British Airways now using the No1 Traveller lounge at Gatwick North – feedback?
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
In early January, the British Airways lounge complex at Gatwick closed. This is part of the preparation for the terminal switch which is due to take place in November, with easyJet moving everything to the North terminal and BA moving to Gatwick South.
My thoughts on the Gatwick North lounges have been published here. I found the British Airways lounges to be pretty awful (see my comments here) and the No1 Traveller lounge (review) and its sister My Lounge (review) facilities to be pretty good.
When it was announced that BA would be ‘moving in’ with No1 Traveller for 11 months, I thought it would be an improvement!
The feedback so far on Flyertalk has been mixed, to put it mildly. I am a little surprised by this. It seems to come down to the following:
At peak times, the No1 lounge is now overcrowded. There are some reports of long waits for food (although, to be honest, not so many that it seems to be a major problem).
British Airways has decided not to issue vouchers for free champagne to First Class and Gold Card ticket holders who would otherwise have been able to get it in the old Galleries First lounge. No 1 charges £8 per glass. This is a fair point, although I was surprised that missing champagne had inflamed so many people.
I get a feeling that some of the bad feedback is from people who had never visited the old BA lounge and so were unaware of what was on offer before. Last time I checked, the BA Gatwick lounge did not have a table football table, for example, unlike No1. The No1 lounge buffet is also substantially better than anything BA offered.
What we can say is that I wouldn’t bother turning up at the No1 lounge at peak times clutching your Priority Pass card, as your chance of getting in is low. You can pay £5 in advance to guarantee entrance with a Priority Pass via this website.
Whilst this has not been announced, it seems that BA and No1 may be taking over the old Delta lounge which is two floors beneath the No1 lounge, next to the Aspire lounge. This may be run as a separate facility for BA Gold and First Class ticket holders, although they will struggle to get it up to much of a standard in the time available.
There are also rumours that the move to the South Terminal will be delayed until next Spring, which may account for the Delta lounge conversion.
If you have been in the No1 Lounge at Gatwick as a BA passenger in the last 2-3 weeks – and I haven’t – do let us know your thoughts via the comments below.
How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2024)
Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.
You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges. Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.
Additional lounge visits are charged at £24. You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.
There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus. Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network. Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.
The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer. Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.
HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard
A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review
PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.
Comments (119)