Air France and KLM move into the Heathrow Terminal 3 Club Aspire lounge

It’s beginning to look like Air France and KLM are hunkering down in Heathrow Terminal 3 with no plans to return to Terminal 4.

This makes sense, of course. Now that the two airlines have joined the Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines transatlantic joint venture, there will be many customers transiting from short haul to long haul. Making them transfer between terminals was never going to be a good look.

SkyTeam announced some time ago that it had permanently closed its huge alliance-wide lounge in Terminal 4, which was a good hint that Air France and KLM were not going back.

Air France and KLM have now announced a deal with the Club Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3. All business class and SkyTeam elite members flying on the two airlines will be invited to use the lounge.

Whilst good news for Air France and KLM passengers, it is bad news for Priority Pass, DragonPass and LoungeKey cardholders. With a large influx of SkyTeam passengers throughout the day it will be increasingly difficult to gain entry using a lounge club membership card.

If you are not travelling in Business Class and don’t have airline status, your other options in Heathrow Terminal 3 are:

• The Centurion Lounge (review) – if you have American Express Platinum
• No1 Lounge (review) – if you have Priority Pass etc or will pay cash

I suppose we should be grateful that the Club Aspire lounge still exists at all. The owners of Club Aspire recently bought No1 Lounges and, at Gatwick North, have chosen to permanently close the Club Aspire lounge to focus on No1 and its sister lounges. It seems that Club Aspire and No1 will co-exist in Terminal 3.

You can see our review of the Club Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 3 here.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2025)

Here are the five 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 1,500 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 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 £290 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 good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits 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.