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BA to begin First Wing ‘refresh’ in Terminal 5 on Monday

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Say what you will about British Airways, but you won’t find many people with a bad word to say about the First Wing in Heathrow Terminal 5.

If you are arriving at Terminal 5 in a car and are dropped off in the right spot, you can be kerb to Galleries First lounge in just a couple of minutes if its not busy.

Admittedly, if you arrive by rail, it’s a bit of a trot down the full length of Terminal 5, but if you are a Gold card holder you will be heading that way for Galleries First anyway.

BA to begin First Wing 'refresh' in Terminal 5 on Monday

The First Wing hasn’t had a refurbishment since it opened in 2017.

However, starting on Monday, the area will receive a ‘refresh’. The First Wing will remain open with the work being done overnight.

One check-in desk will be temporarily closed from mid September, but with 14 desks to use it is unlikely to make any difference to the experience.

It isn’t clear what will change as part of the work. ‘Refresh’ generally means a lick of paint and a bit of reupholstery, but BA is also using the word ‘redevelopment’ which implies a little more. Let’s see.

As a reminder, the First Wing security channel has the same access rules as the Galleries First lounge, because it leads you directly into it.

This means that you need to be travelling in First Class or have a British Airways Club Gold card or oneworld equivalent. A Gold cardholder is only allowed one guest so a family of four can only go through if both parents are Gold.

Slightly confusingly, the rules for using the First Wing check-in desks are different. You can check in there as long as there is just one Gold cardholder on the booking, irrespective of the number of people. You would need to leave the Wing and take the short walk to South Security instead of using the First Wing channel.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (104)

  • Can says:
    16 Aug16 August 07:42

    “Say what you will” perhaps in the first sentence?

    Reply
  • Paul Francis says:
    16 Aug16 August 08:39

    Maybe a better selection of welcome juices as well as the water…

    Reply
    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      16 Aug16 August 09:32

      Why ? You’ll be in the lounge in a few minutes and have all the juices you want.

      Water is a nice gesture.

      Reply
  • Tim says:
    16 Aug16 August 08:40

    Always saw the first wing as the best gold benefit.

    While official policy is one guest with gold I’ve been fairly fortunate with my family of 3. My boy is almost 4 and only last week was allowed as has been the case each other time when he was over 2 although was told at check-in he is

    I moved most of my travel over to LH group as their senator policy is any dependants under 18 can get to the senator lounge.

    Reply
  • Doc says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:01

    Sitting here currently in the First Lounge as I write this. Over 90% of my BA travel has been connecting via T5 and so First Check-in and security is mostly irrelevant to me but agree that is about the best perk. In relation to the lounge, not sure I agree that there is no faults,the glaring one being the toilets and shower facilities!!! Not exactly shouting luxury at the home airport. Maybe this will be dealt with properly in the refresh, in keeping with LGW lounges at least.

    Reply
    • Guido says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:19

      I agree, First check-in and security are a much valued benefit at T5, the lounge itself much less so! I mean, if you compare the T5 lounge to places like the Pier First in HKG, it’s abominable! The LGW lounge is smaller but, frankly, a much nicer place to be.

      Reply
    • Devin says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:26

      As has been reported here on HfP, the First lounge will not be getting a refresh but a full refurbishment along with all of the other T5 lounges. You’ll be able to see the concept when the Dubai lounge opens next month.

      Reply
      • LittleNick says:
        16 Aug16 August 15:30

        And when will that be? BA do things at a snails pace compared to other airline that refurbed their lounges in T2 over the last year or so

        Reply
  • Steve says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:08

    Noting that South security still has the old style scanners, so fast track means everything out of bag. North security is completely new type scanners, keep everything in your bag.

    Reply
  • Mark says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:14

    I am not someone who is normally lavish with my praise for British Airways but some of the negative comments here are just silly – the type of people who given a two week free First Class holiday in Barbados would be moaning it wasn’t for three ….

    However, while the First Wing is a fantastic product I agree with another commentator here that the whole experience falls apart once you leave the lounge to head to the aircraft and I think BA could enhance that by offering a car from the area beneath lounge to gate of each aircraft with First Class. Or maybe a number of luxury mini-coaches?

    The article also flags the distance from Heathrow Express which is something BA ought to consider. I also think BA could consider if it negotiated exclusive use of the most Southerly entrance to T5 and the drop off bays outside to create something to compete with the Virgin Atlantic drive up experience as the rest of the Virgin experience is weak – long walk to lounge.

    What if BA created an experienced where a First Class passenger exited a car, was met by a representative of BA, offered help with luggage, checked in nearby and then sent through First wing security. In the Concorde Wing a discrete BA rep comes up and says “your car is ready” and you jump on a lift attached to exterior of T5 down to a waiting premium vehicle and are driven to aircraft to board ….

    Reply
    • JDB says:
      16 Aug16 August 09:26

      It’s not going to happen for reasons of cost (and BA F tickets are already cheap) and excess traffic on the airfield. A bit of realism is needed.

      Reply
      • David S says:
        16 Aug16 August 09:40

        We loved the luxury car transfer at KUL earlier this year. Not quite to aircraft but to the international terminal with the lounge immediately above arrival area. Whole fleet of vehicles and hope it continues once the train is back up and running. And this was a service to Business class passengers and above

        Reply
        • Hak says:
          16 Aug16 August 09:43

          Yes, I got this for on Malaysia business from KL to Melbourne. A rather smart BMW if I recall correctly. As a lifetime Toyota driver I was impressed with the gadgetry of the BMW!

          Reply
      • Londonsteve says:
        16 Aug16 August 12:15

        I agree that car transfers for individual First passengers can’t be accomplished at LHR, but a dedicated minibus accessed from the nearest exit relative to the CCR would be feasible and not even that expensive to implement while allowing passengers to avoid the long trek to B and C gates via a crowded transfer.

        Reply
      • Alex G says:
        16 Aug16 August 14:34

        I agree that the amount of traffic around T5 would make it impractical to chauffeur all F passengers individually to the gate/aircraft.

        If BA wanted to offer a Premium experience to their F passengers (and its less than 300 a day flying out of LHR), could they provide an exclusive lounge only for people flying First at T5C, and have flights with F depart from the C gates whenever possible? Could there be a way of moving people from the First Wing to the C gates, perhaps with exclusive shuttles using the underground tunnel?

        All hypothetical, as there is no indication that BA want to make F a truly Premium experience.

        I wonder how many of the CCR guests are actually flying First?

        Reply
        • Londonsteve says:
          16 Aug16 August 14:39

          I thought it’s all of them, unless someone is GGL? I’m surprised there’s as few as 300 seats in F departing each day.

          Reply
          • Alex G says:
            16 Aug16 August 17:38

            Less than 300 a day is a rough guess on my part. BA has a total of about 600/660 F seats fleet wide (depending on which AI search results you believe). Not all aircraft are in service all the time. Some aircraft with F are used on services that don’t sell F. Long haul aircraft will typically operate about one rotation a day out of Heathrow. And seat utilisation is usually less than 100%.

      • Mark says:
        16 Aug16 August 15:55

        When other airlines up their game it is realistic to expect BA to try to keep up in some respects. If BA doesn’t want to keep up then it should be honest and adopt same approach as AA, QR and others. Turkish Airlines offers dedicated business class buses with armchairs from their lounge to aircraft for domestic customers let alone intercontinental so this is hardly some outlandish ask from the land of the impossible.

        Ultimately if BA wants to be seen as a serious player in the world of First Class it has to be serious with its offer and the logistics at Heathrow are BA’s problem to manage not the customers to grudgingly accept !!

        Reply
        • Londonsteve says:
          16 Aug16 August 22:22

          Indeed. They already offer J (and F) only buses (full size Mercedes Citaros) when boarding and disembarking from remote stands. It wouldn’t be a huge leap to extend the courtesy to F passengers when boarding from T5 B & C gates, allowing them to avoid the transfer and, dare I say it, having to mix with ordinary passengers. If they don’t want to enforce the segregation once leaving the lounge, what’s the point of the First Wing?

          Reply
    • Gypsyjaney says:
      16 Aug16 August 09:32

      Oh for the days when travelling F – and possibly even Business (?) rated a pick up by limo within a 20 mile radius of LHR.

      Reply
    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      16 Aug16 August 09:41

      “The article also flags the distance from Heathrow Express which is something BA ought to consider.”

      What’s to consider?

      They aren’t going to switch around the terminal to make the F wing (let alone the F lounge and CCR) closer to the HEX exit.

      Reply
      • Mark says:
        16 Aug16 August 16:02

        I think these issues need examining from the customer’s perspective not that of the provider! If I arrive at T5 on HEX I find with dodgy knees the walk along the length of the Terminal off putting.

        Virgin Atlantic have a checkin facility for Upper Class very close to HEX escalators at T3 ….

        I have on occasions not bothered with First Wing and headed through North Sode T5 fast track and shuttle to B gates lounge if my aircraft is departing from there even though I’m BA Gold. That is a worse experience as a customer from an experiential perspective but much less walking!

        Reply
        • Londonsteve says:
          16 Aug16 August 22:24

          Albeit the escalators you refer to involve a long walk from the train platforms at Heathrow Central and by then, you’re a short walk from any of the check in desks at T3.

          Reply
  • Paul says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:36

    Using the check in and security lane was something I valued, however once past the scanners the experience was pretty average. The lounge itself was poor, overcrowded and the food buffet was general 3 types of slop, soggy veg and over cooked fish.
    Now that I am just silver scum the dedicated area at the other end of the terminal is my new home. It not glamorous and there is usually a queue. Once past the mosh pit of checkin the fast track entry is pretty solid. It may be I have been lucky but fast track security has not been swamped by transfer passengers who are all processed in the northern part of terminal. Once through it’s a short walk the north lounge Which is poor, overcrowded and serves 3 types of slop, soggy veg and overcooked fish.
    But as I gained my status for a pittance and over use the facilities I perhaps should not expect more.

    Reply
    • JDB says:
      16 Aug16 August 09:50

      I think you do the North lounge an immense disservice. It’s a light airy space with good views and the food is nothing like as bad as you suggest but more in the ‘fine’ category. The coffee is good.

      If it were really as bad as you claim, I can’t think why on earth you would visit rather than say go to the Fortnum’s bar to eat/drink.

      Reply
      • AJA says:
        16 Aug16 August 10:17

        Let’s be honest, the North lounge is the worst of the 3 T5 lounges open to OWS / business class passengers. It is often overcrowded because it is small and is the closest to the Club check in so passengers who don’t know better head for it first. I have seen queues to enter stretching back beyond the escalator down to the lower floor. It’s only light and airy if you get a seat near the windows and it is best to avoid sitting near the entrance to the toilets. I have no complaints about the food or alcohol and the coffee is ok – I’ve had worse elsewhere. But the furnishings are all looking a little tired as you would expect given their age and heavy use. A refresh is overdue let alone a full refurb. But I would still choose it over any restaurants in T5 on the basis that I’ve paid for access via my ticket so why pay again for food and drink elsewhere when it’s complimentary in the lounge.

        Reply
        • Devin says:
          16 Aug16 August 10:32

          As mentioned further up, this lounge along with all the other lounges will be getting full refurb.

          Reply
        • Tariq says:
          16 Aug16 August 19:30

          Agree, I always head for South. If anything, I find the North lounge too bright and prefer the more muted light levels in South.

          Reply
    • Devin says:
      16 Aug16 August 10:33

      Transfer passengers haven’t been dropped off exclusively at North Security for over a decade now. HAL built an escalator going the other direction a few years after the building opened.

      Reply
  • executiveclubber says:
    16 Aug16 August 09:44

    Interesting! Will be there to try it out on 28th (and the CCR) if anyone wants guesting in 👋

    Reply

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