BAGoldcard - 15/03/2010 07:45 GMT
As BA is the sole occupant of T5, the terminal only provides lounges that can be used by passengers travelling in First or Club, or have oneworld/BA Silver or Gold status.
The only option, which is not cheap, I believe, is to purchase membership of Qantas Club, which you should be able to see on the Qantas website. The alternative is to make use of the range of restaurant and bars in T5.
Travellator - 15/03/2010 12:15 GMT
No !
VintageKrug - 15/03/2010 12:18 GMT
You can pay extra at www.ba.com in Manage My Booking online to upgrade your class of travel, starting from about fifty pounds in Club Europe (CE). This gives you Galleries/Terraces lounge access.
You can pay for Qantas Club Access.
You earn enough Tier Points to gain a Silver/Sapphire oneworld card which (in the UK) allows BA Terraces/Galleries access on any BA fare. This can be gained for residents of Continental Europe after just ten CE sectors.
You cannot pay to get into a BA Lounge *except* at some (usually non BA owned) outstations which share the lounge with Priority Pass customers, where you can use you Priority Pass to gain access either as part of your membership or for a fee, depending on your Priority Pass membership level.
VintageKrug - 15/03/2010 12:23 GMT
Or, as Travellator very succinctly pointed out the answer is also:
"No!"
travelworld - 16/03/2010 14:45 GMT
It's around £430 to join the Qantas Club for a year, less per annum if you join for longer. That gives you(and a guest) lounge access to all Oneworld business class lounges when flying on a Oneworld airline. If you fly a lot on BA in economy it may be worth it if you don't achieve Silver BA status by all the flights you take, if you see what I mean.
wishee71 - 16/03/2010 17:07 GMT
If you travel frequently then irrespective of class of travel you should soon reach, at the very least, silver status and then you have access to the lounge. There is a very good reason you cannot pay to get in. Some airlines still attach a value in terms of loyalty to their havens of calm.
Mr wishee71, he say "There is a very good reason you cannot pay to get in"
Me, I say the very good reason is British Airways have monoply in this terminal.
Even in Riyadh, you can find Priority Pass lounge, although Saudia lounge is nicer.
wishee71 - 17/03/2010 11:22 GMT
Off course they have monopoly in this terminal, it is their home. By virtue of the fact that you are in that specific terminal you are likely to be traveling on BA. Most of the other terminals at Heathrow have Priority Pass lounges and to be fair T5 is quite well catered for in terms of seating and restaurants etc. Trust me I am no fan of BA but the question was about lounge access and I for one like the fact that certain lounges around the world do not have paid access.
The exclusivity element of the T5 Lounges is important, though if they charged GBP40 for entry (max 2 hours before flight), they would achieve another revenue stream and the level of the fee would be enough for the "riff raff", which many frequent travellers are keen to avoid, to be disuaded from entering.
Does anyone really buy a Club ticket for lounge access these days??? I doubt it!
The Qantas Club membership is great. Most renewals cost only around AUD320 if you are on a corporate scheme and you get that back in comfort and food/beverage in only a few visits. This is especially useful in Australia. However, I don't think QF offer corporate deals to the Qantas Club outside Australasia.
VintageKrug - 19/03/2010 05:47 GMT
There are several good outlets where you can sit and enjoy good food, great views and seclusion from the hubbub in T5; Plane Food is an excellent compromise and highly recommended, especially for the Eggs Benedict in the morning.
There is also a pay as you go treatment Spa in T5B for massages etc.