REVIEW: British Airways Galleries First Lounge – London/LHR Terminal 5 (How loyalty pays off at the airport)

There are many reasons why I am so grateful for my American Airlines Executive Platinum status (ie this $500 basic economy turned flagship business flight, a surprising streak of complimentary domestic upgrades) but airport lounge access with my corresponding oneworld Emerald status may be my favorite one. And the British Airways First Wing helped solidify that ranking…the best part was that I was able to have this experience and access the lounge even though I was flying on a $129.60/£101 economy ticket!

LOUNGE INFO 

WHO CAN ACCESS

• FIRST CLASS: Same-day first class ticket (If this is you, bypass this lounge and head straight over to the Concorde Room lounge next door!!)
• STATUS: Those with BA Executive Club Gold or oneworld Emerald status

REQUIREMENTS: Flying on a one-world carrier (which would be BA or Iberia since this is out of T5) – even if you are flying on a hand luggage only flight!

CHECK IN/SECURITY

Do you have those airports that you try to avoid because they can be so painful in areas like navigation or security? Yeah me too and Heathrow was already on that list (ie why are UK airport liquid bags so much smaller than every other airport in the world and annoyingly have to dump out my stuff and am compelled to use theirs) and having dealt with security snafus earlier in 2024, I was dreading this morning’s flight…but this would be very different than my other experiences.

Heathrow T5 check-in area..but this is not where I will be checking in.

Instead I will be heading towards the British Airways First Wing – right through the above entrance.

Where I was promptly greeted and directed to an available agent to check in and drop off my checked luggage.

I rarely go to check-in counters so I am not sure if this was atypical but I appreciated the heads up that my flight was scheduled to depart from a C gate. She also gave me info about how to get to the C gates while also giving me a reminder to check the screens to verify where my flight was departing from.

And after leaving the check-in area, you immediately enter a dedicated security screening area that was a breeze to get through (and there’s a phrase that I never thought I would utter about Heathrow security!) No pictures were allowed and it took maybe 90 seconds to go through this area but only because I was trying to figure out where the plastic bags were to repack my liquids and was told that it wasn’t necessary here.

The hallway pictured on the left takes you from the security screening to the entrance of the lounge. I still am in shock at how easy security was through this entrance!

The entire process from being dropped off curbside by my Uber, going through check-in AND security, and to entering the club would have taken me less than 4 minutes (if I had been dropped off near the entrance, hadn’t been taking pictures and talking to the agents about my trip). Really I find this to be such an incredible perk and is something I wish I could experience more often when flying!

THE LOUNGE

Immediately upon entering there is a self-serve bar that had Mimosa and Bloody Mary mixers set up along with snacks on the left.

To the right there was a large seating area that self-serve champagne bar set

Immediately after that area, you can find more seating with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the gates

Some of the dining space seating

This is a very big lounge with many different areas which I will use as my reason for why I forgot to snap a photo of the indoor terrace area and the manned bar

FOOD/DRINK

Self serve buffet options for food and drink. I had an average English breakfast along with a yogurt bowl along with a flat white that I did not have to pay airport prices for so I was content. But if you were to compare to other “first” lounges even here at LHR, the menu is decidedly lacking: ie in Cathay Pacific, you are able to go to a sit down restaurant and have made to order food as well as the Qantas lounge (which is why it’s better to think of the Concorde room as first and this is a business lounge and your expectations will be accordingly adjusted)

RESTROOMS + OTHER AMENITIES

The bathrooms are gender neutral (which iykyk why this can be a blessing as a woman and luckily wasn’t a curse since they were constantly cleaned). Fairly basic set up and stocked with Elemis products (only soap and hand lotion)

I had to rush to catch my flight so I did not have a chance to take a peek at the shower suites nor the kid’s playroom.

SERVICE

The food and drinks were constantly being replenished and dishes were quickly cleared in all of the spaces. I found the service to be engaged and friendly, as I was asked a few times if I needed any help which embarrassingly was always just the case that I was being indecisive about what to have!

FINAL THOUGHTS 

Quite honestly, I have gone back and forth about whether to structure these types of posts as reviews as I feel a bit pretentious doing so. What distinguishes one lounge from the next and how they dramatically differ lies in the quality of food/drink, the service provided (or not), the ambiance and set up of the space(s), amenities offered and even how much each component matters will be something that varies from person to person.

I arrived early enough in the morning that the lounge felt very tranquil and it felt exclusive in the way that first class lounges can (or should?) feel. But within the 20 or so minutes I was there, as it got busier I could see why some of my friends warned me to temper my expectations for this lounge as they typically experience a lounge that is hard to find seating. I could see it both ways for why BA designates it as a first lounge (there is something to be said about the experience through the First wing and that elevates this lounge to me) but can see why some frequent fliers don’t agree with the moniker (the quality of the food and drink definitely comes to mind).

For me, a lounge is first and foremost, a place to grab a quick bite before a flight (especially since I love early morning flights, I often have to leave before my hotel serves breakfast) and a chance to get away from the chaos at an airport. And to boot, access to the lounges is free for me. Unless I have a connection, the time I spend in a lounge is fairly minimal but I still value them and consider them an important perk for flying business class. It is even better when I am flying economy but still be able to get in with my airline elite status!