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#950495 by ColOrd
19 May 2019, 13:36
Heya guys, just come back from a bullet trip to Helsinki to try out the Finnair A330 and A350.

One of the reasons for wanting to do the trip was to sample the vast array of OneWorld lounges in Terminal Three.

So I shall start worst to best.

I started off in the American Airlines Admirals Club, now I have limited experience of American only ever flown them once, but I have been in a number of lounges across the US, however, I heard good things about this lounge and it was meant to be their Flagship, so I was more hopeful.

It was like waiting in a Doctors surgery. The H in Lounge H is so accurate. Upstairs for Heaven, downstairs for Hell! Breakfast selection was okay, there was no champagne, just Prosecco, lots of loud noisy people. Furniture was pretty tired, and generally it was somewhere to spend 30 mins max. The view of the Apron is nice, but if that awful temporary structure was bad for us in the CH it must of been horrific for those down in the AA Lounge.

Overall 3/10.

The BA Galleries Lounge. So this was the biggest surprise of this trip, and I really liked this lounge and spent more time in it than I had planned (I had banked on 90mins per lounge!) but the views afforded of the South Runway are great from this lounge. When you enter you are walking down a relatively narrow corridor of seats and then into what feels like the typical BA Canteen seating where all of the food is. For breakfast its the typical Galleries fare. I missed out on the Hashbrowns (my favorite!) as I had eaten in the hotel however I did nibble a few packets of the beef kettle crisps which are yummy! The room then opens up into two much wider areas with comfortable seating, and with some high chairs looking out over the windows. Usual drinks selection, including Speedbird 100 Brewdog IPA. I asked for a glass of champoo and it took ages to come, the guy must have hated me as it then started a cascade with people clearly not aware you have to ask.

The lounge was pretty quiet when I went in at 10, and started to get busy as I left at 12. Not sure what time the transatlantics are from T3, but apparently its commonly busy about lunch time.

Overall 6/10 for the great views!

The Qantas Lounge
So this has been hyped up to me a lot, I've walked past it so many times on the way to the CH and thought "wow that must be amazing". The pictures look stunning, there's two bars one of which is a dedicated Gin Bar so what wasn't to like. It should be noted that the Qantas lounge only do a la carte service in advance of QF flights.

I went in about 1500, and it hadn't started at that point. Upstairs the wrap around bar area could look stunning, but they didn't really have anything on display to make it look very appealing. The staff were hit and miss, with some of them arguing among themselves over what positions they were working when the QF flights started. I had a glass of champagne which was an Australian brand which was really delicious, and a "Pirate Time" cocktail, which was with Rum and Sloe Gin, and again was very pleasant.

The food area left something to be desired. I had eaten in the Cathay Lounge, so it was just a quick dessert for me which was a really nice caramel cheesecake. With the rest of the buffet there was limited labeling on any of it so it was hard to know what any of it was.

I went down for a quick gin, and the selection was impressive but it really felt like there was limited atmosphere and the whole place just felt a little style over substance.

A solid 7/10 I assume that they up their game in advance of the QF flights and us OW spongers are left with the dreggs.

The Cathay Pacific Lounge - so this was actually the third lounge I visited but in terms of score, was my favorite of the 4 . Cathay flights leave all day long so there's no real changes in service throughout the day. You enter the lounge through the Noodle Bar with its restaurant seating. This area retains so much more class than any of the BA Canteens despite being just as high capacity. The room then opens out into a buffet area and a fully serviced bar with an array of different seating, including some private little pods at the end, and then a business area with a private telephone room.

The buffet was excellent, with a lovely butter bean curry and some little sweet treats. The bar served Laurent Perrier, and I think two other types of champagne. They had lots of spirits, but only a limited range of cocktails. Sadly, they don't stock Betsy, the Cathay Pacific beer! Gutted!

I spent a lot of time in here, it was comfortable, relaxing, and a lovely space to unwind. Second only to the Clubhouse (and by that I mean any of them not just LHR) in terms of lounges I have visited.

One complaint was the area I was sat in was really warm! Better air-con, or it on a cooler setting was needed. It was a relief to go over to the Qantas lounge which was much cooler.

Now I know some will brand me a heathen, but I am just not a massive fan of far eastern cuisine, so I did sample some noodles, but it wasn't for me!

Overall a solid 8/10. This was very much a place that you would enjoy spending some time before a long haul flight.

The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse
So I had allowed in my schedule enough time for a quick drink at the bar in the CH, envoking the unadvertised Gold privilege. I was welcomed by the lovely ladies on reception who confirmed that it is indeed allowed for an AU. I went in about 1545, and it was pretty quiet. Had a catch up with a few of the guys on the bar, couple of redheads and low and behold it was time for boarding. 10/10 As always, although it was slightly bittersweet to get to spend a little bit of time there without actually going on a VS flight.

Overall I had a fantastic day, and thankfully managed to be compus mentus enough to still board a flight despite all of the champoo and cocktails I had drank.

I do find that we really are spoiled with the Clubhouses, their standards are so much higher than much of the competition, I sampled the Non Schengan Finnair lounge this morning in Helsinki, and it was a nice space, but it was no more than a waiting room with some really crap food, and this is their long haul lounge!
#950510 by pjh
21 May 2019, 10:54
It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.. :)
#950524 by Bretty
21 May 2019, 23:44
Indeed a filthy dirty painstaking task, but glad you survived and boarded your flight. I didn’t make the Qantas lounge last time I went through T3. After the appalling Galleries I headed for the Cathay lounge and got settled, lol.
#950535 by Smid
22 May 2019, 15:27
1) The AA lounge is in no way a flagship. By any usage of the word. Once refurbed, the F lounge might be called one of the Flagship lounges, but not at the moment. Certainly not the J lounge in LHR T3. Thre are lounges called Flagship lounges in america. In New York, and I think LAX has one too. Or had. Because the Qantas F in LAX one beat that hands down.

2) However, it does baffle me why you'd rate a BA Club breakfast over the AA one. AA has buffet with scrambled eggs, and bacon and sausages. BA has those little bullet rolls, no buffet at all. Some people have a fondness for those tiny rolls, which are shamed by the worst Priority Pass breakfasts.

3) Qantas lounge does Sparkling Wine not champers.

4) Fair enough on the Cathay Pacific lounge food. I love chinese food, so love it even more. I prefer the CX F lounge over the few souless visits I've made to the CCR.

5) But if I was gold and allowed in the LHR Clubhouse, the rest would not be visited. Ok, maybe CX for some noodles.
#950630 by mdhayes
29 May 2019, 11:36
I just did an almost identical lounge crawl on the way to vegas but sadly not CH for me. My favourite by a long country mile was Cathay. The food in the restaurant was so nice, better than I've had in some chinese restaurants. It did just miss waiter service in the rest of the lounge. The views were stunning though and the champagne was one of my favourites (LP). The BA first lounge was an absolute joke I felt like i was in a hospital waiting room, it was beige at best. Poor show for BA.
#950631 by Hamster
29 May 2019, 15:49
Smid wrote:2) However, it does baffle me why you'd rate a BA Club breakfast over the AA one. AA has buffet with scrambled eggs, and bacon and sausages. BA has those little bullet rolls, no buffet at all. Some people have a fondness for those tiny rolls, which are shamed by the worst Priority Pass breakfasts.


BA Galleries Club breakfast has improved vastly over the past year or so (so I hear), it's nearly same as the F lounge options, that have improved as well.

For breakfast my fav OW Lounge is BA Galleries First - purely as the food is to my taste.

People love the AA International First Class Lounge for the pick and mix, and blazing fast wifi (but Heathrow wifi is now much improved too)

Cathay F lounge has a great rep, but O thought the 'western' food to be poor (been sat under heat lamp for hours).
Virgin Atlantic

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