In this post:
Heathrow BA Terminal changes
BA has updated the list of routes that will operate from Heathrow T3 for the winter 22/23 season. The change takes place from 30 October. None of the long haul routes that moved to T3 will be returning. If you are not aware, there are plenty of oneworld lounges to use in Terminal 3 as well as the Centurion lounge if you have a Platinum Amex card.
You can use any of the oneworld lounges if you are travelling business class or have status, not just the one of the airline you are travelling with. If you are wondering which lounge to choose, you can read this article. Note that the American Airlines First lounge is still shut.
BA’s T3 departures from 30 October will be:
Algiers (ALG)
Billund (BLL)
Bucharest (OTP)
Gibraltar (GIB)
Gothenburg (GOT)
Lyon (LYS)
Krakow (KRK)
Madrid (MAD)
Naples (NAP)
Nuremberg (NUE)
Oslo (OSL)
Porto (OPO)
Pisa (PSA)
Tirana (TIA)
Valencia (VLC)
HT: Flyertalk
British Airways catering and crew changes
If you have been travelling in BA Club World this year you will be aware that they have been serving a “one tray” meal which was originally introduced due to Covid. However, BA has not restored normal service for the simple reason that they do not have enough crew to offer the full business class service. Given the sky-high prices they are charging which are no cheaper than other airlines, I don’t think this is good enough. I had a better meal on an American domestic first flight last week!
The good news is that they have been recruiting crew and are expecting to start staffing aircraft with the most Club seats, such as the A380 and B777-300, with full crew from now on. The Club World pre-covid service is due to resume from 1 November. Whether this is 100% what we had before remains to be seen. If any readers do fly Club World in November and would like to submit a review, it would be great to see what you get! I am due to fly Club World in December, so I will report back then.
There are a few catering changes too. On short “band 2” European flights (flight time 90 to 114 mins) you will get a hot meal at lunch and dinner. Up to now, there have only been cold meals. There will also be a choice of three main courses.
On the longest flights that are greater than 2.5 hours, there will be a snack basket offered around. The contents will be the sort of things you find in the Club Kitchen on long haul flights.
BA Sydney flights
From 1 November, the Club Suite cabin will be available on return flights BA15 and BA16 on a B777-300 between London and Sydney via Singapore. First class will also feature the brand new suites (review of these coming next week, hopefully).
London City Airport improving departure areas
London City Airport today unveils a major investment in refurbishing its departures area to enhance the customer experience for passengers. Although London City does not offer airline lounges, it is one of the quickest airports to pass through in London which is sometimes more important at the moment.
The airport has started on a £12m upgrade along with SSP, Lagardère Travel Retail and WHSmith, which will see more seating, two new dining experiences, duty-free expansion, new retail space, more washrooms, and a brand-new look and feel throughout the departure lounge.
The refurbishment, which is set to be completed by Summer 2023, will be carried out in phases with new food and beverage and retail units opening before old ones close, to create minimal disruption for passengers using the airport.
Lagardère Travel Retail will launch Aelia Duty-Free Store, including an ‘It’s London’ boutique selling the best of local producers and distilleries which will change seasonally. New premium brands such as Creed and Aesop will be available. Something that will probably appeal to many TLFL readers is the ‘Champagne Cave’, which will feature locally crafted beers as well as an extendedrange of champagne.
The upgrade will increase seating by 30% (950 in total), with the creation of a new area in front of a new 200mtr² flagship WHSmith store in Autumn 2022> This will sell a wide range of products including books and magazines, health and beauty products, souvenirs, digital accessories and food and drink options.
The airport’s “City Bar & Grill” will be replaced by the new “Juniper” restaurant in Spring 2023, which will provide passengers with a greater level of service from a new bar area and full-service kitchen, plus an overall increase of 80 seats.
The “Cabin Bar” will be replaced with a new restaurant brand, offering a new menu, greater levels of service and an overall increase of 20 covers. A new eatery, ‘Soul & Grain’ has already opened featuring vegan and vegetarian options.
The airport is also upgrading existing washroom facilities, including creating a new facility in its west pier, revamping those in international arrivals and doubling the size of facilities immediately after security.
London City Airport Chief Executive Officer, Robert Sinclair, said: “Whilst Covid has postponed our plans to build an entirely new terminal building, it has not diminished our ambition to invest in providing a London centric experience we know passengers want, and have been waiting for.
“Our recovery in 2022 has been strong, and we and our partners want to be ready to deliver an even better service in 2023, for even more passengers.
26 comments
Really useful summary – thanks!
I’m flying club to JNB on A380 in November so will let you know about the catering
Thanks Phil.
Hi Michele,
I’ve read elsewhere that the aircraft equipment change on BA15/16 to Sydney is only temporary, with the previous 787-9 reappearing on the route after the summer. It’s possible some of the 787-9s may have been retrofitted with club suites by then, I guess?
At this point it’s too far ahead to say what will happen in spring definitely as aircraft changes still happen all the time. However it is likely in the UK summer that there is less demand so there could be a need for a smaller aircraft. There is no specific time frame for the b787s to be refitted by as far as I know but there’s a chance you could get Club Suites for the UK summer schedule.
Flying to BNA in J on a 788 on 2nd Nov. Back in Sept 2020, this was due to be an A350 with Club Suite. Returning from LAX on the A380 in J a couple of weeks later. We shall see what we get…. I shall let you know!
Flying club on 9 November with three kids in tow (lhr – jfk), fingers crossed..
Our club service last Friday from LHR to Valencia consisted of three tiny sandwiches, a cake and a scone. This was our evening meal! Usually a hot meal at least, although the previous 2 weeks we had a choice of prawn salad or prawn curry, not good for the non-prawn lovers. It’s just so variable, you don’t know what you are going to get.
My wife and I have been fortunate enough to have been using Club with BA for 10+ years, we have bought/amassed quite a lot of Avios and 2-1 flights via Amex over this time,
We’ve just returned from Dubai, flying in Club there and back, the flight going out was unfortunately full of off duty BA staff, this meant that the flight was treated more like a social gathering for some of the off/on duty cabin staff and service was nothing like I’ve experienced before in Club.
Very disappointed, now looking to use other airlines
I flew back from OTP on Saturday and BA have now got access to the Tarom Lounge.
Also on the flight back I experienced the Club Europe Snack basket which is a welcome addition to that length flight.
There are changes the other way to, from T3 to T5 which have a minor mess of my car parking and hotel plans.
Also fortunate enough to have a SYD trip in F, which has had the aircraft swap from 787 to 777, but despite the cabin layout being the same we appear to have been moved to middle pairs of seats which is also annoying.
Yes it seems completely random when they change aircraft. I’ve been moved to a middle seat from a window when solo even when lots of other seats free!
In contrast to Sarah our flights to and from Palermo last week the lunch menu on return did have 3 hot choices and was perfectly decent (outward breakfast not great but it never is!). However whilst the crew on return were excellent those outward were the worst we have ever experienced. Still some way to go on recruitment…the manager spent too long not serving and said when pressed “you know me I just love chatting” and one of the others was the worst presented cabin attendant ever. Such a welcome contrast with efficient and friendly staff on return flight last wednesday.
Flew LGW – TFS in Club Europe last Thursday, had the three hot meal options plus the snack basket described in the article. Couldn’t fault food or service in any way. Return flight this evening, fingers crossed….!
BA cannot just if £11-12k fit their F product to Sydney.
It’s higher than emirates and Singapore
That’s Comedy Central!
Traveling to San Diego in November Club and Chicago/London 1st, also in November,will let you know.
Thanks Alan!
I can’t help but think it’s time for another sort out of terminals at LHR, what was for a while logical is now getting to be a mess again. QR is not going to move out of T4 and VS isn’t going to move out of T3 so my suggestion would be OW to move to T4 and SkyTeam to move to T3 since it’s already happening in part anyway. For me the only downside would be missing the Amex lounge when flying with AY!
I’ve got a Manchester-LHR-Prague rotation in Club Europe next month. I’ll keep you posted on the meal variety. It’s a 5-night BA Holiday too. £1.40 per Tier Point. 🙂
Good deal Robert!
Just come back from a week in Crete – Club dining as in your post, complete with basket. Staff delightful.
Lounge at HER (Swissport) was shocking – arrived just after the previous lot had cleared out and they’d left an horrendous mess that the sole Dragon (on her first day, bless her – and so nice) was trying to clear up, restock the shelves (with the poor offerings available) and control new lounge arrivals…
Gate control was very poor, too, not helped by a Luton flight that was heavily delayed and parked at our designated gate.
Bloody good holiday, though ???? ????
Glad you had a great holiday. Coming home is always the worst bit!
Hi michelle great stuff as always – fyi flights to Sydney with BA are and continue to be a nightmare to book, really stressful as my eldest son lives there. Wish they would up the joint venture and or frequency.
I guess it’s still early days for Australia in terms of reopening fully. Hopefully it will get better soon. With HKG reducing crew restrictions that could mean Cathay ramping up more I’d guess.
Awful experience at Heathrow this week.
Had to transfer from T3 to T5. 30 min wait for the bus, 1 hour queue for passport control, no egates working, then a 50 minute queue for security to get into terminal 5. Is this normal or part of the insanity!! Would put me off getting a flight via terminal 3 ever again! Luckily I had a long layover but people were missing connections and getting very irate. Really bad experience.
The wait for the bus is fairly standard. I would normally use the Heathrow Express to transfer landside on this route. The transfer wait times have been much longer than usual this year at times but it’s variable.
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