Lhr/ AA Admirals Club question

Hello-

I am a AA Admirals Club member, flying BA through London Heathrow in October. The BA flights are all in T-5 (both from US to Rome & the return from Rome). Unfortunately I am not flying in business and, much to my surprise BA does not allow Admirals Club members in their lounge. When flying Qantas last year was able to use their Business Lounge both in Sydney & Brisbane.

 

I believe the layover going to Rome is 2 hours 45 minutes and on the return is about 3 hours. Assuming the arrivals and connections are on time is it feasible to get from T-5 to T-3, and back, to use the AA lounges? If not, how is T-5 to wait around for a couple of hours?

 

Thanks!

You won't be able to get into T-3 without a boarding pass for a flight departing T-3. Even if you could the the Admirals Club wouldn't be worth the hassle to get over there and back.

 

 

BTW, the Admirals Club/Qantas Club relationship was quite unique and has been greatly reduced since you last took advantage of it.

Thanks, looks like I will get to know T-5 very well.

Thanks, looks like I will get to know T-5 very well.

 

With only 3 hours or so between flights you will not have an enormous time to get bored. The arrival time is not the same as the gate arrival time, and so by the time you actually get off the plane and into the departures area, and the fact that you will start boarding 20/30 minutes prior to departure time, your actual 'wait' time will only be 2 hours or so.

You could always go and have a meal at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant, although I doubt very much that he will actually be doing the cooking!

You won't be able to get into T-3 without a boarding pass for a flight departing T-3. Even if you could the the Admirals Club wouldn't be worth the hassle to get over there and back.

And to add to this, even if you could get into T3 and as far as the door of the Admirals Club, the lounge is required by the airport to refuse you entry if you don't have a boarding pass for a T3 flight.

The arrival time is not the same as the gate arrival time ...

Actually, it is. Departure time is the time at which the aircraft is pushed back from the terminal, and arrival time is the time at which the aircraft finally parks at the terminal. The times in the schedules do not refer to takeoff and landing times.

 

Nevertheless, you're absolutely right that the practicalities will eat up quite a lot of the scheduled connection time, even without changing terminals. There are quite a lot of decent restaurants in the main buildings at T5, although the others are branches of chains.

And to add to this, even if you could get into T3 and as far as the door of the Admirals Club, the lounge is required by the airport to refuse you entry if you don't have a boarding pass for a T3 flight.Actually, it is. Departure time is the time at which the aircraft is pushed back from the terminal, and arrival time is the time at which the aircraft finally parks at the terminal. The times in the schedules do not refer to takeoff and landing times.

 

Nevertheless, you're absolutely right that the practicalities will eat up quite a lot of the scheduled connection time, even without changing terminals. There are quite a lot of decent restaurants in the main buildings at T5, although the others are branches of chains.

 

My apologies - I gained the impression that on time arrival statistics were based on the 'wheels on ground' time, rather than the gate arrival time. Never too old to learn!

If he gets the same security guy I always manage to get at flight connections at T-5, then about half that layover time will be eaten up by security.

I am assuming you have no status on AA or any other OneWorld carrier? BA allows AAdvantage Platinum members in to their business lounges, and AAdvantage ExecPlat members in to their first class lounges (not including Concorde Room). AAdvantage Gold members are SOL.

Unfortunately I am only AA Advantge Gold/Oneworld Ruby.

I live near BWI so until the US Airways/AA merger I was a heavy Southwest user (still am) but after my BWI-Sydney Qantas flights I have been flying more out of DCA on US Airways. I will get to the Oneworld Emerald level by the end of this year.

 

Thanks for the follow up. The last time I was @ LHR I flew Virgin so have never been through T-5.

 

Chris

There is supposed to be a pay lounge opening in T5 this summer, although I'm not aware of an opening date having been announced yet. It will be run under the Aspire brand. Limited facilities, though, compared to the BA lounges - and depending on price, it may be better value to camp in one of the restaurants anyway.

T5 isn't a bad place to spend a few hours, if you find a quieter area (which are usually on either end of T5A, or any part of T5B or T5C...note that I would avoid going to T5B or T5C unless you're flying out of those concourses). Sure, you'll have to pay for food if you want it (plenty of choices), and you won't get a shower, but there are certainly worse places to spend a few hours (and certainly better places).

T5 isn't a bad place to spend a few hours, if you find a quieter area (which are usually on either end of T5A, or any part of T5B or T5C...note that I would avoid going to T5B or T5C unless you're flying out of those concourses). Sure, you'll have to pay for food if you want it (plenty of choices), and you won't get a shower, but there are certainly worse places to spend a few hours (and certainly better places).

And in fact the business class lounges can be extremely crowded and getting a shower can be very iffy at times. Plus, I have to say it, while the Admirals Club in T3 is certainly nicer than the gloomy dump it was a few years ago, you're really not missing much at all.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Gardyloo

And in fact the business class lounges can be extremely crowded and getting a shower can be very iffy at times. Plus, I have to say it, while the Admirals Club in T3 is certainly nicer than the gloomy dump it was a few years ago, you're really not missing much at all.

 

True. One can also use the Cathay or BA lounges in T3, but none of those are all that amazing either. I like the Cathay lounge because I like Chinese/Asian food...not gonna lie.

True. One can also use the Cathay or BA lounges in T3, but none of those are all that amazing either.

Not if one is using an AC membership rather than class of service or Oneworld status for admittance. Edited July 30, 2015 by Gardyloo

Thanks for all the info. What I need to do is crank up my Oneworld status. I am looking at a Sydney-Singapore cruise in October 2016 and will most likely fly Cathay/Qantas since they both have a Premium Economy cabin (if I need to buy the tickets). The wife & I really enjoy the international lounges and she was asking about lounge access at LHR.

 

I'm sure we will be fine @ T-5 for a few hours. Checking the Heathrow website I see plenty of restaurants where we can grab something to eat & some coffee.

There is supposed to be a pay lounge opening in T5 this summer, although I'm not aware of an opening date having been announced yet. It will be run under the Aspire brand. Limited facilities, though, compared to the BA lounges - and depending on price, it may be better value to camp in one of the restaurants anyway.

This lounge has, in fact, just opened.

 

It's still not been announced, so presumably it's a soft opening. But it's there.

Thanks for all the info. What I need to do is crank up my Oneworld status. I am looking at a Sydney-Singapore cruise in October 2016 and will most likely fly Cathay/Qantas since they both have a Premium Economy cabin (if I need to buy the tickets). The wife & I really enjoy the international lounges and she was asking about lounge access at LHR.

None of my business, and I am admittedly a broken record on the subject, but it sounds like you travel enough that you might want to investigate round-the-world tickets.

 

These tickets are good for a year and allow up to 16 flights. The main rule is you have to start and end in the same country (there are some exceptions to this) and you have to travel across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the same direction.

 

The big advantage for people who want to fly comfortably is that the prices of RTW tickets vary hugely depending on where the ticket begins and ends. For example, a 4-continent Oneworld Explorer ticket bought and started in the USA costs around $11,000 in business class. The same ticket, bought and started in South Africa (same cities, just slightly different order) is around $4800. Or the same ticket bought and started in Egypt is around $6000.

 

Now that's a lot of money, but stop and think about what you're getting: 16 flights in business or first class for between $300 and $400 per flight (South Africa and Egypt respectively.) That's an excellent price for, say, New York to Miami, but how about New York to Sydney, or Chicago to Hong Kong, or London to Rio?

 

You also earn (tons of) miles in the course of it, and easily obtain mid- or even top-tier FF status.

 

My late wife and I got into the habit of buying an RTW ticket in year one, and used it for a full year's travel. We'd usually start in South Africa, then stop for a couple of weeks in Australia or New Zealand, then fly home and go back to life as we know it. :(

 

But we'd use the ticket throughout the several months we were home, for family or work trips - Anchorage to see friends, relatives in New York, a long weekend in California or a week in the Caribbean... whatever. Then before the 12 months of the ticket's life were up, we'd head over to Europe and visit friends in Scotland, or drive around France or Spain, or see family in Israel, before finally returning to South Africa to end the trip.

 

In the course of all this, we earned enough frequent flyer miles to "pay" for some of our travels during the following year, usually in business or first class. I reckoned that we'd usually get an additional 4 to 6 segments "paid" for with the miles from the RTW ticket, so instead of an average of $300 or $400 per business or first class segment, we were down around $275. That was the better part of two years' global travel, always riding up front, for around five grand out of pocket.

 

I've done a writeup for TripAdvisor going over some of this that you might find interesting - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g1-i10702-k7409073-About_round_the_world_RTW_tickets-Air_Travel.html . It might or might not apply in your case, but it strikes me that serial cruisers (an affliction better than most ;) ) are more likely to have "strategic" travel plans that they make years in advance. RTW tickets can be VERY useful in such cases - helping you position for cruises, and in the process maybe help whittle down the list in the bucket. Sydney to Singapore? How about New Zealand in the bargain, or the Maldives, or skiing in Hokkaido on the way?

 

Just imagining here, but this is a completely "legal" Oneworld RTW itinerary that you could piggyback on your fall cruise (or really, just use some miles during the middle of the winter to access). Start in Egypt, back home to the US, summer trip to Alaska, then down to Australia and New Zealand for your cruise, visit Hong Kong and the Maldives after, then Europe and end in Israel (allowed in the case of RTW origins anywhere in the Middle East.) Several vacations in one, then use miles to get home.

 

Like I say, may not be of interest to you, but had to mention it.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Gardyloo

Thanks for the info and yes, I have been looking at my options for the next few trips. One challenge I have had is the mileage piece since the majority of my business related flights the last 10+ years have all been domestic and most on Southwest. The good news is I have plenty of Hilton & Hyatt points and am at the Diamond/Plantium level so as an example got a nice upgrade to an Opera King @ Park Hyatt Sydney using points.

 

For October 2016 I am considering BWI/DCA/IAD-HNL-SYD, get on the Celebrity Solistice in Sydney (after my stay at the Park Hyatt) and then fly back to the DC area from SIN, probably through ORD or LAX on Cathay. Trying a dummy booking on AA.com or Oneworld has you flying all over the place. I also checked United out if IAD but they do not have a partner airline from HNL to SYD so the routing goes bad to LAX/SFO to get to SYD from Hawaii.

 

Also, does a Oneworld RTW ticket allow for a combo business/premium economy ( say business on AA to HNL, PE back from SIN on Cathay)? Not sure if my wife wants to spend $20k on airfare (though after her PE Qantas flights we will never fly economy over 6 hours, which is why we are on BA to LHR).

 

Thanks again

Also, does a Oneworld RTW ticket allow for a combo business/premium economy ( say business on AA to HNL, PE back from SIN on Cathay)?

No, you can buy an economy RTW ticket and then upgrade into PE on a flight-by-flight basis, but the per-sector upgrade costs end up making a business class ticket cheaper.

 

Not sure if my wife wants to spend $20k on airfare (though after her PE Qantas flights we will never fly economy over 6 hours, which is why we are on BA to LHR).

I wouldn't pay 20 grand for airfare; a business class RTW ticket bought in Egypt, Japan, or South Africa is, roughly, half the cost of one bought in the US. You can buy it online from home, it's sold as an e-ticket, so all you need to do is show up at the Cairo, Tokyo, or Joburg/Cape Town airport and get on the plane.

 

What if you were planning a European cruise during the summer of 2017? Imagine this - next fall before your Sydney trip you ride one way to Cairo (maybe buy enough miles - around $1200 on AA for a one-way business class trip) where you start a RTW ticket. From Cairo you travel to New Zealand where you tour around a bit, then across the Tasman to Sydney where you board your cruise to Singapore.

 

After Singapore you visit - I don't know, China? Thailand? briefly before returning home. Over the next few months you use the ticket for.. a Caribbean cruise? Alaska? Whatever, then it's time to head to Europe - Copenhagen? Barcelona? for your European cruise. Then you end the trip somewhere else in the Middle East - could be Israel, Jordan (been to Petra?) or maybe Dubai? Then fly home on some of the tens of thousands of miles you've collected in the process.

 

How many vacations has the ticket covered? Two? Four? And every mile flown in a comfy seat, many of which turn into beds.

 

All in, this will end up costing around $2500 or $3000 more than the PE flights to Sydney/Singapore alone. Now that's not chump change for sure, but considering a round trip in business class to Hong Kong and Sydney would be six or seven grand alone, it's - in my mind - terrific leverage of your travel dollar.

 

Just sayin'.

This lounge has, in fact, just opened.

 

It's still not been announced, so presumably it's a soft opening. But it's there.

 

En-route to the CCR yesterday I popped my head around the corner and it was certainly staffed at the front desk and open....

Reportedly, it's £40 per person. Prebooked customers will get priority if there are capacity issues, but the walk-up price is the same. Not much information yet about facilities, but there are now a few photos floating around on the Internet.

 

I had seen an official opening date of 4 August mentioned, but as that's tomorrow I do wonder whether it's slipped. Not that it matters much; as fbgd says, the place is open.

Thanks. £40 per person is a bit steep, unless I could also use the facilities on my return flight. There is nothing yet on the LHR website. I am currently leaning towards the Gordon Ramsey restaurant, looks like they have WIFI, food, drinks for much less then £80.

I've also now seen that it's apparently £20 extra for a shower!