In this post:
Have You Tried Loungebird? The App That Tells You How Busy Heathrow T5 Lounges Are
Loungebird is a free app that I’ve been using for a while to check how busy the lounges are at Heathrow Terminal 5, and I thought it would be worth mentioning to you. If you ever fly from T5, it’s a useful tool, especially when you have a choice of lounges and don’t want to get to one only to find it packed.
This is not a sponsored post, and I have no involvement in the app. Other than i think it’s cool.
Merrick Sapsford created Loungebird as a personal hobby project in 2023. Since launching to the public in 2024, Loungebird has grown to thousands of downloads and developed a loyal following among frequent Heathrow and British Airways travellers. Merrick describes himself as a “self-confessed British Airways Club addict” and says the original idea was to have a quick way of finding the quietest lounge.
The app uses the same live occupancy data that you’ll see displayed on the information boards in the terminal, but takes it a step further. It also uses historical trends and forecasts, so it doesn’t just tell you how busy a lounge is at that moment but also whether it is busier than usual and how conditions are likely to change over the next few hours. You can also check lounge opening times and eligibility information.
Loungebird 2 has just launched with a number of new features, with one of the most useful being Autopilot. This provides automatic, real-time recommendations for the best lounge based on current conditions, your airline status, ticket class, and your personal travel preferences.
New Occupancy Forecasts also show how busy each lounge is expected to become over the next few hours. These are produced using a bespoke forecasting engine combining AI with historical data. Occupancy Trends add more detailed information about current conditions, showing whether a lounge is busier or quieter than you would normally expect at that time of day, as well as which way things are heading.
Speaking about the latest version, Merrick said:
“I originally built Loungebird as a quick prototype to help me find the quietest lounge at Heathrow the moment I arrived. It has since grown into a true ‘hobby that got out of hand’, with thousands of downloads and many, many hours of tinkering. With Loungebird 2, the app can now look beyond the current conditions and provide intelligent, personalised guidance to help make every traveller’s lounge experience as pleasant as possible.”
There are also customisable widgets that display lounge conditions on your Home Screen, Lock Screen or Desktop. You can also integrate the app with Siri, Shortcuts, and Spotlight, so you can get lounge information faster without opening the app each time.
The app automatically synchronises across Apple devices without requiring an account or sign-up, and there are plenty of customisation options, including different occupancy gauge designs and app icons.
Loungebird remains completely free, with no advertising or paid upgrades. It’s available to download from the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Wine Flyer AMEX Offer and £99 Advent Calendar Deal – Earn 3,648 Avios
The Wine Flyer Advent Calendar is here, and this year’s version is £99.99 and includes 23 mini bottles, including 187ml reds, whites and rosé, a 200ml Ruby Port (a first) and a full-sized 750ml bottle of Prosecco for Christmas Eve.
You may not be planning ahead for Christmas yet, but there’s a way that buying the advent calendar early could earn you a substantial number of extra Avios. Select BA AMEX cards are running a targeted bonus of 3,000 Avios on a £99 purchase by 7th October. There’s also a separate AMEX offer of 2,500 Avios for a £150 spend.
As you’ll earn 500 Avios for the purchase of the advent calendar, you could pick up 3,500 Avios for the purchase, not to mention at least 148 Avios from your spend if you pay with a BA Premium Plus AMEX – more than 36 Avios per £1 spent.
You could also spend £99 on other Wine Flyer products for the bonus. Cases that include 12 full-sized bottles start at £139.99, or you can buy single bottles starting at just £7.49.
Alternatively, you can purchase the Advent Calendar using Avios for 15,835 Avios + £4.99. However, this is poor value compared with flight redemptions.
If you’re aiming to meet the £99 threshold for the AMEX offer, keep in mind the British Airways Club discounts (5% to Bronze, 10% to Silver and 15% to Gold), which may take you below the threshold. You may need to add something else to your basket to get to £99. Treat that as a bonus of your BA status.
Postage is £8 or free when you spend £100. It’s worth adding another bottle of something to your order in order to get free postage.
As always, make sure you add the offer to your card before you purchase anything.
