Help with some questions please re forthcoming trip - London airports and more

[LAH]

I am really grateful for this website and the amount of combined knowledge - thank you all. I hope someone can help me with the following questions.

1. I am flying to London with QF and am wondering if as a WP, I can use the British Airways arrivals lounge. It seems I am arriving at Terminal 3, Heathrow - is there an arrivals lounge here?

2. I can change my ticket - should I break in Singapore and change to British Airways so that I can use arrivals lounge? I arrive very early and can't check in to my accommodation till later in the day. I arrive on a Saturday and don't start work till Sunday - so I don't have a time constraint.

3. I am departing to Madrid with a colleague. However, she is flying from Gatwick, and I am flying from Heathrow. We depart at roughly the same time, so we will take a taxi together. Which airport first for dropoff? I am really not sure and would appreciate advice.

4. I am flying with British Airways to Madrid - is it an international flight, and will I be able to use the lounge?

5. My colleague may be able to change her flight to ex Heathrow - can I guest her in to the BA lounge?

Thank you for reading this. Hope someone may be able to help me. Enjoy your Sunday!

Anna

 

[Joshua]

Hi Anna,
I'll answer what I can.

1. I am flying to London with QF and am wondering if as a WP, I can use the British Airways arrivals lounge. It seems I am arriving at Terminal 3, Heathrow - is there an arrivals lounge here?

Arrivals wise, there is an AA lounge in T3 and a BA lounge in T5. If you're going straight to Madrid you can just use the departure lounges. Otherwise you should be able to get into the AA lounge with your Emerald card.

2. I can change my ticket - should I break in Singapore and change to British Airways so that I can use arrivals lounge? I arrive very early and can't check in to my accommodation till later in the day. I arrive on a Saturday and don't start work till Sunday - so I don't have a time constraint.

Depending what class, I think the BA Y product would be worse than QF so just stay with QF. It isn't going to help in the lounge situation and choosing the better flight should be your main concern. You are stuck in the tube for 13-14 hours after all.

4. I am flying with British Airways to Madrid - is it an international flight, and will I be able to use the lounge?

5. My colleague may be able to change her flight to ex Heathrow - can I guest her in to the BA lounge?

You're crossing countries, so yes it's international. You get access to first class lounge at Heathrow T5 and you can guest your colleague in. Keep in mind there may be other reasons they choose to fly from Gatwick.

One last thing, on BA you can pre-select exit rows as an Emerald. A good time to go over your seat choices for BA flights.

 

[opusman]

AFAIK the arrivals lounges are only for pax arriving QF/BA/AA in J or F. Could be wrong though.

 

[nlagalle]

Arrivals wise, there is an AA lounge in T3 and a BA lounge in T5. If you're going straight to Madrid you can just use the departure lounges. Otherwise you should be able to get into the AA lounge with your Emerald card.

This was discussed not long ago and to use the AA arrivals lounge you either need to be:

WP travelling with AA in any class

or

Travelling in J or F.

Being a WP in QF Y doesn't let you in.

 

[Princess Fiona]

3. I am departing to Madrid with a colleague. However, she is flying from Gatwick, and I am flying from Heathrow. We depart at roughly the same time, so we will take a taxi together. Which airport first for dropoff? I am really not sure and would appreciate advice.


Anna

It would be easier to go separately to the airports as they are around 50k apart with LHR west and LGW south of central London. I don't use LGW but travel to LHR is very easy using the Heathrow express from Paddington

 

[nlagalle]

It would be easier to go separately to the airports as they are around 50k apart with LHR west and LGW south of central London. I don't use LGW but travel to LHR is very easy using the Heathrow express from Paddington

The train to Gatwick goes from Victoria and from memory it is pretty quick.

 

[richie9x]

3. I am departing to Madrid with a colleague. However, she is flying from Gatwick, and I am flying from Heathrow. We depart at roughly the same time, so we will take a taxi together. Which airport first for dropoff? I am really not sure and would appreciate advice.

Heathrow is the the west of London, Gatwick to the south. Although most of the journey could be done on the M25, it will still take close to an hour to drive between the two. Getting a taxi to do that would be expensive. It would only make sense to share a taxi if you were starting out close to one of the airports.

Otherwise if you are coming from central London it would be quciker/cheaper to get separate taxis. Also there are express trains to both airports from central London that can be quicker. And the tube runs to Heathrow as well.

 

[LAH]

Arrivals wise, there is an AA lounge in T3 and a BA lounge in T5. If you're going straight to Madrid you can just use the departure lounges. Otherwise you should be able to get into the AA lounge with your Emerald card.



Thank you Joshua. I didn't know there was an AA arrivals lounge. I went to their website :

Admirals Club ( R ) Lounge Access

To quote : [SUP]1[/SUP]Emerald customers must arrive into LHR on a flight operated by American Airlines, and provide their boarding pass.


I appreciate your comments/help.

 

[LAH]

This was discussed not long ago and to use the AA arrivals lounge you either need to be:

WP travelling with AA in any class

or

Travelling in J or F.

Being a WP in QF Y doesn't let you in.

I am fortunate enough to be travelling in J, but as per my other post, if I am not travelling with AA, I cannot enter the AA arrivals lounge.

 

[LAH]

Heathrow is the the west of London, Gatwick to the south. Although most of the journey could be done on the M25, it will still take close to an hour to drive between the two. Getting a taxi to do that would be expensive. It would only make sense to share a taxi if you were starting out close to one of the airports.

Otherwise if you are coming from central London it would be quciker/cheaper to get separate taxis. Also there are express trains to both airports from central London that can be quicker. And the tube runs to Heathrow as well.

Most helpful - thankyou. Which is the best station to take the express to the airport? We are staying near the tower of London. Are there luggage trolleys on arrival at station at airport terminals? We are both going to have alot of conference material with us. Thanking you in advance.

 

[LAH]

You're crossing countries, so yes it's international. You get access to first class lounge at Heathrow T5 and you can guest your colleague in. Keep in mind there may be other reasons they choose to fly from Gatwick.

One last thing, on BA you can pre-select exit rows as an Emerald. A good time to go over your seat choices for BA flights.[/QUOTE]


Good news : thank you!

 

[Princess Fiona]

Most helpful - thankyou. Which is the best station to take the express to the airport? We are staying near the tower of London. Are there luggage trolleys on arrival at station at airport terminals? We are both going to have alot of conference material with us. Thanking you in advance.

I would take a taxi to London Paddington Station and get the Heathrow Express from there directly to T5. There is lots of luggage space, can also go first class ( even quieter)

Happy Travels

 

[Lawlass]

Most helpful - thankyou. Which is the best station to take the express to the airport? We are staying near the tower of London. Are there luggage trolleys on arrival at station at airport terminals? We are both going to have alot of conference material with us. Thanking you in advance.

The Heathrow Express leaves from Paddington and really is the best way to get there - comfortable and quick. You can grab a cab from Tower Bridge (about 10 mins) or brave the Tube from Tower Station to get to Paddington.

 

[nlagalle]

I am fortunate enough to be travelling in J, but as per my other post, if I am not travelling with AA, I cannot enter the AA arrivals lounge.

Travelling in QF J will gain you access to the AA Arrivals lounge. It isn't listed on the AA site

 

[Princess Fiona]

I am really grateful for this website and the amount of combined knowledge - thank you all. I hope someone can help me with the following questions.


2. I can change my ticket - should I break in Singapore and change to British Airways so that I can use arrivals lounge? I arrive very early and can't check in to my accommodation till later in the day. I arrive on a Saturday and don't start work till Sunday - so I don't have a time constraint.


Thank you for reading this. Hope someone may be able to help me. Enjoy your Sunday!

Anna

I should also mention that as you are travelling in J, it may be worthwhile to change to BA from SIN-LHR. It depends on which aircraft you are travelling on. Qantas A380 has a fully flat bed in J, 747 have Skybed Mk1 which slopes ( slightly)
BA Club World has fully flat beds in both 747 and 777.
The service on BA can be a bit iffy, the food quality on BA is generally not as good as QF but I rate the seat comfort better than being on a QF 747.

 

[LAH]

Travelling in QF J will gain you access to the AA Arrivals lounge. It isn't listed on the AA site

I will certainly try and thank you for this advice. I will let you know.

 

[nlagalle]

I will certainly try and thank you for this advice. I will let you know.

The Qantas Club Lounge locations in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Eligible is J and F Pax so you will be fine! enjoy the freshen up!

 

[serfty]

Travelling in QF J will gain you access to the AA Arrivals lounge. It isn't listed on the AA site

... but is on the Qantas site:

London Heathrow Airport Guide

 

[JetLagged]

You're crossing countries, so yes it's international. You get access to first class lounge at Heathrow T5 and you can guest your colleague in.

LAH, unless things have changed in the past 12 months, the F lounge in T5 is not accessible for One World Emerald flyers unless they are actually flying in F. In 2007 I was able to guest sometone into the F lounge as I was flying BA 1st to New York; in early 2010 I was flying as an Emerald flyer and tried to do the same; the BA lounge dragon showed us the door to the standard J lounge. Mind you, the J lounge in T5 is better than the BA/Qantas F lounge in T3!

 

[nlagalle]

LAH, unless things have changed in the past 12 months, the F lounge in T5 is not accessible for One World Emerald flyers unless they are actually flying in F. In 2007 I was able to guest sometone into the F lounge as I was flying BA 1st to New York; in early 2010 I was flying as an Emerald flyer and tried to do the same; the BA lounge dragon showed us the door to the standard J lounge. Mind you, the J lounge in T5 is better than the BA/Qantas F lounge in T3!

According to the OW site the F galleries is available to OWE regardless of travel class. Concorde Room is for F pax only though.