Pleasure and Business, Chicago O’Hare, British Airways Terraces Lounge

Pleasure and Business – Back to O’Hare, British Airways Terraces Club Lounge

In this adventure…

• Pleasure and Business Mixing things together (again)
  
• Off to Heathrow
• Cathay Pacific Lounge and the American Airlines Lounges
• AA47 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare, Main Cabin Extra aboard a 787
• US Immigration Adventures
• Intercontinental Chicago North Michigan Avenue
• Deep Dish Pizza fun
• Travel Technology: Canon 40mm F2.8 STM with a Canon 100D
• Hyatt Regency O’Hare
• Back to O’Hare, British Airways Terraces Club Lounge
• BA294 Chicago to Heathrow Airport in World Traveller Plus
• From pleasure to business, BA Galleries South
• BA962 London Heathrow to Hamburg in Club Europe
• IBIS Budget Hamburg
• Currywust Nacht
• Back to Hamburg Airport, Hamburg Airport Lounge
• BA967 Hamburg to London Heathrow in Club Europe
• Pulling it home
• My calf muscles hurt…

Back to O’Hare

With my business concluded in Chicago and after saying goodbye to my friends, it was time to assemble my luggage for the trip back to Orchard Field. And with a late check-out, I assembled the trash, ready for the trip back.

Well, more than assembled my trash. I moved clothing around as well as a few other things so I would be minimising my time at Heathrow’s expensive luggage storage area.

After a few final goodbyes, it was time to head for the very quiet shuttle bus that first dropped off crew at Terminal 1 then to the shuttle bus centre to pick a few more people up and finally to T5 to drop me off.

Terminal 5 was its usual self – It looks nice on the outside, and seemingly ordered on the pre-security.

Terminal 5

Check-in areas.

I got in the queue and was seen to in a couple of minutes. Both bags were accepted for travel without any issues.

I also got the staff to issue two boarding passes – one for the upcoming flight in World Traveller Plus, and the London to Hamburg flight in Club Europe.

Whilst the luggage wouldn’t be travelling with me – it would be one less thing to worry about in when I got to London.

With those formalities completed, I headed to cleared security.

The beauty about going through security this time of day is that there are minimal people around. As such, I cleared the TSA quickly (and opting to go through the nude-o-scope, rather than then new enhanced pat-down. To be honest, I enjoy my time rather than the touchy-feel-gropey TSA these days).

It was onto the Duty Free. Because this is the last chance to be fleeced before leaving the USA.

With nothing grabbing my eye at all – it was a smooth walk through to the dining area of Terminal 5.

Food options 

More seating

Stopping for my traditional bottle of water before I left the USA, I headed to the lounge – the British Airways Terraces Lounge.

The lounge itself is between two shops – and pretty easy to miss unless you’re paying attention to where you’re going.

British Airways Terraces Club World

I was welcomed to the lounge and blipped in. As I was being processed, I was offered a upsell from World Traveller Plus to World traveller for $900.

A bit rich – I passed (and if I wanted Club World – it would had been £200 more on my ticket that I had priced)

As for the lounge. Well – I’m going call it here and now – it’s very much a glorified box. A box with a corridor and an ante-room, with a few workstations.

I thought the old Boston Lounge was a craphole. My mistake – the worst lounge in the British Airways system was sitting under my nose the entire time in Chicago.

The “main” part of the lounge.

Seating

Glorified waiting room? Pretty much.

The other Terraces waiting room.

TV and new papers. And a shock-horror end of the world Daily Mail Headline. And yet I keep going back to this song.

Food was the usual for a North American lounge when you don’t have access to the Club Dining – snacks and nibbles.

Sandwich options 

A closer view

Restocked.

Cruets

Curry

Fruit and snacks

Wines

More wine. No bubbly here.

Compared the American Airlines lounge, there’s little provision for power, little provision for… well… anything at all.

At least the Wi-Fi was usable. But in reality – this lounge isn’t anything special – it’s a fancy waiting room to keep premium customers in. That’s disappointing in many ways… but considering the layout of O’Hare Terminal 5, I’m amazed there is for the lounges in the first place.

Definitely a case of “can do a lot better” here. The lighting wasn’t restful, and whilst the lounge staff cleaned up the place, the lack of facilities at this lounge is disappointing.

With boarding called, people headed to the queue for the waiting Boeing 777-200 that was waiting to take us to London.

Take me to the land of my father…

I lined up. My boarding pass was blipped, and it was time for me to head aboard plane to take me to the United Kingdom, and from pleasure to business….

Next: British Airways BA294 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow in World Traveller Plus

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