Bits: Luxury Travel Diary auctions, American arrivals lounge closes, new Qantas lounge for T3

News in brief:

More Luxury Travel Diary auctions closing

The Luxury Travel Diary site dropped me a line about another wave of its luxury auctions closing this week.  These are often worth a look as there are often deals to be had.

Packages closing soon include two Maldives deals and packages in Portugal, Tuscany, Playa del Carmen, Qatar, Bali, Singapore and Greece.

As usual, it is worth having a look to see if anything takes your fancy.

American Airlines arrivals lounge at Terminal 3 closed for refurbishment

As part of a major global lounge overhaul, American Airlines has temporarily closed its arrivals lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3.

It will re-open in the Summer.  Until then, any eligible passengers arriving in Terminal 3 on a BA, Qantas, Cathay Pacific or American flight can use the British Airways arrivals lounge in Terminal 5.  Whether you would want to go to all that trouble is a different question!

The BA arrivals lounge is open until 2.30pm daily.

Qantas building a new lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3

Qantas has decided to build a dedicated lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3.  This will offer yet another option for eligible British Airways passengers flying from T3.  They can already choose from the BA lounge, the AA lounge, the Cathay Pacific lounge (currently closed for refurbishment) and, if they have access, two Priority Pass options.

The specifications sound excellent and the drawing above looks good.  It will be a large space, seating 230, occupying the area previously used by SAS.  Opening is pencilled in for early 2017.