After a great evening in London, and before flying across the pond on our British Airways flight to Houston, we stopped at the British Airways Galleries Lounge North at London Heathrow.
Location
The Galleries Lounge North is conveniently located just past security at Heathrow Terminal 5. After clearing security, before taking the escalator down to the concourse level, the entrance to the lounge will be on the left.
The lounge is easily identifiable thanks to the large, blue backdrop with the British Airways logo prominently displayed.
Hours of Operation
The Galleries Lounge North is currently open between 5:00a and 10:00p daily. This covers the majority of British Airways and OneWorld alliance member departures from the terminal.
Entry Requirements
The Galleries Lounge North can be accessed by passengers flying on a same day First or business class flight (both Club World and Club Europe). In addition, British Airways Executive Club Silver and Gold members can access the lounge when flying a British Airways or partner flight regardless of cabin. Finally OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire members can access the lounge when flying British Airways or a OneWorld partner regardless of cabin.
The lounge was very crowded when we arrived and the line stretched out into the terminal. Fortunately the line moved quickly and we were in after a short wait and a quick scan of our boarding passes.
Layout
The British Airways Galleries Lounge is absolutely massive, which should be no surprise since this is the airline’s home base. The lounge is broken up into multiple different areas and spans the entire north side of Terminal 5 A. Immediately upon entry you’re met with a large coffee and champagne station located in the middle of the lounge. The main buffet station is also located here.
From the entrance area, the lounge fans out in two directions. To the right are some café tables as well as the terrace which is open to the concourse below.
With the lounge being full, the whole place was quite loud. This increased on the terrace as it was mixed with the terminal noise, though the views out over the ramp were great for plane spotting.
On the terrace, there was a variety of seating areas and we managed to find an empty table here.
Back inside, on the other side of the lounge, were a variety of partitioned off rooms with tables and chairs. Because of the walls, this area of the lounge felt darker and more compact than the terrace. A second bar was located here as well.
This side of the lounge also featured some workstations that overlooked the tarmac as well as a kids play area that wasn’t being used.
Individual washrooms were also located in the rear of the lounge. I’m not sure if this is something they do all the time or just during peak times, but there was an attendant at the entrance to the restrooms assigning them to people as they became available. The individual stalls were spacious, clean, and stocked with Elemis products.
Food and Beverage
Since we had a morning flight, breakfast was on offer in the lounge. There was a large buffet in the center of the main room that had fruits, cold cuts as well as a variety of hot dishes.
Along the wall there was a selection of fresh pastries, yoghurts, and warm porridge.
In addition top the food, there were multiple beverage stations set up round the lounge. Near the main entrance, there was a large coffee bar that was Union Coffee Roasters branded. It featured a variety of coffee machines as well as a selection of teas. Since it was early on Sunday morning, the coffee bar was very popular and the lounge staff did a great job of keeping everything stocked.
Next to the coffee area was a large champagne station. The brands on offer change from time to time and during this visit it was Bottega branded. These bottles were also constantly being refreshed by the staff, keeping the champagne cold and fresh.
We knew that we were going to be eating on the plane, but the food on offer in the lounge looked good so we got a couple of items to split while we waited for our flight.
Atmosphere
The morning departure bank is going to be busy at almost every European hub as that is when most flights to the Americas depart. Because of that, the lounge was packed full and it was far from relaxing. The staff were doing their best to keep everything stocked up but there weren’t enough tables to keep up with demand. This made for a chaotic and loud environment but it still beat the chaos out in the terminal.
British Airways operates two other Galleries lounges at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5, one on the south side of T5A and the other in the T5B satellite. Next time I’m flying through London I’ll likely head to the T5B lounge as it seemed much quieter when we passed on the way to our gate.
Summary
The British Airways Galleries Lounge North is large and feels quite spacious thanks to the floor to ceiling windows that overlook the tarmac. While I have been to this lounge many times in the past, I was happy to see it is still holding up well. However, issues arise from the volume of people using the lounge which causes crowding. I’d head for the satellite lounge in T5B to try and avoid the crowds.
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