Galleries Lounge 5B and boarding gate at Heathrow

[Durban]

Does anyone know if it is more likely that BA057 to JNB is more than likely to leave from gates B or C rather than A?

And if from A , how long is the walk from the quieter Galleries 5B lounge to A is it?

We are both brisk walkers and enjoy walking and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet so it’s not a problem for us to do this especially as we will be sitting for the next 11 hours. I just wanted to know how long it would take so as to leave enough time

Thank you

[LindyLoo]

Durban wrote:

Does anyone know if it is more likely that BA057 to JNB is more than likely to leave from gates B or C rather than A?

And if from A , how long is the walk from the quieter Galleries 5B lounge to A is it?

We are both brisk walkers and enjoy walking and enjoy a bit of peace and quiet so it’s not a problem for us to do this especially as we will be sitting for the next 11 hours. I just wanted to know how long it would take so as to leave enough time

Thank you

Hi Durban, To T5B by passageway = 7 & 1/2 minutes but remember you cannot use transport back as your exit off the train is no longer on ‘air side’

[JDB]

Yes, it is much more likely your flight will leave from B or C. It is only likely to leave from A if the aircraft is at a remote stand so will depart from A10, the bus gate on ground level. A brisk walk from B to A is certainly less than 15 minutes.

[Durban]

Thank you both very much.
Most helpful

[SteveJ]

@Durban put your flight number into Google and open the flightaware link that will pop up. You can go back over the last 12 days worth of flights and see which gate it has departed from.

Useful to keep this in mind for future T5 flights to decide on whether to head to the B gates lounge.

[strickers]

When you arrive, head down to level -4 and walk to Galleries B, that way you’ll know how long to get back and where to go. Once you’ve done it once it’s fairly straightforward but be careful because not every lift goes down to -4. There’s a thread on FlyerTalk with photos of the route.

[ed_fly]

strickers wrote:

When you arrive, head down to level -4 and walk to Galleries B, that way you’ll know how long to get back and where to go. Once you’ve done it once it’s fairly straightforward but be careful because not every lift goes down to -4. There’s a thread on FlyerTalk with photos of the route.

the flyer talk guide is very helpful. Hard to go wrong if you follow those instructions.

[Gosia44]

For to me (measured a few months ago) it is 4min 27s from the moment the lift hits -4 level at T5A to the BA lounge at T5B, and two minutes longer on the way back to A. Travelators are only one way from A to B.

[Rob]

The staff know from hours before where it will go from. The gate isn’t on the screens due, we believe, to a deal with Heathrow to keep people in the shopping area. Any check-in desk can tell you the gate.

[LindyLoo]

Rob Burgess wrote:

The staff know from hours before where it will go from. The gate isn’t on the screens due, we believe, to a deal with Heathrow to keep people in the shopping area. Any check-in desk can tell you the gate.

Oh that explains a lot Rob! I never want to risk going over to T5B in case I have to leg it back to T5A but every flight to USA has been T5B but its only when I go to the Galleries lounge they reveal I can go over to T5B safely.

[John]

Still subject to last minute changes but remember if the screens never displayed the old gate number they won’t say the gate has changed.

[JDB]

Rob Burgess wrote:

The staff know from hours before where it will go from. The gate isn’t on the screens due, we believe, to a deal with Heathrow to keep people in the shopping area. Any check-in desk can tell you the gate.

The staff only know for sure when the aircraft is actually on stand (and even then it can very occasionally change), so even if an expected gate is displayed to BA which it often is many hours before, they are reluctant to say as it often changes and might change several times. That annoys passengers. There is no ‘deal’ with Heathrow as you suggest.

[Gosia44]

The last minute gate changes can also work in your favour. While in the T5B lounge last month, I had an early A7 indication (not yet displayed) changed to B43. It was a short flight to Warsaw operated by Finnair. As I fly that route once a month, my strategy is to always go to the B lounge and wait there whatever the final gate.

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

JDB wrote:

The staff only know for sure when the aircraft is actually on stand (and even then it can very occasionally change), so even if an expected gate is displayed to BA which it often is many hours before, they are reluctant to say as it often changes and might change several times. That annoys passengers. There is no ‘deal’ with Heathrow as you suggest.

Neither BA or HAL want large numbers of passengers in the wrong place should there be a gate change and them taking the wrong rout and managing to ger themeselves in the arrivals stream and the problems that causes.

It’s laughable that sensible people persist with the ‘hold them hostage in 5A to make them spend in the shops’ myth. People will spend in the shops if they want to spend in the shops and being held in 5A isn’t going to make people spend any more money.

[Durban]

SteveJ wrote:

@Durban put your flight number into Google and open the flightaware link that will pop up. You can go back over the last 12 days worth of flights and see which gate it has departed from.

Useful to keep this in mind for future T5 flights to decide on whether to head to the B gates lounge.

Thank you. I did this and can see that it nearly always leaves from Gates B or C except tonight when it leaves from A10.

I have heard of A10. What is it and in what circumstances is it normally used ?

[JDB]

@Durban – gate A10 is the bus gate which usually means that your aircraft is at a remote stand. For long haul flights, A10 is the 0 on the roulette wheel.

[Durban]

JDB wrote:

@Durban – gate A10 is the bus gate which usually means that your aircraft is at a remote stand. For long haul flights, A10 is the 0 on the roulette wheel.

Thank you 😊