After two fun days in Manchester, our next stop was Stockholm. We redeemed British Airways Avios to fly economy from Manchester to London to Stockholm, which was a cheap/easy way to get between the two cities. Our flight out of Stockholm was at 9:50AM, and we got to the airport at around 8AM.
Manchester Airport feels reasonably large from the outside, though I didn’t really get the same feeling from inside.
Manchester Airport exterior
Manchester Airport check-in hall
British Airways check-in was located on the right side of the terminal (Terminal 3, to be exact), where I quickly checked my bag (at this point in the trip my carry-on was huge, so I didn’t even bother trying to carry it on).
British Airways check-in Manchester Airport
Security was an absolute theater, as Matt has written about before, so I won’t rehash that here.
Departures hall Manchester Airport
Past security the tarmac looked pretty simple, with mostly regional planes from British Airways and flybe. Given that Manchester is quite a large city, I’m sort of shocked by British Airways’ lack of a presence at the airport. A vast majority of their flights are to London. I would have thought there’s more of a market for flights to other points in Europe.
Manchester Airport tarmac
Manchester Airport tarmac
We followed the signage towards the British Airways Lounge, which was located just past the duty free shops to the left.
Signage for British Airways Lounge Manchester
Duty free shops Manchester Airport
The lounge is located one level up from the main concourse, and there was both an elevator and staircase leading up one level. Unfortunately the elevator was broken, so it seemed like the stairs were the only option.
Stairs to British Airways Lounge
At the top of the stairs are the entrances to both the British Airways Terraces Lounge (to the left) and the Escape Lounge (to the right).
British Airways Lounge entrance Manchester
Escape Lounge entrance Manchester
I presented my mobile boarding pass, which quickly got us admitted (I had access to the lounge due to oneworld Emerald status through American AAdvantage).
The lounge was in a circular shape, centered around a glass rotunda of sorts, which meant the lounge had tons of natural light.
British Airways Terraces Lounge seating Manchester Airport
The lounge had the standard BA lounge decor, though I felt like the lounge had a better “flow” than some of British Airways’ other lounges. Also, while the furniture was a bit past its prime, it was actually in good condition, which can’t be said for the furniture in many of British Airways’ other lounges.
In the far right of the lounge were the bathrooms and showers, as well as a more secluded seating area.
British Airways Terraces Lounge seating Manchester Airport
British Airways Terraces Lounge seating Manchester Airport
British Airways Terraces Lounge seating Manchester Airport
British Airways Terraces Lounge seating Manchester Airport
British Airways Terraces Lounge seating Manchester Airport
British Airways Terraces Lounge seating Manchester Airport
Then the lounge widens out a bit in the back corner by the windows.
British Airways Terraces Lounge seating Manchester Airport
The lounge overlooks some of the more interesting traffic in Manchester. It’s crazy to me that American has three flights a day there — from Miami, New York, and Philadelphia.
British Airways Terraces Lounge tarmac view Manchester Airport
The spread in the lounge was on multiple “stations.” The one closest to the windows had mostly liquor, soft drinks, wine, whole fruit, and packaged snacks.
British Airways Lounge Manchester buffet area
British Airways Lounge Manchester liquor display
British Airways Lounge Manchester wine selection
British Airways Lounge Manchester juice
British Airways Lounge Manchester snacks
Then the next station over had an espresso machine, tea, and cookies.
British Airways Lounge Manchester espresso machine
The final station had the more “breakfasty” items, including croissants, danishes, muffins, porridge, etc.
British Airways Lounge Manchester breakfast spread
British Airways Lounge Manchester breakfast spread
Then there was also cereal, yogurt, and (not especially appetizing looking) mixed fruit.
British Airways Lounge Manchester breakfast spread
British Airways Lounge Manchester breakfast spread
British Airways Lounge Manchester breakfast spread
All-in-all I thought it was a pretty impressive food spread, especially for what’s ultimately a regional lounge.
The lounge also boasted a decent enough business center.
British Airways Lounge Manchester business center
And then there were some shower rooms which were anything but impressive, but I can’t say they looked any worse than those in The Concorde Room.
British Airways Lounge Manchester shower
Our flight was scheduled to board at around 9:20AM, though was delayed by about 20 minutes due to a late inbound aircraft. So that meant more time in the lounge.
British Airways Lounge Manchester bottom line
I was reasonably impressed by the British Airways Lounge Manchester. It was spacious, in good condition, and had a good enough breakfast spread, especially for what amounts to an outstation lounge. I was even more impressed by the British Airways Lounge Edinburgh a couple of years back.
Despite being far from one of the best airport lounges, all things considered I’d say British Airways actually offers a more compelling lounge product at their outstation than at their hub in London.
What has been your experience with British Airways lounges?
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