British Airways terminal changes from today – whilst Virgin Atlantic launches Mumbai

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• Daniel says:

  27 Oct27 October 03:24

  Your terminal changes are the wrong way around at the moment, (03:24).

  • Rob says:

    27 Oct27 October 07:10

    Fixed!

  • Alex Sm says:

    27 Oct27 October 11:41

    Yes, I was also confused by Luxembourg/Lyon thing! Even thought momentarily that they moved to T5 for the summer and now coming home!

• Andy says:

  27 Oct27 October 04:11

  Also today I think BA starts serving Beijing’s new airport at Daxing and will no longer fly to the old airport

  • roger says:

    27 Oct27 October 09:04

    Rob, Any idea when AUH opens Midfield Terminal?

    • Rob says:

      27 Oct27 October 10:03

      No. Given the financial issues at Etihad I doubt they are rushing it.

• Harry T says:

  27 Oct27 October 05:05

  OT – lounge lizard plans at LHR:
  Arriving into LHR T5 on an economy cash ticket with BA on 1st November at 6.35.
  I’ve booked a separate Club Europe RFS ticket from LHR to NCL at 18.15 on the same day.
  So, I’ve got about 12 hours to kill at LHR.

  It looks like I’ll have to collect my luggage from the arrivals section of T5 and then check my luggage at T5 departures for the next flight, before heading through T5 security.

  I’m wondering two things:
  1) Can I access the terminal 3 lounges (Cathay, Qantas etc) with my Club Europe ticket for a T5 departure on the same day?
  2) How do I get from T3 to access the lounges, and how do I get back to T5?

  I’ve never visited any of the LHR Business/OneWorld lounges (only PP T5) and I’d like to access as many of them as possible with 12 hours to kill. Flyertalk has conflicting advice on whether I can go from T5 to T3 to access lounges. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

  • John says:

    27 Oct27 October 05:21

    Not possible especially if you need to pick up luggage.

    • BJ says:

      27 Oct27 October 05:36

      Not possible even if he doesn’t, he’s arriving T5. Besides, still not possible if Harry was arriving T3 with or without luggage as that boarding pass would not get him through to departures unless you know something I don’t. I think I’d be looking for an earlier flight to BCL Harry, cannot imagine anything much worse than 10h in a Y5 BA lounge.

    • Kevin says:

      27 Oct27 October 05:39

      It is. Check luggage at T5 and go through security. Travel to T5c and then back to T5a on the transit and go via flight connections to T3. Go through security and connections at T3 and into the lounges. At the end head back to T5.

      • BJ says:

        27 Oct27 October 05:51

        Wow, doesn’t he need to pass a boarding pass check and if he does would they let him through to T3 when departing T5?

        • Kevin says:

          27 Oct27 October 07:15

          Yes. Just explain you have a long connection and that you want to visit the lounges and do some shopping.
          I’ve even visited T3 when I was meant to be connecting to T4 (from T5) even though I couldn’t get a T4 BP issued

        • John says:

          27 Oct27 October 08:29

          Only if you book a T3 shopping experience where you get escorted and are supposed to spend £250 in a shop.

          It is possible without checked luggage, because you can go through flight connections to T3 after landing, then feign ignorance that you thought the terminals were connected.

          Technically you should not reeneter T5 having entered it already.

      • Harry T says:

        27 Oct27 October 07:14

        Thanks, Kevin.

        @BJ – no earlier flights for miles apart from a 7.30 flight which I would definitely miss (landing at 6.25 and need to recheck luggage and go through security). Cash prices are 300£+ one way in economy and over 400£ for business, vs 6500 miles + 45.50£ taxes (no economy redemptions).

        Obviously I’m waiting to see if any earlier RFS becomes available!

        • BJ says:

          27 Oct27 October 07:42

          @Kevin, thanks. Don’t imagine I will ever need it but it is one of those useful tips to remember if I do find myself in such a situation.
          @Harry, suggest you just ask on arrival at T5 if they can put you on an earlier flight, obviously before rechecking bags. In days when I flew through LHR I did this frequently with excellent success rate. They always had more chance of selling an empty seat on a later flight than one departing sooner.

        • Harry T says:

          27 Oct27 October 08:29

          @BJ thanks, that’s a good idea. Didn’t realise they could give me that option on an Avios RFS ticket. I’ll definitely ask at the check in desk.

        • Lady London says:

          27 Oct27 October 12:22

          Got a feeling there’s something that lets you go to ticket desk in airport same day and request a transfer to earlier flight same day f.o.c, if space available

        • Lumma says:

          27 Oct27 October 13:15

          The NCL flights often open up redemptions close to departure. It’s quite often business class only until a day or two before departure. Most of the time it’s just the first and last flight of the day however

        • Harry T says:

          27 Oct27 October 18:17

          Thanks, Lumma – I’m keeping an eye on redemption flights.

        • Polly says:

          27 Oct27 October 21:41

          Harry,
          They never let me go on an earlier flight from Dublin on an RFs fare, sadly. Insist it can’t be changed. Cheaper for me to buy hit earlier RFS flight, save hanging around, as happened in ARN one time too. So good luck…

        • TGLoyalty says:

          28 Oct28 October 00:12

          Outstations can be different. You can have more luck in Home terminals

  • Jake says:

    27 Oct27 October 05:25

    Personally, why not change your RFS flight or go into London. Change fee is £35 (I think) for the flight.

    It would be quite easy to go into London / Windsor and have a look round. Surely a couple of museums / art galleries is far more interesting than a couple of glasses of cheap bubbly and a watery curry.

    • Jake says:

      27 Oct27 October 05:26

      Also, apologies. My answer isn’t at all helpful.

      Don’t know about lounge policies I’m afraid. I can say though the BA T5 lounges are nothing to get excited about.

    • Lyn says:

      27 Oct27 October 05:44

      But is this practical with luggage? How early can you check in for CE domestic?

      • Jake says:

        27 Oct27 October 05:47

        I’m fairly certain BA will take your luggage from anytime up to 24hr before (or same day) and left luggage is always an option.

        • Rob says:

          27 Oct27 October 07:09

          CE opens when the terminal opens at Heathrow, but not the night before.

      • Relaxo says:

        27 Oct27 October 06:01

        BA wouldn’t take my luggage 5 hours before my connecting flight when I had a long layover last year…..

        • Kevin says:

          27 Oct27 October 07:16

          Depends on your status and class or travel.

    • Harry T says:

      27 Oct27 October 07:16

      Was thinking about popping into london too! Will depend if I can get rid of my checked baggage, and if I have the energy after a red eye (I don’t sleep well on planes).

      • BJ says:

        27 Oct27 October 07:48

        If you end up doing this, and you have not already visited then you might have a professional interest in seeing the Fleming Museum at St Mary’s Hospital, and/or the Florence Nightingale museum. Just some suggestions if you have already seen most mainstream places in London.

        • Harry T says:

          27 Oct27 October 08:30

          Thanks both of you, I will take a look at those museums. I don’t go into London much so it will take some planning.

        • Alex Sm says:

          27 Oct27 October 11:51

          There are great things to see and visit in West London if you don’t have time to go to the city centre. First, it’s Osterley House and park, close to the tube and very nice. Second, it’s Gunnersbury park and Museum (near Acton Town station). Third, Acton depot (a branch of London Transport Museum, but check opening hours). And also if to venture a bit further, there are Kew Gardens, Museum of Water and Steam and Music Museum near Kew Bridge.

        • Rob says:

          27 Oct27 October 13:13

          Syon Park

      • The Savage Squirrel says:

        27 Oct27 October 08:04

        +1 for this – popping into one of the world’s most interesting cities where you can do literally anything you can imagine vs 12 hours in an airport terminal eating mediocre buffets and drinking heavily just to alleviate the boredom. I think T3 baggage storage is £8.50/item for 24 hrs? I’d pay a considerable amount more than this NOT to have to sit in LHR for 12 hours.

  • Lyn says:

    27 Oct27 October 09:41

    If you can find a shop that is in T3 but not in T5, then I think they allow you to go across to T3, probably with an escort to get across, to shop there.

    Also if both terminals have the same shop, but the T5 shop is out of stock of what you are looking for but the T3 shop has it in stock. I remember being offered this choice once. I don’t think there would be a minimum spend.

    • Jonathan says:

      27 Oct27 October 10:20

      It is possible to visit a different terminal using the transfer buses & transfer train to switch from departures to arrivals side of terminal 3 but the risk is on trying to return to T5 there will be a mini meltdown when you swipe your boarding pass at security as BA’s fly system will have you down as already being airside. Overriding this takes a lot of manual intervention & most BA staff will not be familiar with the exact process, particularly as it involves a domestic flight needing a photo taken. Customs will also want to speak to you to make sure you haven’t indulged in any duty free purchases in T3.

      I’d say chances of your luggage being off loaded or reaching departure gate & finding out someone has missed a step in the process resulting in you being denied boarding (at your own expense) is high enough that I wouldn’t risk it! If only travelling with hand baggage it’s slightly safer as won’t have to go landside/airside to get the transfer bus.

  • Andrew says:

    27 Oct27 October 12:13

    Twelve hours time to kill at Heathrow?

    If you’re only going as far as Newcastle, get yourself to Kings Cross and grab an LNER service that takes under 3 hours.

• James says:

  27 Oct27 October 05:39

  San Diego is T5 to T3 – not 3 to 5 🙂

  • Rob says:

    27 Oct27 October 07:10

    Fixed!

• Michael C says:

  27 Oct27 October 06:33

  OT: pretty rubbish experience in Bologna lounge yesterday: no seats for first 20 mins (can happen), only food was 2 dry sandwiches, one of which was cheese paste (?!), only alcohol v rough wine.
  Toilets closed for last half hour we were there (with 5-yr old). Toilets by gate with 100+ people boarding also closed.
  The lounge is before security, but with it’s own fasttrack…but this closed before LHR departure.
  Back to the “normal” fasttrack – you can’t come through without a special ticket issued by the lounge people. Which no-one mentioned, of course.
  Great airport to arrive at, though – out in 4 minutes, into city centre in 15!

  • Polly says:

    27 Oct27 October 06:47

    Same rubbish system at Bari. OH had to go back out via security to obtain a door code. Inside just tea coffee, water pkts of biccies. That was it. Pointless. Thank goodness we flew Y.

  • Jon says:

    27 Oct27 October 08:26

    Agree, used it earlier this year and we only stayed for 20 mins before going through security and had a nice Aperol spritz at the bar after security. I meant to drop BA a complaint using the online form- suggest you do the same you might get 5/10k Avios and only takes 5 mins to complete the form.

    • Michael C says:

      27 Oct27 October 09:31

      Thanks Jon, and totally wish we’d just gone through. And of course, couldn’t even
      fill water bottle for the little one!
      Bu cheap Y flight and brilliant city, so hey-ho!

      • Jon says:

        27 Oct27 October 09:46

        Yes – ice cream and cakes/ pastries was off the chart!! We also did a trip to Maranello (Home of Ferrari) which was awesome, especially the f1 simulators which was pricey at 25 Euro each but a one off treat.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    27 Oct27 October 08:32

    My advice is always read the flyertalk reviews. Better time can be had in a nice cafe airside in most small airports

    • Jon says:

      27 Oct27 October 09:50

      The problem is that they can often be conflicting and changes made after the review – eg I read that they offered Prosecco at the Bologna lounge. They did not.
      CX J lounge at T3 offered Moët/ other top marques, not any more. So good advice but often things change so quickly that it’s worth checking out anyway if you have spare time/ have status etc.

  • Yan says:

    27 Oct27 October 10:43

    It’s pretty standard with other medium and small-size Italian airports. BA can’t do much more as long as they are paying for the only 3rd party lounge (LoungeBuddy for reviews) available.

• MattB says:

  27 Oct27 October 07:24

  We are flying to San Diego in F next August, is there any chance it will revert back to T5 for the summer season?

  • Jake says:

    27 Oct27 October 07:50

    Not sure. Flights from T5 have connecting traffic. Those with the most point to point travel depart from T3. Depends therefore on booking patterns.

    Lounges are better in T3 anyway. More choice and better quality. Only missing out first wing on T5 which doesn’t add that much.

    Enjoy

    • TGLoyalty says:

      27 Oct27 October 08:34

      First wing and importantly CCR.

      The CX first lounge is good but it’s not that good.

      • Jonathan says:

        27 Oct27 October 10:24

        Food is far better in Cathay First than CCR. Only thing missing is LPGS champagne (which you’ll get on board if flying F anyway). I’d also say service & wine better in Cathay. T3 wins all day for me.

  • Lyn says:

    27 Oct27 October 10:24

    I suspect San Diego will stay as T3. It would be par for the course. BA has always treated it as somewhat of a second class route, cancelling and restarting it in the past, or having a stop en-route in Phoenix. I think it has something to do with it being more of an economy class and cargo route than a true premium / business route. There always seem to be plenty of passengers connecting to San Diego ex-Europe but perhaps not many Club or First passenger doing this
    .

    • Dev says:

      27 Oct27 October 13:03

      Have been in CX T3 first class lounge a couple of times in the last ten days. Their champagne from lesser known French houses are well worth the experience, I don’t know why most passengers choose the bling option available in the lounge.

• PaulC says:

  27 Oct27 October 07:28

  O/T What is the website to check seat availability people have talked about in the past?
  I want to book 2 economy seats MAN to Dubai mid Oct 2020 and use a Lloyds upgrade ticket for Business coming back (using Avios for both). I have been keeping an eye on seat availability (but not stopping up till midnight to check) There doesn’t seem to have been a single economy seat available for weeks now.
  I have never struggled getting economy going out any other year but have never tried to book this far in advanced before.
  Any help much appreciated.

  • MattB says:

    27 Oct27 October 07:31

    Rewardflightfinder?

    • PaulC says:

      27 Oct27 October 08:09

      Thanks MattB
      That is showing there is availability for some days but on checking on BA it is only one flight.
      Would it be fair to say that the 12:50 (747) from LHR gets booked up at midnight which is our preferred flight? What we may have to do is book our return using the Lloyds voucher and then wait for more Economy seats to become available in the future. Can we then add them to the same booking?

• NigelthePensioner says:

  27 Oct27 October 07:32

  I believe also that PHX is T5 for this season too…..or so my app tells me for our January flights!

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