British Airways re-opens exclusive Heathrow T5 Concorde Room door
By David Flynn, July 22 2017
British Airways has re-opened the first class-only door into its exclusive Concorde Room lounge at London Heathrow terminal 5, after the new First Wing proved a bit too popular.
The entrance to the Concorde Room – BA's elite lounge for its first class passengers and its very top-tier Executive Club frequent flyers holding a Concorde Room Card or the lofty and little-known Premier status – sits just past security at the south entrance to T5, and could be used only by travellers eligible to enter this lounge.
BA decided to close the door in early April after the new First Wing, located adjacent to T5 check-in, was opened.
The theory was that first class travellers would prefer to use the First Wing, with its dedicated security lanes and immigration checkpoints which whisked them straight from the check-in desks into the first class lounge.
However, with the First Wing also available to passengers holding Executive Club Gold and Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum status, along with their Emerald equivalents from other Oneworld member airlines – plus their guests – the fast track can quickly become a slow lane during peak travel periods.
Added to this that the Concorde Room set needed to wave a circuitous path through the first class lounge before getting to the Concorde Room entrance, and it was clearly just a bit too much hassle for BA's most premium passengers.
As a result, the Concorde Room door just past security is once again open for business first.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
22 Oct 2014
Total posts 14
First time flying First with BA at the end of Aug so excuse my lack of knowledge but should I use the first class checkin or just bypass the new security lanes and use the old security lanes
26 Jul 2017
Total posts 1
The new First Class check in is better organised than the so-called Fast Track at that end of the terminal, and it's only a short walk through the quite spacious First Class lounge to the rather drab and stuffy Concorde Room. You actually exit the First lounge and walk across the foyer to the Concorde Room. The business lounges in Satellite B are actually nicer, but don't go out to either satellite unless you have a flight clearly listed as leaving from there as it is difficult to return to departures in the main building. BA say they will be upgrading the Concorde Room, but at the moment it bears no comparison remotely with, for example, the Qantas First lounge at Sydney or Emirates First lounge in Dubai.
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