Exclusive: First photos of BA’s new First Dining Room at Heathrow Terminal 3

Yesterday we told you that British Airways has opened what we called a ‘Concorde Room Lite’ – but is technically the ‘First Dining Room’ – at Heathrow Terminal 3.

The Concorde Room, for those who don’t know, is the lounge in Terminal 5 which is exclusively for the use of passengers travelling in First Class or those holding Gold Guest List or Premier status with British Airways.

(The Galleries First lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5 isn’t actually meant for anyone flying in First Class. It’s effectively the Gold Card lounge.)

British Airways is moving an increasing number of long haul flights over to Terminal 3, albeit only two of them (Bahrain and Bermuda) have First Class, and those are only eight seat cabins.

The British Airways lounge in Terminal 3 is split into a Business and First area. The First area, as per Terminal 5, is effectively the Gold Card lounge because until this month British Airways had no flights from Terminal 3 with First Class.

Part of the First lounge has now been blocked out and given a coat of paint.

Reader Ian sent us these pictures yesterday, for which we are very grateful.

As you can see, the existing space behind the bar has been smartened up with a lick of paint, some tablecloths and this odd drinks table with some ‘not hugely premium’ brands (Bacardi, Baileys):

Only the following people are allowed access:

• anyone flying in First Class on a oneworld flight, plus a guest

• British Airways Premier cardholders (click to learn how to become Premier) flying in any class

BA has told us that, despite earlier reports to the contrary, American Airlines Concierge Key members do NOT get access.

British Airways Gold Guest List members, who have Concorde Room access in Terminal 5, are NOT allowed to access this area.

British Airways is calling it the ‘First Dining Room’, to match similar rooms in certain overseas lounges.

Overall, whilst only modest money seems to have been spent (given they couldn’t rustle up a proper drinks trolley and seem to have dug an old table out of someone’s shed) it does look OK.

It’s not clear who is going to use this space though. BA is flying 16 First Class seats per day out of Terminal 3. Probably fewer than half will be sold, and not all of those will use a lounge – and if they do, some will still head over to Cathay’s First Class lounge.

There won’t be many Premier cardholders passing through. This is partly because there simply aren’t many Premier cardholders, and partly because most don’t travel much – the card is primarily a reward to travel managers who sign off on large BA corporate contracts. It’s all very odd.

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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.

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.

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.

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:

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:

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.