Cathay Pacific has today, Monday 28 November 2016, opened its new first and business class lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 3.
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Tag: Lounges
Qantas to open a new lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 3 in 2017
Qantas Airways has just announced it is to open a new dedicated lounge for first and business class passengers flying on its daily services to Sydney and Melbourne from London Heathrow Terminal 3, which will open in 2017.
Currently, Qantas does not have its own lounge at London Heathrow and eligible passengers have to make use of the British Airways Galleries Club and First lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 3.
The lounge will occupy two levels of the airport terminal with capacity for 230 passengers. The new lounge is expected to be modelled on recent Qantas lounges in Hong Kong and Singapore. Construction will commence later this year.
Features of the new lounge will include:
• Australian chef Neil Perry’s Rockpool menu and dining experience;
• Full-service bar with Rockpool cocktails;
• Full bathroom facilities including showers;
• Business facilities; and
• Children’s zone.
Eligible members of Oneworld alliance frequent flyer programmes will also have access to the lounge and with Cathay Pacific also refurbishing its lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 3, Oneworld passengers will have a good choice of lounge facilities at London Heathrow.
This is also a welcome investment by Qantas in London. Qantas has previously reduced its daily services from London Heathrow from four to two daily. It also ended its partnership with British Airways in favour a partnership with Emirates with all services to Sydney and Melbourne routed via Dubai as a consequence. There have been question marks over its long term commitment to London which can be allayed by the news of this investment.
Whilst the lounge design and menus will have a strong Australian flavour, Qantas do promise a British twist. In any event, a touch of Australia will no doubt be welcome in a wet and grey day at London Heathrow!
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Cathay Pacific to close its London Heathrow lounges for refurbishment
Cathay Pacific is to close its First & Business Class lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 3 for refurbishment and extension from Thursday 26 November 2015.
The lounges will be refurbished and extended and are expected to reopen on an as yet unspecified date in June 2016.
The new enlarged lounges are expected to follow the design concept recently introduced at Cathay Pacific’s The Pier lounge in Hong Kong and other airports such as Tokyo Haneda. This is the creation of Ilse Crawford’s Studioilse design agency.
In the interim, passengers travelling in First and Business Class on Cathay Pacific services from London Heathrow and Silver, Gold and Diamond members of the Marco Polo frequent flyer programme will be invited to use partner airline lounges when checking in at the airport.
Cathay Pacific has not specified which lounges these are but they are likely to include the American Airlines and British Airways Galleries Club and First Class lounges (subject to possible capacity constraints).
The opening of the new Cathay Pacific lounge complex in June 2016 will be widely anticipated. We expect the new lounges will be a very strong contender for one of the most well-appointed lounges at London Heathrow.
BA Opens New Singapore Lounge With “Concorde Bar”
British Airways has opened its new lounge at Terminal 1 of Singapore Changi airport.
Designed by British design studio Graven the lounge features digital panoramic views of the Singapore skyline reflecting the time of the day outside.
Customers travelling in First Class will be provided with a passcode on entry to the lounge to access a dedicated “Concorde Bar”.
Continuing a trend of new BA lounges outside of London reflecting their local cities, the main lounge includes artwork from Singapore and British artists, including Simon Wee and Dr Brendan Neiland.
The main lounge seats 185 passengers. The Concorde Bar seats 41 passengers. 88% of seats have access to power for electronic devices as well as USB ports, and there is high-speed WiFi throughout.
The Concorde Bar features black Nero marble surfaces, European oak flooring and bespoke furnishings. Seating options including communal bar seating, private sofa corners and dining booths.
Cathay Pacific re-opens The Pier First Class Lounge
Cathay Pacific has long been known for its highly regarded portfolio of lounges at its hub at Hong Kong International airport.
These lounges comprise The Bridge, The Pier, The Wing, The Cabin and The Arrival.
The airline has today reopened the first class lounge at The Pier.
Designed by London based agency Studioilse (who also designed the recently refurbished lounges at Tokyo Haneda and Bangkok) the lounge is a continuation of Cathay Pacific’s brand strategy “Life Well Travelled”.
Virgin Atlantic Opens New Los Angeles Clubhouse
Virgin Atlantic has long been known for its distinctive, if relatively few in number, Clubhouse lounges. The flagship being of course its London Heathrow Clubhouse, with other Clubhouses in San Francisco, New York, Boston and Washington.
One notable absentee has been Los Angeles, in spite of it being one of Virgin Atlantic’s most important routes after New York.
Today, 28 April 2015, Virgin Atlantic has opened a new Clubhouse at Terminal 2. The lounge has been designed by Slade Architecture who also worked on the airline’s Newark and JFK clubhouses.
The 4,000 sq ft triangular shaped Los Angeles clubhouse offers views of the airport’s apron and Hollywood Hills. The colour palette is relatively toned down compared to other Virgin lounges, with extensive use of white. It is clearly inspired by the Californian outdoor lifestyle and climate.
The lounge is lined by a sculpted Corian and copper Flow Wall that features a copper lined bar. Lounge furniture includes Swan chairs by Arne Jacobsen, Walter Knoll Turtle chairs, classic Eames chairs, and a custom fabricated surfboard inspired counter by the windows that is sculpted from layers of bamboo.
At the apex of the lounge is a pre-flight dining area offering dishes from Hinoki & The Bird. The walls are lined with bamboo and the space features a video insulation by artist Diana Reichenbach.
London Heathrow Terminal 5 to gain first paid-for-access lounge
Ever since London Heathrow Terminal 5 opened seven years ago, a frequent criticism of the terminal has been the absence of a paid-for-access lounge for those who do not have access to BA’s Galleries lounge complex by virtue of frequent flyer status or travel class.
This summer Terminal 5 will gain its own paid-for-access lounge as an “Aspire” lounge is to open in Terminal 5 near Gate 18.
The exact opening date and pricing are yet to be revealed. Though, Aspire do offer annual lounge passes for £259.99 which may work well for some.
We’re not sure why it has taken so long for a lounge to open but this will be a welcome development for many. The standard of third party lounges has improved markedly over the past few years and it should compare favourable to BA’s Galleries Club lounges.
The one point to note is that many BA long-haul flights do depart from the Terminal 5B and 5C satellite terminals and there won’t be paid-for lounge facilities in these satellite terminals.
Update: The opening date of the lounge is Tuesday 4 August 2015 and the cost of lounge access is from £34.99.
BA’s inaugural A380 flight to Washington & new lounge
British Airways completed its inaugural Airbus A380 flight from London Heathrow to Washington today, 2 October 2014, as flight BA217 arrived in Washington Dulles airport early this afternoon.
The launch of A380 services also coincides with the opening of a new “Galleries” lounge for business and first class passengers in Washington.
The lounge features a private dining area for First Class customers, pre-flight dining for Club World passengers, a bar with views of the airfield and shower suites.
Washington is the 2nd US city to be served by BA’s A380. San Francisco will be the next US city. BA also flies the A380 to Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Johannesburg. The A380 will also fly to Singapore from the end of October 2014.
BaxterStorey takes on British Airways catering contract for UK lounges; some passengers disappointed
When London Heathrow Terminal 5 opened a little over five years ago (the opening was a day many will never forget!), much was made by BA of the introduction of its “Galleries” lounge concept. At Heathrow, this comprises the “flagship” Concorde Room for first class passengers and Concorde Room cardholders, a Galleries First lounge for BA Executive Club Gold cardholders, three Galleries Club lounges and a Galleries Arrivals lounge for arriving passengers. The lounges were designed by what was then known as Davies & Baron. The lounges feature bespoke Osborne & Little patterns, bold statements such as horse lamps as well as more subtle art and design statements.