Viva Las BAcon! A Heathrow Transit, British Airways T1 Domestic Lounge

Viva Las BAcon! A Heathrow Transit, British Airways T1 Domestic Lounge

Trip Report Index (it’s long):

Editors note: British Airways moved their Dublin and Belfast operations out of Terminal 1 earlier this year (but was open whilst I went through it), leaving only the International Lounge in place. Therefore, this is a bit of a reflection post… and also a sign of how Terminal 1 is changing into a very quiet place.

Bleary eyed, I wandered off the American Airlines 777 and up to the arrivals area. And yes, I was feeling it.

From here it was down the corridors, and off to the flight connections centre. No, it still doesn’t feel right when connecting in your home country and home is 100 miles away.

This never feels right…

Soon enough, I was in the bowels of Terminal 3, and an a shuttle bus for the short ride to Terminal 1.

With a little plane spotting too.

Arriving into Terminal 1, it was time for a passport check, a biometric photo (as I’m entering a mixed zone, and to ensure I don’t swap my boarding pass with anyone else) and then the security and liquids check.

And here’s where the fun began. I declared everything up front, so the security staff knew what was coming. They still tested it… and realised the bottle I had wouldn’t fit in the scanner they had whilst it was bagged. So that had to come off.

It provided entertainment for the staff, and no one behind me so they could do the job right. Sometimes, it’s good to remember that the people responsible for our safety are also humans too. With that done, passport control was also done and I was in a land that used to frequent in the past: Terminal 1.

And this was before all the Star Alliance airlines finally left – and it was… well. quiet

It’s quiet. Almost a ghost town.

Terminal 1 is still enough to send anyone to sleep though.

I on the other hand wanted to sit in a place of peace and quiet. So I headed through the Heathrow shops (noting that iPhone 6’s that had just gone on sale were already out of stock…), and off to the British Airways UK and Ireland Lounge.

Lounge stop: British Airways UK and Ireland Lounge

I was welcomed to the lounge, and had an instant flashback to an airline that had left the skies a couple of years ago. You see, the UK and Ireland Lounge is what in British Midlands terms was “The London Room”.

And it still seemed like that British Airways added a couple of signs and that was about it. So it did feel like I was “coming home”.

Gotta love the posh wallpaper

Always look at the details.

As for the lounge itself, it’s a reasonable sized facility – never full, but unlike a Galleries lounge – a lack of hot food. It was a very agreeable waiting area though.

As for food offerings and such, there are some snacks and sandwiches (which you had to hunt for). But the offerings of crisps and nibbles never goes far amiss.

Snacks, nibbles and alcohol.

Drinks and biscuits

It’s by not means a top flight club for spending hours in – it’s not. It’s aimed at the short haul domestic traveller who needs a pit stop before they head onto their next location. However for me, it was the perfect place to unwind and plan as I had two more segments ahead of me.

They maybe short flights, but they’re still segments, adding up the miles.

Including how to fit the bottle of Jack Daniels into the suitcase when I got it back in Dublin.

That would be another problem to deal with later.

For now, I had other priorities – including getting on the next flight.

To the Domestic Exit!

Thankfully, there was no one-mile hike up the green mile, as we would be departing from the Gate 8 complex.

I exited the lounge to the Gate 8 complex, where my plane was waiting. I was beeped aboard, and guess what I saw – the same Dove from Above that brought be to Heathrow in the first place.

Hello again G-EUPD!

With a boarding pass beep, it was time to head to familiar territory – a British Airways Airbus A319 for the ride to Dublin’s Fair City.

Next: BA831 London Heathrow Terminal 1 – Dublin Airport

Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond – The new name for GhettoIFE (and a lot more pronounceable). Expect in-depth coverage, analysis, route news as well as humour and madness as I only know how.

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