow
Out of curiosity, which lounge are you not including in the list of very good lounges...there's UA, AC, LH, and SQ. I'm assuming you think one of them is not in the 'very good' category?
My money would be on LH.
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