British Airways has spent much of the past 12 months irritating its customers. It started when it announced changes to its loyalty programme, the BA Club, which make it more expensive to earn coveted silver and gold status.
It continued when the airline started to offer breakfast on board at both breakfast and lunchtime on some flights – which made no sense to anyone except BA’s (baked) bean counters.
It reached a low point when it tried to save money by removing three-course meals in Club World, BA’s business class, on some overnight flights.
With Christmas coming, however, Sean Doyle, BA’s chief executive, has turned from Scrooge to Santa – as long as you are lucky enough to have silver or gold BA Club status or travelling in Club World or First Class.
He and his top team, led by Calum Laming, chief customer officer, have begun the long-awaited revamp of BA’s airport lounges as part of a £7 billion investment programme.
Last week they spiffed up Heathrow Terminal 5’s First Wing, the super-fast, dedicated check-in and hand luggage security screening for first-class passengers and BA gold card holders that leads directly into BA’s T5 lounges.
The new and improved entrance to the First Wing at Terminal 5 – British Airways
The rather spartan stone surfaces and light woods have been softened with the addition of blue sofas with red cushions. There’s new dark red wood panelling and a bold red-and-gold British Airways sign above the entrance to the security area. It works well.
The sumptuous Concorde Dining Room beyond the ‘million-dollar door’ at the new Dubai lounge – British Airways
The only thing missing is a separate security line and direct entrance into the Concorde Room for first-class passengers.
These top-tier flyers have to clear security with gold card-holding business-class customers and then snake their way through the gold card-holders’ lounge into the Concorde Room.
All BA’s flagship Heathrow lounges have been spruced up with new carpets, furniture and better food. But they remain overcrowded and badly organised, with too few lavatories and unappealing showers. A long-promised multi-million pound rebuild is due next year.
A taste of what Heathrow travellers will soon be able to enjoy can be found in Miami and Dubai, where BA’s new Global Lounge Concept concept has been rolled out. I recently got a sneak peek of the Dubai lounge.
Going for gold
It is a vast improvement. The gains start with an affirmation of the class system that Britain invented and BA has perfected.
When you arrive, the redoubtable front-of-house manager, Precious, guides business-class passengers and gold and silver card holders to the Club World area.
If you are travelling first class or have Gold Guest List status – the tier above gold – she directs you through a private door to the inner sanctum, the Concorde Room. Every lounge should have what BA calls “the million-dollar door”.
A relaxed seating area in the new British Airways lounge in Dubai
The colour palette throughout the lounge is a world away from the dull creams and greiges of New York JFK’s confusingly-named Soho and Chelsea lounges. The blues and reds that used to be BA’s signature are back. So is the white marble.
Some of the details are uniquely British. The cushion upholstery echoes that of seats on the London Underground and the classic Speedbird logo is used well.
The lighting is subtle – often low level and hidden behind wood panels, which makes a refreshing change from the harsh overhead lights in the T5 lounges.
There’s a large, fully-staffed bar, which will be a feature of all BA’s lounges, dining areas, sitting areas and working cubby holes – there’s nothing worse than sitting next to the braying Zoom bore. They are separated by fluted glass screens.
Motifs of arches on the walls are an Arabic design signature – BA says all its new lounges will give nods to their location. The Miami lounge, for example, features art-deco candy stripes.
BA has never been big on gold. It has never used gold in its lounges and on its jets and its top-tier Gold Guest List loyalty card is white, not gold. Some may find the extensive use of gold trim on banquette seats and the bar a little too well, Dubai.
There’s plenty of gold in Miami too. Perhaps it goes with the territory – Miami is the Dubai of the US.
The bar in the Miami lounge
It will look very odd under the grey skies of London and Edinburgh. A muted bronze might be better. Let’s see what BA decides.
The biggest improvements are the loos and the showers, which are huge and come with jaunty tiles and a Dyson hairdryer.
The tiles in the new bathrooms are ‘jaunty’
Alas, the water pressure in Dubai when I tested it would shame a bog-standard B&B and, after 20 years, the Elemis amenities need a refresh. Jo Malone, please.
Lighten up
The biggest drawback overall in Dubai is that there is no natural light anywhere, which is essential to a good lounge.
Although the Dubai lounge is undeniably luxurious, there is no natural light
There are ways around this, as Qantas shows in its Singapore lounge.
Spookily realistic electronic skylights create the illusion of natural skies – but they are very expensive. BA’s Miami version, thankfully, has loads of sunlight since it has windows on three sides.
BA’s lounge food is getting better all the time. The Concorde burger should be a staple in every lounge and all the new salads are perfect at any time of day. But it still lags behind Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Qantas, Etihad and Cathay Pacific. Why no shakshuka for breakfast in Dubai?
What’s more, BA is sticking with a self-service buffet for all but first class and Gold Guest List customers – unlike Virgin Atlantic, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Cathay Pacific, Delta, American Airlines and Etihad, all of which offer table service in their business-class lounges in key hubs and to gold-card holders. Waiter service is only available in the Concorde Room.
I think this is a mistake and hope it won’t be repeated when BA’s flagship Heathrow business class lounges are completely rebuilt next year.
Over to you, Calum.
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