Review: British Airways First Lounge London Heathrow Terminal 3

British Airways’ primary Heathrow hub is at Terminal 5, though the airline also operates select flights from Terminal 3.

While Terminal 5 is supposed to be a more seamless experience when connecting (since no terminal change is required), I actually prefer flying out of Terminal 3. That’s because I find the lounges to be better.

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In my opinion Terminal 3 is one of the best oneworld lounge terminals in the world. So far I’ve reviewed:

• The Qantas Lounge (open to oneworld first class, oneworld business class, oneworld Emerald, and oneworld Sapphire passengers)
• The Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge (open to oneworld first class and oneworld Emerald passengers)
• The Cathay Pacific Business Class Lounge (open to oneworld business class and oneworld Sapphire passengers)

This time around I decided to review the British Airways First Lounge, which is open to oneworld first class passengers as well as oneworld Emerald members.

Note that this is different than the Concorde Room they have in Terminal 5, which is exclusively for British Airways first class passengers.

I arrived at Heathrow at around 5AM (way early for my 10:10AM flight to Nairobi). I got through security in no time, and most shops were still closed.

London Heathrow Terminal 3

Once past duty free you just turn left, and then all the lounges are along that main corridor.

London Heathrow Terminal 3

London Heathrow Terminal 3 lounge directory

The British Airways First Lounge is located in Zone F, and is open daily from 5AM until 10:30PM.

British Airways Lounge entrance Terminal 3

Zone F is also where the No1 Lounge Terminal 3 is located, which I’ve reviewed before. That’s located up a level.

British Airways Lounge entrance Terminal 3

The British Airways Lounge has both a first and business class section. The first class section is inside the entrance and to the left. The lounge is a good size, but then again, there are a lot of oneworld Emerald members flying out of Terminal 3, so it does sometimes get busy.

While British Airways has renovated some of their lounges, this one most definitely isn’t among them.

Just past the entrance is some seating along the wall.

British Airways First Lounge Terminal 3 seating

Then immediately ahead is the champagne bar, which is a signature feature in many British Airways lounges around the world.

British Airways First Lounge Terminal 3 champagne bar

British Airways First Lounge champagne

Inside the entrance and to the left is a bunch of seating.Some airlines put a lot of effort into their lounge interior design, though British Airways isn’t among them, at least when this lounge was created.

British Airways First Lounge Terminal 3 seating

There was more seating across from the above section, as well as a business center consisting of a high-top table with some PCs.

British Airways First Lounge Terminal 3 seating

British Airways First Lounge business center

This area also had a water bar, which was a huge display with still and sparkling water.

British Airways First Lounge water bar

Along the far wall was the liquor selection, along with some snacks.

British Airways First Lounge drink station

British Airways First Lounge liquor

In the opposite direction (past the entrance and to the right) was the wine selection, as well as a play area for kids.

British Airways First Lounge seating

British Airways First Lounge drink station

British Airways First Lounge wine selection

British Airways First Lounge play area for kids

Past that was even more seating.

British Airways First Lounge seating

British Airways First Lounge seating

What lovely, modern furniture. 😉

British Airways First Lounge seating

Then at the very far end of the lounge was a dining area.

British Airways First Lounge dining area

British Airways First Lounge dining area

British Airways First Lounge dining area

However, it wasn’t actually open, and based on looking at the menu, it seems that it’s only open for lunch and dinner. Here’s the menu, for what it’s worth:

As far as the food and drink selection goes, the main buffet was just outside the a la carte dining area.

British Airways First Lounge coffee station

Breakfast options included a few types of danishes and croissants, cereal, fresh fruit, cheese, yogurt, scrambled eggs, hash browns, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausage, bacon, etc.

British Airways First Lounge breakfast selection

British Airways First Lounge breakfast selection

British Airways First Lounge breakfast selection

British Airways First Lounge breakfast selection

British Airways First Lounge breakfast selection

British Airways First Lounge breakfast selection

There was also a soft drink display in this area.

British Airways First Lounge drink selection

Then there was a section with coffee, tea, and cookies.

British Airways First Lounge coffee station

Also by the entrance was a table with a variety of magazines and newspapers.

British Airways First Lounge magazines & newspapers

The first class section of the lounge has bathrooms. The good news is that they’re all individual rooms. The bad news is that they look like this…

British Airways First Lounge bathrooms

The lounge also has an Elemis Spa, which is located between the entrance to the first and business class sections of the lounge. It opened at 7AM, though I didn’t get a treatment.

British Airways Terminal 3 Lounge Elemis Spa & showers

This is also where the lounge’s showers were.

British Airways Terminal 3 Lounge Elemis Spa

The showers had the same “decor” as the other bathrooms.

British Airways Terminal 3 Lounge shower room

British Airways Terminal 3 Lounge shower room

After spending a bit of time in this lounge I ended up heading to the Cathay Pacific Lounge. My flight was departing at 10:10AM, so at around 9:20AM I headed to my departure gate, which was gate 32.

Boarding was scheduled to start at 9:40AM, but actually started 10 minutes before that, with oneworld Emeralds and first class passengers being invited to board first.

Departure gate to Nairobi

British Airways First Lounge T3 bottom line

While the British Airways First Lounge isn’t awful, it’s in need of a refresh. On the plus side, it has a solid drink selection, and the food selection was alright. Terminal 3 is home to some of the best airport lounges in the world, in my opinion, and because of that, I think much bigger picture there’s ZERO reason to use this lounge. If you have access to this lounge you also have access to the Cathay Pacific First Lounge, which is significantly better.

Heck, I’d argue the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge and Qantas Lounge are both even better than this lounge.

The reality is that a vast majority of people don’t realize you can use a different lounge than that of the airline you’re flying, and I guess that’s a blessing, or else the other lounges would be much busier…

Does anyone choose to use the British Airways T3 Lounge over the Cathay Pacific and Qantas options?