Springtime Transatlantic Aventures
Lounging Around Heathrow Terminal 5 (South Lounge and The Terminal 5B Lounge)
So we’re through security and done with what duty free shopping I needed to do. Time to relax for a bit before this eight-hour jaunt to Chicago. Thankfully, there are a couple of lounges I can visit to ease the pain of travel.
In this Adventure
- So, 80 more Tier Points. Always demanding more, British Airways…
- To the joy of Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 with FlixBus
- British Airways Galleries South Lounge and T5B Lounge
- British Airways BA295 London Heathrow to Chicago O’Hare in World Traveller Plus
- Into the USA and the avid Hotel, Des Plaines
- Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Airplane Art Extra from the Hyatt Regency O’Hare
- Midwestern Dining at its Finest – Chilli’s
- Deep Dish Pizza Special at Pequods
- A Monday Adventure
- Back to O’Hare, AA Lounge
- AA90 Chicago O’Hare to London Heathrow in Main Cabin Extra
- Luggage Trolley Drifting – Rushing to the bus
- Was it worth it?
Heading into the South Lounge complex, there’s one sign you need to keep an eye on – the capacity-o-meter. It gives an indication of how squished you’ll be that day.
Hmm. One of the most important displays when you head into a lounge – which one is the quietest?
The Flip-dot cloud from above. At least the flip-dots are flipping again.
Galleries South Lounge (Club Lounge)
I headed up to the South Club Lounge and was greeted by Horselamp, who was without their snazzy coat. Maybe BA and Heathrow Airport had bumped up the temperature in the terminal, so they didn’t need it for the winter.
“Haven’t you been made a bronze yet, so I don’t have to see you?” Always judging, Horselamp.
I was checked in and welcomed.
With that, I wandered and found a seat near a window. That would do nicely for the morning, even if I was still not totally awake. I plonked my trash down and wandered off to explore the offerings.
This being breakfast time, it was a traditional British Airways breakfast was being offered. This means, of course, cold items, hot items, breads and pastries and cereals.
Food area
Fruits
Toast and Bread
Pastries
Hot items
Remember to hydrate.
I grabbed some hot items that would make sense that I could snack on, as well as a glass of bubbly (singular).
It was, after all, a kickoff to a trip. If there are bubbles (and pink ones at that), I can welcome them.
Bubbly bar
Sprits.
Coffee and Tea
I took the time to sort out a few things that were in a writing pipeline and get an eSIM for this trip (as paying for my mobile provider data whilst travelling isn’t the done thing when I can get the gigabytes of data I need for cheap).
It also gave me reasonable views of departures from Terminal 5, with aircraft departing towards london.
That’s the thing with watching aircraft sometimes – you’re very wind-dependent.
The food trays were refilled multiple times whilst I was visiting the lounge. The South Lounge is one of the main points for people to check in and stop, thus it’s constantly busy. It also means there are people constantly coming and going.
Which is fine if you enjoy people-watching. I enjoy airplane watching.
Britsh Airways and Lufthasna A320s
Biritish Aieways Boeing 777-300ER making the turn
Line up and wait
Now these A320s are SMALL. But the ones out there are FAR AWAY… Small… far away…
Japan Airlines Boeing 787-9 heading off to Tokyo.
With time ticking on, and my departure to Chicago would be going from the B Gates, I decided to decamp to the Terminal 5B lounge – normally a much quieter place than the main Terminal 5 lounges.
As such, the trash was gathered up and I followed the signs for the transit between terminals – a little unusual for me, mainly as I’m used to departing from the A Gates at Heathrow.
Going down…
I’ll try, I guess.
Thankfully, whilst there was a large queue, the transit system swallowed up all the people, including me.
Eventually, I popped out at T5B departures, with the lounge in spitting distance. How convenient.
Terminal 5 B Lounge
Heading into the lounge, I was welcomed and my boarding pass scanned. The agent also wrote which gate the flight would leave from.
It’s simple touches like this that make a difference.
Whilst this lounge is meant to be quiet, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to go hunting for a seat. Thankfully, I found some big seats that looked comfy.
Perfect for spending time updating the iPad with stuff I’ll never watch, but time to do things at least to keep one’s mind active.
Exploring the lounge, there is a food section, with options for helping you have food selections built for you. A nice touch, compared to the full help yourself section at the main lounges.
Focus on the food, not the idiot in the mirror…
Carbs.
There’s also the Whispering Angel wine bar. It’s a wine bar with a brand of wine. And no, I didn’t help myself to a glass.
I was too tired to contemplate that.
The view from the seat.
I instead feasted on the cold liquids – water and orange juice to set the day ahead.
Whilst boarding was not called directly from the lounge, I did keep an eye on the monitors, which slowly changed from “Go to gate” to “Boarding”.
Gate B47 is at the North end of T5B, and of course, one of the gates has a long jetbridge to reach.
Boarding of the priority groups had just begun, with Group 1 boarding. I slipped in as Group 2 was called forward.
After a passport inspection and a scan of my boarding pass, it was time to board the waiting Boeing 787-10 to Chicago.
Next:
British Airways BA295 to Chicago. Was World Traveller Plus worth it?
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Ah, the eternal fount of judgment that is Horselamp.
At least there are some things in this world that will never change.