Transiting Through LHR

[fbgd]

From either the B or C gates you will take the transit back to the main building. When you take the escalator or lift up from the transit follow the purple signs to Flight Connections. DO NOT FOLLOW THE SIGNS FOR BORDER CONTROL there is no need to clear immigration or customs for an LHR transfer. You will see a Fast Track lane for conformance and will then go upstairs to clear security. Then from security walk towards Harrods and keep going. You will see a manned podium at the very end of the floor, this is the entrance to the Concorde Room (there's a photo above). You will need your SEA-LHR boarding pass (as well as that for LHR-AUH) to access the Concorde Room because a Club World boarding pass will not grant you access.

 

If your flight goes from the B or C gates leave the other exit from the Concorde Room (past the luggage valet desk) and take the escalators down a flight, you'll then see the escalators/lifts going down to the transit on your right hand side. Everything is well signposted. It is possible that your flight could go from a remote stand in which case you could be taking a bus from gate A10. 

 

With 5hrs you might want to consider booking a cabana or massage, the latter can be done a month out through YouFirst (your booking will give you details for them). You could also walk across the way from the back of the Concorde Room to the Galleries First lounge. In the Concorde Room everything is waiter service, whereas the Galleries First is a bit more self service. It's a much larger lounge and roving waiters can bring you food from the menus (these are generally hidden away at the podium near the Refectory). The GF lounge is on the end of the terminal and has excellent views of the southern runway, particularly from the open terrace area, whereas the view from the Concorde Room is a bit more restrictive.

Edited February 24, 2019 by fbgd

[Globaliser]

12 hours ago, MAXII said:

Can someone please advise me as to ease of getting to/from the Concord lounge if I have to connect at A or C  gates (I've been tracking the flights for a month or so & these are the gates usually noted).

 

Itinerary is SEA-LHR-AUH on BA.  First Class SEA-LHR then a 5hr connection  Club World to Abu Dhabi. Both flights use T5.

 

Would I need to go airside and so clear customs to get to the Concord lounge? If so what route or processes would be involved to get back through security etc to A or C gates?

 

First, and most important (  ) - it's Concorde with an "e". That was her name; and regardless of the Anglo-French spat about how to spell it, to me that denotes the feminine form, and with her grace and beauty she was most definitely feminine. (It's also technically the Concorde Room, not a lounge.)

 

The next most important thing is that because your access to the CCR is presumably based on your inbound sector in First, keep hold of your inbound (SEA-LHR) boarding pass in case you need to show that to get let in to the CCR. If both flights are on one booking, then you ought not to have any problems when you show your onward boarding pass (as you must), but things can sometimes go wrong.

 

The official route involves you staying airside throughout the connection process. The CCR is in the airside departures stream (ie departures post-security). So conceptually, you only need to cross from the airside arrivals stream to the airside departures stream. This is done via a boarding pass check and security.

 

At whatever gate you arrive, follow the purple signs for Flight Connections Terminal 5. Initially these will probably be for all terminals, but when the routes diverge, make sure you're following the Terminal 5 route. Your SEA-LHR flight will almost certainly arrive at a B gate or a C gate rather than at the main building, so you will be routed to the main building by being taken downstairs to level -2 where the transit is. Take this to the main building and follow the signs. You will end up in the immigration / flight connections hall. Flight connections is to the right. You will need to have your onward boarding pass checked before being allowed to proceed upstairs to security. After clearing security, turn right and walk to the (south) end of the building at that level (this might be quite close if you have been routed to south security). There is a blank white door with a lectern outside it; this is the shortest way in to the CCR, as I think is now confirmed by some discreet signage outside.

 

Sometimes, there can be a bit of a wait for security. I don't connect at LHR very often, but I have sometimes had to wait about 10 minutes when it's been busy. An alternative route, if you think you can get through immigration quickly (eg if you're entitled to use the electronic gates), is to clear immigration, go downstairs and clear customs. Take one of the lifts immediately outside the exit from customs (just to the left of Costa Coffee) and go up to check-in/departures level. Walk to the screened First check-in area and use both boarding passes to clear security through the channel that's accessed through this area - you will need the inbound First boarding pass to establish your entitlement to use this channel. The security channel takes you in to the first class lounge (Galleries First). Exit this through the main entrance (near the horse lamps) as if you were heading for the Elemis spa, and the main entrance to the CCR will be in front of you.

 

If you use the transit, it should take no more than 15 minutes to get from the CCR to any C gate. Exit the CCR through the main entrance, go down the escalators to the main shopping level, and follow the signs to the transit. Most of the time, taking the lift down to the transit is a bit faster than using the escalators.

 

A quick look at the last week suggests that if you're using an "A gate", it's actually a bus gate in the A10 complex.

 

(And it looks like most of this was covered in fbdg's post, which I hadn't seen because it was on the next page!)

[MAXII]

15 hours ago, fbgd said:

From either the B or C gates you will take the transit back to the main building. When you take the escalator or lift up from the transit follow the purple signs to Flight Connections. DO NOT FOLLOW THE SIGNS FOR BORDER CONTROL there is no need to clear immigration or customs for an LHR transfer. You will see a Fast Track lane for conformance and will then go upstairs to clear security. Then from security walk towards Harrods and keep going. You will see a manned podium at the very end of the floor, this is the entrance to the Concorde Room (there's a photo above). You will need your SEA-LHR boarding pass (as well as that for LHR-AUH) to access the Concorde Room because a Club World boarding pass will not grant you access.

 

If your flight goes from the B or C gates leave the other exit from the Concorde Room (past the luggage valet desk) and take the escalators down a flight, you'll then see the escalators/lifts going down to the transit on your right hand side. Everything is well signposted. It is possible that your flight could go from a remote stand in which case you could be taking a bus from gate A10. 

 

With 5hrs you might want to consider booking a cabana or massage, the latter can be done a month out through YouFirst (your booking will give you details for them). You could also walk across the way from the back of the Concorde Room to the Galleries First lounge. In the Concorde Room everything is waiter service, whereas the Galleries First is a bit more self service. It's a much larger lounge and roving waiters can bring you food from the menus (these are generally hidden away at the podium near the Refectory). The GF lounge is on the end of the terminal and has excellent views of the southern runway, particularly from the open terrace area, whereas the view from the Concorde Room is a bit more restrictive.

 

Fabulous clarification fbgd, thanks.  I had tied myself in knots looking at the airport layouts on various apps and web pages but once I read through your post, the light bulb came on!  Also appreciate the mention of the cabana or massage, I had forgotten about those options. Cheers and have a super week.