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A fact that quite a few American Airlines frequent flyers seem to forget is that American Airlines has an Arrivals lounge at Heathrow T3 and, if you’re flying in on a long haul flight, it can be a good place to freshen up and get a bit to eat before heading on into the city.
Since 29 February the arrivals lounge has been closed for renovations (as part of a broader lounge renovation project that American started in 2015) but now it has reopened and is once again ready for use.
The old lounge was pretty small and not exactly very exciting (I really wish I could find my old pictures!)…. but that didn’t really matter too much to me because I saw it as more as a pit-stop on my way into London rather than a place to while away some time.
Still, I can see why American decided to spruce the lounge up a bit – it didn’t really scream “premium” when you walked in – and now the airline has released the fist pictures of the new space…..
American Airlines Arrivals Lounge Heathrow Terminal 3
….and I think it looks pretty nice.
American Airlines Arrivals Lounge Heathrow Terminal 3
The Arrivals Lounge Features
- Shower suites with C.O. Bigelow products
- Valet ironing service
- Dental & shaving kits (by request)
- Full breakfast & lunch buffet
- Coffee, espresso & champagne bar
- Wi-Fi & Business Center
The C.O. Bigelow products will be the same ones as found in the updated Business Class amenity kits….
….and AUBT is reporting that there are “29 new private showers and dressing areas”…which sounds a lot to me so I’d love it if someone passing through could confirm this.
The Champagne Bar sounds good in theory…but how many of us are going to want to get down to some drinking after 10 hours on a long-haul flight?
I like the idea of a valet ironing service – very useful for anyone getting of a plane and heading, soon after, to a meeting in the city.
It will be interesting to see what the “full breakfast and lunch buffets” are like – if memory serves me correctly breakfast was served in the old version of the lounge so I’d be interested to see how this has been improved (there are reports of made-to-order dishes but I’ll believe that when I see it).
Access To The American Airlines Arrivals Lounge At Heathrow T3
The lounge is on level 2 of the terminal building and is accessed via an elevator that you’ll find in the arrivals hall of Heathrow Terminal 3 (immediately after you’ve passed through customs).
Opening hours are 05:00 – 15:30
Access to the arrivals lounge is limited to passengers arriving on a same-day-flight and entry criteria are stricter than the criteria to access an Admirals Club.
Arrivals on American Airlines
Flights must be operated and marketed by American, or marketed by British Airways and operated by American.
- First and Business Class passengers
- All oneworld Emerald members
- British Airways Premier members
Arrivals on British Airways
Flights must be international long-haul and marketed and operated by British Airways.
- First and Business Class passengers
- All oneworld Emerald members
- British Airways Premier customers
Arrivals on Qantas
Flights must be international long-haul and marketed and operated by Qantas, or marketed by British Airways and operated by Qantas, or marketed by Qantas and operated by British Airways.
- First and Business Class customers
Arrivals on Cathay Pacific
Flights must be international long-haul and marketed and operated by Cathay Pacific
- First and Business Class customers
The rules are pretty restrictive and you realise how restrictive when you think about who cannot enter the lounge:
- oneworld Emerald members flying in a non-premium cabin on any airline other than American Airlines or British Airways.
- oneworld Emerald members flying on a long-haul Finnair marketed flight
- Premium cabin passengers arriving on a long-haul Finnair marketed flight
Bottom Line
Annoyingly, for someone who does more than his fair share of trekking through Heathrow T3, I’m not due to be back through there until October (unless my plans change) so I’m going to have to rely on reports from other travelers until then.
Everything we’re being told about the lounge sounds pretty good – it actually sounds better than the Admirals Club in T3 – so this should be a nice bonus for travelers arriving in to London (as long as they meet the criteria).
If anyone is passing through in the next few weeks it would be great if you could update us all in the comment section below – I’m looking forward to finding out just how good this lounge actually is and if it’s any bigger than used to be.
