It’s been a long time since I’ve been the first one to arrive in the British Airways Galleries First lounge. On my last trip through London Heathrow, I entered when the facility opened at 5am which meant I could take 42 new pictures for your viewing enjoyment.
Usually the lounge is very busy and filled with people, so most of the time it’s not possible to do a picture tour. Anyway, let’s get on with it, here’s a look inside.
42 New Pictures – Go!
When you arrive at Heathrow, you can use the First Wing to do check-in and security. That leads you straight into the lounge, bypassing all the usual shops and chaos of the airport. It’s rather handy!
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- Inside the First Wing, check-in desks and a little seating.
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- The corridor of advertising to your lounge.
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- At the end, the horse greets you.
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- Immediately inside are these seats to the right.
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- One of the self-service bars dotted around the lounge.
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- More seats.
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- Walking further on gives this view.
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- You can check your flight information here, near the other entrance/exit.
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- Seats are in banks broken up by glass dividers.
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- Another section.
Looking at the pictures, it looks like the carpet do with a good replacement. The entire lounge has been largely unchanged apart from the odd furniture refresh for quite some time now.
Breakfast
During the pandemic, all food was brought to you by servers, ordered via the QR codes on the tables. You can still do this, as well as become one of the pigs at the trough with the self-service.
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- Continental breakfast items such as danish, croissants and cheese.
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- A wide variety of fruit chunks and yoghurt.
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- Some more fruit, with some breads to the right.
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- Cereals and milk.
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- Coffee can be had from here.
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- Plates and utensils.
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- Looking back at the self-service area.
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- Where are the hot items?
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- Another angle.
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- Bacon, some kind of meat and more bacon.
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- Hash browns, a cheese omelette and more hash browns.
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- The dining area, but you can eat wherever you want.
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- Fruit and crisps and nibbles.
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- An array of crystal.
I have probably never seen the food looking so pristine before as it had just been put out. Of course, that didn’t last long! I sampled all of the hot food and it was fine.
Off To The Terrace!
I couldn’t share 42 new images without heading off to the Terrace. This is at one end of the lounge and I find it the quietest part and the easiest to find a seat. There’s also seats actually look out over the airport as opposed to the inward facing ones everywhere else.
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- Heading from the food to the terrace.
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- More seating, surprise, surprise!
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- They mix it up with some different tables.
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- Wine! A tended bar is on the other side of this.
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- Those glass dividers are cool.
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- Here’s the terrace on the left as you walk out there.
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- The bones of the building.
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- High tables which are popular with business people.
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- Another look at the area.
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- Reverse view.
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- From the other end of the terrace.
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- There’s even a “fire”.
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- Heading back inside.
The only downside is the terrace is not really setup for easy device charging, but you’ll find that issue all over this lounge. You can find powerpoints under the self-service bar on the terrace which I used on this trip to charge my AirPods.
How About A Shower?
To book a shower, you scan the QR code on your table and then reserve it. After that, it’s off to the shower area which is actually outside the lounge on the mezzanine between the entry of the First Class lounge and Concorde Room.
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- The shower corridor, you get assigned a number.
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- Shower number one today!
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- It’s rather nice to shower after a night out.
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- Lounge view over Heathrow.
Happily the showers are clean and I’ve never had an issue getting one when I’ve wanted one. Well, that’s been a grand total of twice, I think, but they do come in handy when needed!
Overall Thoughts
What did you think of the 42 new pictures of the British Airways Galleries First lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 5? Is the oneworld alliance airline keeping up with the other carriers or falling behind?
Either way, I find it to be a fine enough place to wile away some time before a flight. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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