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British Airways sneaks out some interesting news on lounge refurbishments

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British Airways put out a press release yesterday announcing its ’20 New Year resolutions’.

I was tempted to delete it unread, obviously.  That would have been a mistake, however, as for some reason BA chose to slip out two new announcements among the 20 resolutions.

Lounge improvements for 2020

The first bit of ‘new news’ was about lounges.  British Airways has been sprucing up many of its lounges in recent years, with the most recent re-openings being Geneva, which I reviewed here (photo below), and San Francisco.  In general, they are doing a good job.

Lounge ‘refreshments’ for 2020 will be:

  • Heathrow
  • Edinburgh
  • Berlin

….. along with a re-designed Elemis Spa at New York JFK.

I’m not entirely sure what BA means by ‘refreshed’.  It clearly is not going to ‘refresh’ the lounge in Berlin, since the airport is scheduled to close on 8th November 2020!  I assume it means that there will be a brand new British Airways lounge at Berlin Brandenberg.

Similarly, I am not sure what ‘refreshing’ means in the context of Heathrow.  There are rumours of a lounge finally opening in Terminal 5C.  There is also, I believe, space available in Terminal 5A for the expansion of the South lounge complex.  On the other hand, ‘refresh’ might simply mean buying a few new sofas as happened with the Concorde Room recently.

Edinburgh is in need of a redesign.  It is a surprisingly large lounge but is now looking dated, and No 1, the two Aspire lounges and the forthcoming Clubrooms have raised the bar.

British Airways Geneva lounge

Concorde Teams expanding to more routes

The second bit of news related to the ‘Concorde’ teams, which is the rebranded ‘Special Services’ operation.  These are the senior British Airways staff on the ground who are available to Gold Guest List and Premier card holders and have additional powers to get things done for you when necessary.

From 2020, ‘Concorde’ teams will be situated in New York JFK, London Heathrow, Delhi, Los Angeles and Mumbai.

British Airways Concorde team

And the other 18 resolutions …..

Here are the other 18 New Year resolutions from British Airways, most of which we have covered already (or declined to cover!):

  1. New destinations – the airline has already announced nine new routes for 2020 including the Kosovan and Montenegrin capitals Pristina and Podgorica, Perugia in Italy, Antalya, Dalaman and Bodrum in Turkey, San Sebastián in Spain, Rhodes in Greece and Portland, Oregon, and it’s promising even more new destinations for customers to come.
  1. New aircraft – the airline is due to take delivery of more than 20 new aircraft in 2020, including 787-10s and A350s which are up to 40% more fuel efficient than the aircraft they replace.
  1. Club Suite – more aircraft will be flying with the airline’s new business class seat, Club Suite, which offers privacy via a suite door, 40% more storage space and a 1-2-1 layout with direct aisle access for all passengers.
  1. Caring for the environment – from January British Airways will be offsetting all its domestic flights, customers travelling further afield can offset their individual emissions. The airline will be making additional announcements about sustainability throughout the year.
  1. First – customers can expect to see more aircraft fitted with the airline’s newest First seat, currently available on its 787-9 aircraft.
  1. World Traveller comfort – in addition to enhancements made in 2019, customers travelling in the airline’s economy cabin will experience refreshed bedding.
  1. Designed by Savile Row tailoring expert Ozwald Boateng OBE, new uniforms for a new decade will be revealed.
  1. Food for thought – the airline is introducing new menus across its network thanks to new partnerships with gourmet caterers Do&Co at Heathrow and Newrest at Gatwick.
  1. Connectivity – the majority of eligible aircraft will be WiFi ready by the end of 2020.
  1. BA.com – expect a newly re-designed Manage My Booking experience enabling customers to navigate to information and services in a more intuitive way.
  1. Appy days – customers using the British Airways’ app will benefit from a slicker design and additional functionality improving the experience as they make and manage their bookings.
  1. Robots – British Airways is trialling new autonomous wayfaring robots at Heathrow to help customers navigate through the airport.
  1. 3D printing – the airline’s tech experts will continue their trial of printing non-essential aircraft parts like tray tables, to ensure flights are able to depart on time and without seats going out of service.
  1. Customer service training – thousands of British Airways’ airport hosts worldwide will receive additional training to provide a service that goes above and beyond expectations.
  1. Executive Club – the airline has committed to making continuous improvements to the Executive Club with new partners and exciting deals throughout the year
  1. Flying Start – British Airways celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its Flying Start charity which has so far raised more than £24m+ for good causes in the UK and overseas.
  1. Internships – from summer, British Airways will become the first UK airline to offer paid summer internships to future aviators.
  1. Documentary – customers will have the chance to watch the 2019 documentary about British Airways, British Airways Access All Areas, 24/7 on board long-haul flights.
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Comments (105)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Alan says:
    31 Dec31 December 07:58

    Wish they would fix the app so it didn’t keep freezing when trying to load BP and also so it actually gave timely notifications re gates, boarding etc – at present the airport info screens have this info many minutes earlier.

  • Paul says:
    31 Dec31 December 08:18

    Jam tomorrow.
    Meanwhile the competition deliver that which BA promises st some point in the future and they do it better.
    The Concorde team will not stop most of us facing hours on hold when BA cancels our flights or disrupts you in all the ways it can and does.

  • Jamesay says:
    31 Dec31 December 08:19

    The missing resolution is … getting rid of these obtuse carrier charges which other airlines removed ages ago ! I’m guessing these pay for CEO pensions !!!

    • Andrew says:
      31 Dec31 December 11:34

      Which airlines would those be that have scrapped YQ?

      I don’t like them but sadly they’re a fact of life now for almost all airlines

      • ChrisC says:
        31 Dec31 December 18:05

        There needs to be more honesty.

        for cash tickets it should be part of the base fare.

        For rewards call it a redemption fee.

        Would still be the same amount but a more honest description

  • boi says:
    31 Dec31 December 09:31

    OT: Something I didnt know (might be common knowledge to you all but…) I have 2 tesco clubcard accounts that I dont use…. signed up for virgin auto convert. Got the 1000 bonus points in November, then I forgot to switch it off…. got another 1000 bonus for December. Thought I have to keep turning it on and off. Will leave them like that as it has been 4K points without much effort

  • Ammar says:
    31 Dec31 December 09:33

    OT – have a points redemption booking at Conrad rangali (1st time) booked for late January. I booked 7 nights, just wondering is it worth cancelling the last night as essentially, just waking up then flying off to catch our BA flight back, was not sure if they offer late checkout, so can stay till late on Sunday and then book a cheaper hotel before flight in the morning as I imagine I have to be at check in at 8am at male airport on the Monday we fly back.

    Ps…going with wife and 16 month old. Any tips?

    • Chinafish says:
      31 Dec31 December 09:42

      Personal experience with traveling with kids is that the less hassle the better.

      We’ve done similar things in the past where we move hotels for 1 day because of cheaper price etc. Every time we’ve done it we wish we hadn’t have had to, because the time spent packing and transferring, checking out and in, getting from one hotel to another, was generally boring for the kid(s) and we could have done something fun for everyone / fun for the kid and reserve your sanity. For me it’s been weighing up the price difference on one hand, and the faff and stress of the family on the other.

      Depending on how travel savvy your kid is, YMMV.

    • Jtz says:
      31 Dec31 December 09:45

      Best to contact them because near the time of your stay you will receive an email for your flight times, I cant remember if their first flight leaves at 6am, if so and you need to be in Male at 8am then you should be fine.
      Usually flights to London leave later in the evening so they try to let you stay as long as possible on the island. For us, because they needed the room, they relocated us to a deluxe BV and we ended up leaving the island on the last seaplane back.
      They do try and put you on the seaplane hat would be most convenient for you.
      It’s a an amazing place, 5 nights, 6 days was just the right amount for us

    • Chinafish says:
      31 Dec31 December 09:45

      PS I have not googled the price and quality of the Conrad Rangali so the price difference might well worth it. I’ll let the more knowledgeable members address that front!

      • Chinafish says:
        31 Dec31 December 09:54

        I just had a Google and I would look into swapping hotels for that kind of price!

        • Lady London says:
          31 Dec31 December 13:40

          I’d demand my money back. That level of vacation has to be pretty much perfect – certainly on basic underpinnings like operations and your room – otherwise it’s worthless. If they understand their market you would get a large chunk back. Otherwise all you can do is tell everyone including Hilton. That takes longer to have its effect. But in their market will surely do so eventually.

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:
      31 Dec31 December 11:20

      First, great place. You will love it.

      Second, speak to the hotel. You need a seaplane so you are somewhat at their mercy with regard when this is based on the schedule and other guests departing. The time of this may impact your choice favourably or otherwise.

    • TripRep says:
      31 Dec31 December 11:33

      Ammar – I’ve been on the Conrad flyertalk forum recently. A friend was there over Xmas for his 3rd visit, not impressed with the degradation in service… I’m a few months I’m looking to book there again for my 3rd visit, but might be forced to try elsewhere if the worrying decline is permanent. Could reluctantly be considering the Waldorf Astoria instead.

    • Neil Donoghue says:
      31 Dec31 December 12:54

      This will all come down to what time the first seaplane can depart. When I stayed at the hotel, the seaplane actually arrived the night before and the crew stayed overnight. The plane departed just after sunrise which in February was 06:45am. Our flight was at 2pm. Personally I would not be taking the first seaplane at 7am if check-in was at 8am. I would leave the day before and stay on the mainland. A holiday should be relaxing and just the thought of this is stressful should anything happen.

      • Anna says:
        31 Dec31 December 13:35

        We went to the Maldives 20 years ago and although it was undeniably beautiful I’ve never really been tempted to go back, because of things like being tied to the seaplane times (I recall after our late arrival from MAN we had to wait 4 hours for our transfer!), and distance from a hospital should the worst happen. OH fondly remembers diving with manta rays etc, though!

  • The Streets says:
    31 Dec31 December 09:39

    Completely OT but interesting read this morning of all the name changes Heathrow (Heath Row) could have received. Landing at Sir Winston Churchill Airport or even taking off from Princess Diana?

    • Rich says:
      31 Dec31 December 09:53

      Any airport named after a person makes me want to vomit a little. I just don’t get it. Weird vanity/ worship.

      If it’s a politician, double vomit!

      • Doug M says:
        31 Dec31 December 11:28

        It’s a really common trend amongst airports.

      • Mike says:
        31 Dec31 December 12:48

        JFK, Dulles, Reagan, Norman Mineta, George Bush, Charles de Gaulle, Adolfo Suarez, Marco Polo, Hamad are just a few of the airports named after people I’ve travelled to/through in the last year. Definitely a trend, and not even a new one at that.

    • Lady London says:
      31 Dec31 December 13:54

      Isn’t T2 at LHR known as The Queen’s Terminal?

  • John Silver says:
    31 Dec31 December 09:47

    Question: is BA ever going to reopen a lounge at JKIA Nairobi? It will soon be 7 years since the fire!!

  • Concerto says:
    31 Dec31 December 09:57

    Not just valid on the train to Cornavin, it’s valid for 80 minutes on any bus, trolleybus, tram and even Mouette boat (costs 3 francs otherwise). The machine is just before you leave the baggage hall and go through customs.
    Yes, the toilet is outside the lounge, just across the corridor.

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