Heathrow Day Use question
 

I arrive at Heathrow at 7 AM coming from Bangkok on Qantas. My friends who have never been to England before are arriving from Atlanta on Delta at 12:15 PM. So I have 5 hours plus if things are on time. I would like to meet them, but hate to take the tube into London then turn around and come back. What are my options? I was thinking of a day pass at Admiral's Club (or actually I might get than since I'm flying Business with One World, but not sure how that can work after I clear customs and immigration. Wouldn't I have to have a boarding pass to re-enter that area?

Any other options? After my long flight, I'm sure I'll be dead tired.

Delta is SkyTeam, not OneWorld, and I doubt they have an Arrivals Lounge.

Why don't you get a day room at the Sofitel at Heathrow?

Or there's the Yotel - http://www.yotel.com/ - haven't tried it yet, but plan to next year.

Hi Neo! Yes, you would need a boarding pass to get into the airside AA club. You could try asking for a gate pass but I am not sure they do that at LHR.
There is also an AA arrivals lounge. According to AA's online info only AA First and Business class pax have access, not oneworld, <b>BUT</b> info at http://tinyurl.com/2757bca states that Qantas Biz pax can use the AA arrivals lounge when arriving into T3, as you will be. I would certainly ask.

I'm AA advantage Gold, so I think I could get into the arrivals lounge? I had an Admiral's Club membership for years, but gave it up last year as it seems I can seldom use it -- especially since my usual departure airports don't even have Admiral Clubs. That's something new to me -- an arrivals lounge. I'll check that out. Especially since Qantas biz passengers should be able to use that. And I'm guessing Delta arrives somewhere close?

Leaving the airport for a day room at Sofitel or somewhere and coming back seems like almost as much effort as taking the tube into my apartment.

You don't leave the airport for Yotel, it's in Terminal 4.

"From arrivals (ground floor):

Follow the signs for Trains/Heathrow Connect. Before you get to the ticketing area take the lift or the escalators on your left to the Mezzanine level. YOTEL is located past Wetherspoon next to Caffe Italia."

Advantage Gold might help, the One World award won't - I tried that at Gatwick a few years back. I think you can buy a day pass - but if you want sleep Yotel would be better.

The AA arrivals lounge is landside at T3, not far from the bag claim; if you're flying in business class on QF they ought to let you in, however sometimes they can be a little stroppy on the rules, so I'd print out a copy of the Qantas page referenced above, just in case. You won't have access to any airside lounges at T3 without a boarding pass showing a T3 departure.

Delta (and all of Skyteam) have inherited T4 from BA, so if you're hanging at the AA arrivals lounge and want to meet your friends, you'll have to do the cross-LHR train shuttle yoga from T3 to T4 in order to meet their flight. You may need some means of checking arrival information for their flight - the AA lounge people may or may not be able/willing to do so. I don't recall a plentiful supply of places to sit and wait around at T4 arrivals, so I'd try to time it to make for minimal hang time over there.

Meant to add, AAdvantage Gold won't help with the arrivals lounge - you have to have a valid AA or QF first or business class boarding pass from your arriving flight. Oneworld status is irrelevant (unlike access to Admirals Clubs or other OW lounges on departure.)

Arrivals lounges are generally reserved for top fare paying pax/highest level elites, are quite nice in the situation you describe, NeoP. We used one at CDG a couple years ago when my niece was arriving a few hours after we did, and it was a lifesaver. Had a nice shower, noshed a bit and relaxed.
Five hours is long enough to make it a pain to wait in public spots but too short to merit trekking to and paying for a day room, certainly too short a time to go into and back from central London. Gardyloo certainly knows a lot more about AA than I, and I'd follow his advice to have a printout of the Qantas page I referenced above just in case, and would inquire of the arriving gate agent (or concierge if there is one) about how to get to and into the AA arrivals lounge.

Do you think at the Qantas departures lounge in Bangkok, I might also enquire about a "ticket" for the AA arrivals lounge in London? Over the years, I've learned that those women at the desks in Admiral's Clubs can be your best travel friend!

Can't hurt to ask, NeoP. And if they say no or don't know, just ask again in London. The Qantas page is quite specific about your eligibility as a Biz class pax to access the LHR AA arrivals lounge. Don't fly AA but in the CO part of the world which I frequent the P Club agents are indeed a great resource, have saved my bacon on numerous occasions.

When we used the arrivals lounge at CDG there was not an actual ticket; the concierge walked us right to the lounge and handled whatever transaction was required with the agents.

Looking forward to reading about your travels on your return!

I finally looked at the link to the Qantas site and yes, it makes it quite clear that I have access to the AA Airlines arrivals lounge, so I think that's a given -- if I ever get to where I can print out that information.

Now --how much time do I allow for that T-3 to T-4 shuttle? And I assume I can check the Delta arrivals online from the lounge. Although I'm never sure how good that is -- like the time I drove to the airport to pick up someone arriving on Delta when the website said the flight was on time, even though the plane was still sitting on the ground at the time waiting to depart-- almost time for its arrival.

Oh and Seamus, you can click on my name and read -- but have lots of time to do it -- my current trip reports -- NeoPatrick in China, Hong Kong and Japan -- and my new one I'm doing as I go along -- NeoPatrick in Thailand, Cambodia,and Laos.

From the T3 AA arrivals lounge you cross the plaza in front of T3 to the Heathrow Central station (or alternatively take an indoor route that involves tunnels.) Take the Heathrow Express train to the T4 stop (make sure it stops at T4) and then ascend from the basement level to the arrivals level. Depending on how long you have to wait for a train, it ought to take less than 30 minutes; it can be as short as 10-15.

Remember to make allowances for UK immigration and customs for your arriving friends - it can be a bit unpredictable.

In my experience the people at the LHR AA arrivals lounge are quite strict regarding their admit policy. I'd definitely try to get the QF page printed in advance if at all possible.

I arrived T3 LHR on 5th August after flying Business class on QANTAS. Like Neopatrick I was unsure if we would be admitted. Yes the QANTAS website said we would be, but the AA site did not. I even emailed the Admirals Club thru the AA website. strangely they denied ownership of the lounge saying they thought it was owned by the airport.
So we arrived (with copy of QANTAS webpage)and were welcomed in without question, and some surprise that there would have been any doubt about admittance.
It was great to have a shower and a cup of tea. Not at same time obviously.

Thanks both. vervid, do they expressly forbid drinking tea while taking a shower? Sounds uniquely British.

Thank you vervid - we arrive in 3 weeks time on the usual very early Qantas flight - business - so am really pleased to read this.

The AA arrivals lounge is not an Admirals Club, so the AC admit policies don't apply. Same goes for the (much more luxurious) BA arrivals lounge at T5.

An update:
I'm at the AA Arrivals Lounge in Terminal 3 right now after arriving on Qantas from Bangkok. I simply showed my Business Class boarding pass and they let me in. Nice little buffet breakfast (good bangers!) and I am about to take a shower -- nice private rooms with toilet, vanity, shower and changing area. I'll be nice and fresh when I meet my friends getting off their Delta flight at noon!