A surprising number of airports have VIP facilities that most of us travelers would never even know about. We’re not talking about standard airport lounges, but rather about special facilities that offer private aviation levels of service while traveling with commercial aircraft.
Along those lines, London Heathrow Airport (LHR) has just unveiled its fully updated private terminal service, which looks pretty incredible, though also has eye-watering pricing. While most of us will never get to experience this, it’s still cool to see what the airport offers!
In this post:
Basics of The Windsor by Heathrow private terminal
The Windsor by Heathrow is the name of Heathrow Airport’s upgraded private terminal for VIP guests. Previously, this was known as The Windsor Suite, but after a £3 million refurbishment that lasted eight months, it has been rebranded. This is actually only the start of a refresh of this facility, as there are plans to expand it significantly over the coming years.
Pricing for this service starts at £3,177 before VAT, or £3,812 including VAT, for a total of up to three guests. Alternatively, it can be accessed with a Priority Pass membership… in my dreams. 😉
The facility is only available to those in first and business class, with no restrictions as to which airlines people are traveling. The facility is located at Terminal 5, though with a totally separate entrance, so you can skip the main part of the terminal entirely. The service is available for departures, connections, and arrivals.
So, what’s included with this service?
- A door-to-door experience, whereby guests can be picked up in an electric BMW at their home or hotel, and driven to the facility; then when it’s time for the flight to depart, guests will be transfered directly to the plane via BMW
- There are eight private suites, so each party is given a private suite to hang out in, and you won’t ever see other guests
- The Windsor by Heathrow offers private security, immigration, and customs, so that guests can completely skip this typical formalities in the main terminals
- The Windsor by Heathrow offers fine dining from Chef Jason Atherton, including signature dishes like English butter shortbread with praline cream, Earl Grey tea ice cream, custard sauce, and charred mandarin
- The facility doubles as a private art gallery, with museum-worthy art from around the world, which guests can purchase with the click of a button via a QR code
- The facility offers a private shopping service, including the option of being taken to one of the shops at Terminal 5
Of course the primary selling point here is the privacy, efficiency, and exclusivity. A lot of the other stuff is fluff.
How many people actually use this service?
I’m sure I’m not the only one who is curious how many people use a service like this. The airport claims that this service is used by roughly 50,000 guests annually, of the 83.9 million travelers who pass through the airport.
To crunch the numbers, that comes out to 137 guests per day. If you were to assume that on average two people are traveling in a party, that would mean that suites are occupied over 60 times per day. Given that there are only eight suites, that means most suites are probably occupied a good percentage of the time. I wouldn’t have expected this service to be so popular.
The five most common destinations for this include Doha (DOH), Dubai (DXB), Los Angeles (LAX), New York (JFK), and Riyadh (RUH). I don’t think that detail will surprise anyone. The most common airlines are American, British Airways, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar (clearly people are choosing to fly British Airways or one of the other Gulf carriers, rather than Saudia, to Riyadh).
It’s also noted how the number of people using this service has doubled over the past 10 years, with plans for it to double again in the next three years.
Bottom line
The Windsor by Heathrow is the refreshed private terminal at the UK’s busiest airport, which has seen a significant increase in demand over the years. While most of us will never be able to visit this, it’s still cool to see what’s offered.
What do you make of The Windsor by Heathrow?
I imagine most people who would use these types of service do so more for the added personal safety concerns than the luxe experience. I recently heard some female athletes were getting stalked by guys who would be at the airport in groups, gets in the faces of the women demanding autographs and they don't take no. How they know the athletes travel plans is beyond me. But persistent people can stalk well.
I'm actually surprised by the volume. But I guess it's less than 0.1% of Heathrow passengers per day so it is possible. Maybe I just can't relate to it! Hopefully one day. Any numbers on PS at LAX?
One seemingly weird thing to me about this facility is that it doesn't seem to include showers; for the price of admission and its level of amenities, that seems like a must-have amenity to me (at least for connecting passengers).
Am I insane or does this feel affordable?? Ben, you could totally afford this!
I am not qualified to diagnose mental illnesses, but it's worth noting that the equivalent amounts in Germany are in the three figures and the private terminal experience at MAN is barely £250 per person.
On the other hand, I'm sure it has been assessed as affordable to taxpayers in all manner of countries, particularly in the Global South, covering the costs of their political leadership on visits to London.
The one who doesn't couch this in terms of affordability is the one who can actually afford it.
There are lots of rich people living in London, and lots more who visit for business or leisure. The price differential between flying first class with paid private terminal access and chartering (let alone owning) a Gulfstream or Global is huge. This is a nice compromise that provides a comfortable, seamless, discreet experience away from public terminals and busy lounges, without having to spend $10-15K an hour to charter an aircraft.
I’m sure there’s a red headed Brit who frequented this on his trips back to LAX on American
Him and that "terrible" wife of his, at least when it was "safe" for her to go back to the UK where she is widely despised.
How do you despise someone you never met and don't know and whose only actions bad or good is via tabloids and entertainment rags? Now if they did something that directly caused thousands great grief then we can form judgement. But entertainers??
You can tell that last promo photo used a green screen because when was the last time Qatar flew an A330 to Heathrow? Lol
I like that Heathrow & LAX have this. But Changi Airport is honestly so efficient that I don’t feel the need for a VIP terminal. Worth noting their CIP experience is unremarkable, though.
"The Windsor by Heathrow offers fine dining from Chef Jason Atherton, including signature dishes like English butter shortbread with praline cream, Earl Grey tea ice cream, custard sauce, and charred mandarin"
Lmao jason you gotta do better than that
Even for a dessert menu ot would be uninspiring.
The previous incumbent's suggestion to serve jamon de pata negra and foie gras marinated in Armagnac ended with a P45* being posted out to him.
*UK tax form confirming the end of one's employment
Would love a list of all the private terminals in the world
Imagine paying £3,800 to avoid T3 then boarding an American Airlines flight to LAX.
The Gulf destinations don't really surprise me, but is the T3 experience really that bad? I couldn't imagine ever not enjoying a little time in the CX F lounge.
I have recently flown through T3 and can confirm it's a zoo- admittedly I only had access to the Aspire lounge and they didn't even let me in for the full 5 hours of my connection, but VS are super protective of their lounge (I didn't get access to it as an Elite Plus flying them in premium economy) so I guess that's all you will get when flying KQ or MEA.
£2k each to get picked up at home and totally avoid the zoo that is T5? I’d think hard about it.
2k is nothing for most using this service. It is the equivalent of us mortals paying credit card fees for priority pass access.
It's not a lot of money to their target demographic.
You note the increase in volume over the years. The lower volume in earlier years necessitated a 10,000 GBP price to cover operating costs.
"The facility offers a private shopping service, including the option of being taken to one of the shops at Terminal 5"
Nothing screams exclusive luxury like going duty free shopping with a stranger.