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THE ALVIATOR'S VERDICT
Given that most Oneworld passengers with lounge access have access to the far superior neighbouring Qantas and Cathay Pacific lounges, there is zero reason to visit this lounge |
2.5
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In June 2025, I visited the British Airways Galleries Lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 3, before my British Airways Club Europe flight from London to Stuttgart. British Airways operates a select number of flights out of Heathrow’s Terminal 3 (as an “overflow” terminal, as their hub is at Terminal 5) – that can be a treat if you’re flying in a premium cabin, since the lounge options at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 are so good.
Unfortunately British Airways’ Galleries lounge doesn’t match up to the best lounges available at the terminal. In fact, I’d only visit this lounge if I didn’t have access to the other Oneworld lounges at the airport. This might be you if you have a lounge pass, are an AerClub Platinum and concierge member on a transatlantic itinerary, or if you’re on a 6 AM flight (the Cathay Pacific lounge opens at 5:30 AM, and the Qantas lounge opens at 6 AM).
The lounge has mostly drab decor, an underwhelming food spread (and the one made-to-order option feels quite random), and can’t compete with the neighbouring Cathay Pacific and Qantas lounges on food and beverages. Anyway, here’s my review of the lounge.
British Airways T3 Galleries Lounge LHR Access and Opening Hours
The British Airways Galleries lounge is open from 5 AM to 10 PM. It follows typical Oneworld entry requirements, which means that the following members have access:
- British Airways First Class, Club World and Club Europe passengers
- Oneworld first and business class passengers
- British Airways Gold and Silver members (+1 guest)
- Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members (+1 guest)
- AerClub Platinum and Concierge members on transatlantic itineraries (+1 guest)
British Airways Gold members, Oneworld Emerald members, and Oneworld first class passengers (including British Airways) have access to the First Class section of the lounge. In reality, all of the above excluding AerClub members have access to the neighbouring Qantas and Cathay Pacific lounges, which are far superior.
British Airways T3 Galleries Lounge LHR Location
The British Airways Galleries lounge is located in the “F” lounge area, along with the No1 lounge (the airport’s Priority Pass lounge). While I’m not a huge fan of signage at Heathrow Airport, lounges B-H are located in the same area of the airport, so it doesn’t take too long to navigate to them.
Signage to Lounges at Heathrow Airport
Once you reach lounge F, continue heading forward to find the Galleries lounge, which is located on the same level as the terminal.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow T3 Entrance
At the entrance there’s a further division, where the First Class lounge is on the left, and the Club Lounge (for business class passengers) is on the right. Today I had access to the Club Lounge, located on the right hand side.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow T3 Entrance
I was let in to the lounge by a friendly lounge agent.
British Airways T3 Galleries Lounge LHR Seating and Atmosphere
The British Airways Galleries Club Lounge at Heathrow’s T3 is one long rectangular room separated into multiple partitioned areas, including a curved entryway into the area. The entryway itself features some partitioned seating with armchairs – while it’s a nice and quiet area, it is right next to the washrooms, has zero natural light (and in fact is quite dimly lit), and gets foot traffic from people coming in and out of the lounge. I’m not sure I’d sit here unless these were the only chairs available.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow T3 Entryway
The rest of the lounge is a little airier. The area closest to the entrance is a food and beverage area, which feels modern and airy, though without much natural light. There’s a small variety of seating here, as well as some succulents to provide a pop of colour.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow T3 Dining Area
Further in you get more of a coffee and relax area, with a wine display acting as a partition between sections. This is the largest area of the lounge, and as you’d expect for a British Airways lounge, there’s plenty of self-serve alcohol here.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow T3 Bar and Lounge Area
There are good tarmac views from this lounge, where you’ll also get a view of planes taking off in the distance.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow T3 Tarmac Views
Tucked in a corner in this area is an area more built for working. While many of the lounge’s seating options feature power ports, there’s a specific “workstation bar” area here, though I reckon I’d be quite annoyed by the lit up Simon Pegg billboard if I was trying to get some proper work done.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow T3 Workstation
Then at the furthest part of the lounge from the entrance was a bar area, which was the most aesthetically pleasing area of the lounge in my opinion. It featured a very large chandelier, and was lit up quite nicely, featuring tarmac views and some comfortable seating.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow T3 Bar Area
Around the perimeter of the bar there were some stations for relaxing. While you’ll get substantial privacy in these chairs, I’m actually not sure if they’re particularly comfortable. These came with USB and UK charging ports.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow Relax Pods
Overall, you get some variety of seating in the lounge. I will say that overall, the actual seating and space was better than what I was expecting. However, I found the lounge to be quite crowded, and the decor wasn’t all that exciting. I also didn’t find the seating to be all that practical – while the seating was comfortable, there wasn’t a particularly good space for working, or for resting.
Since this lounge functions more as an overflow lounge (a bit similar to Singapore Airlines’ lounge at Changi Terminal 2), I’m quite forgiving of the fact that the lounge is nothing spectacular, though I’d still recommend the neighbouring Qantas and Cathay Pacific lounges any day. The more disappointing thing for British Airways is that their Terminal 5 lounges aren’t that much better.
British Airways T3 Galleries Lounge LHR Food and Beverage
British Airways’ Galleries Club lounge features a small food spread. Compared to the neighbouring Qantas lounge, I felt that the spread seemed a bit stale and monotonous – in terms of hot options, there was pasta, rice and potatoes, sweet potato and pineapple curry, chilli con carne, vegetables and fish bites, and a smoked aubergine and goat cheese tart. There was also a salad bar, soup, and cans of soft drinks. This is a rather unexciting food spread if you ask me.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow Food Spread
There was also a slightly random-seeming made-to-order hot dog stand, which had run-of-the-mill condiments. The attendant stationed there was friendly, though upon seeing that the sausages weren’t anything special, I saved my appetite for food at the other lounges.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow Hot Dog Stand
British Airways partners with British ice cream brand Jude’s, so there was a freezer of ice cream available by the bar.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow Ice Cream
There’s plenty of self-serve alcohol at British Airways lounges. There are ice buckets of normal and rose prosecco – unbeknownst to me at the time, apparently there’s champagne if you flag down a flight attendant, though it’s not on free pour. You can also pour yourself red and wine wine, as well as make your own cocktails from a large selection of spirits. However, there’s no bar service here.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow Self-Serve Alcohol
By the main lounge area was also a Union-branded coffee bar, though there’s no barista coffee here either.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow Coffee Bar
As you can see, the food and beverage selection pales in comparison to Qantas’ lounge in every way, including the lack of bartender or barista coffee service, as well as the much more limited and less exciting food selection.
British Airways T3 Galleries Lounge LHR Shower Rooms
The British Airways Galleries Lounge at Heathrow T3 has shower rooms (I don’t know how many they have), and they were readily available at 3:30 PM when I visited. I only asked if I could take a photo, so can’t speak much for shower quality or water pressure. However, these sport British Airways’ signature hospital-room style interiors.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow Shower Rooms
British Airways T3 Galleries Lounge LHR Playroom
In terms of other facilities, there’s a playroom for younger ones tucked into the end of the main bit of the lounge.
British Airways Galleries Lounge Heathrow Playroom
I also won’t dedicate a section to service, though everyone I interacted with at the lounge was friendly.
Conclusion: British Airways T3 Galleries Lounge LHR
The British Airways Galleries lounge is a mediocre facility. There’s no particularly good seating for working or resting, the food spread is meagre, drinks are self-serve (the selection of wines and spirits is expansive, albeit not the highest quality), there’s no barista coffee, and other facilities (such as shower rooms) are nothing to write home about.
From an airline business perspective, I can’t actually blame British Airways for not investing a huge amount in the premium ground experience – they have a huge share of traffic at Heathrow Airport and hold a strong loyalty base, so don’t necessarily need to be ultra competitive. However, if you’re reading with a Oneworld premium cabin or frequent flyer with lounge access at Heathrow’s Terminal 3, I’d redirect you to the Qantas or Cathay Pacific lounges instead, as they outshine this lounge in just about every way (unless you’re looking to do a lot of proper work, in which case I might even recommend the Admirals Club over this lounge – stay tuned).
Heathrow’s Terminal 3 has one of the strongest lounge options in the world, and it’s not British Airways’ fault really, though this is easily my least favourite airline-affiliated lounge at the airport. I don’t even know where to begin when comparing British Airways’ lounge to their competitor’s neighbouring Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse (and the airline’s real hub lounges at Terminal 5 aren’t that much better either).
What’s your favourite Oneworld lounge at Heathrow Airport?
