BA runs a small number of flights from Heathrow’s Terminal 3. Most flights go from Terminal 5, with some routes acquired from bmi operating from Terminal 1.
It had been a long time since I had been to Terminal 3, although at one time it seemed like my second home. When United flew from here I was forever in their Red Carpet Club coming or going somewhere. However, Terminal 3 also hosts BA’s flights to Vienna, my initial destination on this trip. BA keep the lounges at T3 as their flights to Australia go from here.
The Fast Track line was pretty speedy – only two people in front of me – and I was through security in 2 minutes.
The BA lounge occupies the area where once was the UA Red Carpet Club, although you access it via a difference entrance. Once inside the self-opening double doors you turn left for First Class and go straight ahead for Club parts of the lounge.
A cheerful agent took my ID, scanned the boarding pass and the system told him that my card had expired. Of course it hadn’t, so we had a couple of minutes whilst he sorted out what was happening.
Like the BA lounge at T5, this lounge has a number of areas – Dining, Sitting, workstations, coffee bar, champagne bar etc. I had not eaten since breakfast so popped along and ordered some hot food from the menu. The staff were happy for me to sit in the Dining Area, which I had to myself:
A thai red curry was produced in a few minutes, and was tastier than I remember lounge food normally:
Full, I wandered back to the lounge to have a seat, do some emails and wait for my flight.
As I had a decent amount of time to wait, I checked out the cold food selection – salads and cake…cake!
There were also large scones which looked excellent, but I was able to resist.
Although too early for me, there was wine aplenty:
The lounge did start to fill up as JAL’s passengers started to arrive, but it was never crowded.
I left the lounge for the 10 minute walk to the large bussing gate area that BA uses for its flights from here:
In summary, if you have lounge access, T3 is a pretty good place to have to wait. Much less crowded than the T5 lounges and much better food than at T1.
BA flights to Sydney, Australia now leave from T5, so there are no long haul BA flights from T3. It is effectively a one world lounge for JAL and Qantas amongst others, which fly from T3. Cathay and American have their own lounges in T3, but AA elites in particular may prefer the BA lounge.
@FormalHall – thanks for the update.