As I mentioned in the introduction post, because of the way I booked my SkyMiles award ticket I had to do the stopover in London instead of Edinburgh. So I redeemed Avios to fly from London to Edinburgh on the front end of the trip, and then again redeemed Avios to fly from Edinburgh to London.
In London I’d be connecting to Paris and then Prague on Air France. Let that sink in for a second, folks:
- I had three intra-Europe flights in a day
- I transited London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle in a day
In general that sounds to me about as appealing as flying from New York to Kuwait in the last row middle seat on a Kuwait Airways 777. On the plus side, since I was transiting Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle in one day I got all my exercise for the week done in a single day!
In all honesty, much to my surprise the intra-Europe flights were actually quite pleasant, so I figured I’d just cover the British Airways Galleries Club Lounge in Edinburgh, since it’s brand new and just opened a bit over a month ago.
While by no means impressive, Edinburgh Airport is fairly small and easy enough to transit. I was kind of amused by the fact that not only do premium passengers get access to the Fast Track security lanes, but there’s also a ticket machine just outside the security checkpoint where you can buy a Fast Track security pass for £5 per person.
I’m kind of surprised we haven’t seen these in the US yet. 😉
Fast Track security lane tickets
Anyway, the security queue was short, and once through security we headed to the British Airways Lounge, located across from gate five. The lounge opens daily at 5AM, and we arrived just as it opened. It was probably the slickest British Airways lounge I’ve seen from the outside.
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport entrance
We were promptly admitted after presenting our OneWorld Emerald cards. The lounge was massive and gorgeous, probably physically the nicest British Airways lounge I’ve ever visited.
I didn’t realize what a big station Edinburgh is for British Airways. At least it must be based on the size of the lounge. The lounge still had that new furniture smell, and was in immaculate condition. I always love lounges that have different types of seating areas, and this lounge definitely had plenty, from dining tables with chairs, to lounge chairs, to communal tables, to a business center.
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport
The lounge had a variety of newspapers.
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport newspapers
The buffet spread was fairly decent, with a variety of tea and coffee (the machine actually made fairly good cappuccinos as well).
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport coffee/tea
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport coffee
The breakfast spread consisted of muffins, danishes, croissants, chocolate croissants, cereal, yogurt, fruit, and juice.
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport snacks
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport snacks
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport cereal
There was also an open bar, though I didn’t see anyone taking advantage of that at 5AM.
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport drinks
The bathrooms were also quite nice with Elemis amenities.
British Airways Galleries Club Lounge Edinburgh Airport bathrooms
Anyway, on the whole this was a really nice, fresh, spacious British Airways lounge. There are some other options now in Edinburgh for those with a credit card with lounge access, but otherwise this is a perfectly decent place to spend some time.
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