Hi and welcome to the continuation of my connecting segment to ARN. Here is my schedule so far:
SFO-LHR on BA Y - click here.
LHR-ARN on BA Y - you are here.
ARN-PRG on SK Y - click here.
PRG-CDG on OK Y - click here.
CDG-HND on JL F - click here.
HND-PEK on JL J - click here.
PEK-SFO on UA Y - click here.
The early arrival into LHR gave me some extra time to connect and allowed me to find the Galleries First lounge at a more leisurely pace. However, I never thought that trying to locate the lounge was a challenge. After security I saw the Concorde Room entrance and inquired the outside receptionist. She told me to walk all the way to the opposite side of the terminal, take the stairs down, then walk to the opposite side once again and take a set of stairs up. I have never been given a more convoluted set of directions for a lounge.
After quite a lot of walking and feeling like a mouse running inside a labyrinth, I was rewarded with the arrival into the BA Galleries First lounge - that exclusive oasis for the "other" Oneworld Emerald members who were not special enough to qualify for entrance in the Concorde Room. :P
Once you take the escalators to the entrance, there is a common hallway that is shared with the Elemis Spa and the Galleries Club lounge. There is a nice exhibition of BA memorabilia.
I show my boarding pass along with my AA EXP card and was welcomed into the lounge.
Each WC had its own sink which was a nice surprise.
I then decided to take a shower and was advised to exit the lounge and inquire at the Elemis Spa. That was a bit of a hassle since i had to show my boarding pass again in order to regain entry back to the lounge. I would have thought that for a F lounge there would be a set of dedicated showers instead of being shared with the J lounge . I was given a pager by the Elemis attendant and within 15 min. my shower suite was ready.
The shower is the same as the one that I have used at the Galleries Club at T5B on a previous visit. They are more functional than luxurious with Elemis toiletries.
I went back to the Galleries First lounge and upon checking the departure monitor found out that my ARN flight was moved to one of the satellite terminals instead of the main T5 terminal at the last minute. That cut my stay short and I barely had time to enjoy a glass of champagne before leaving in a hurry. Aargh! I originally wanted to grab something to eat but I had to settle for a wrap or bacon sandwich aboard (that is what i thought).
On my way to the train for the satellite terminal.
A quick plane shot while walking to the gate.
When i arrived at the gate the flight had started to board already. I settled into my aisle seat and thankfully the middle seat remained empty. The pitch was tight.
My row.
It took some time to taxi and once we were airborne the service commenced. To my surprise there was no wrap or bacon sandwich distributed, just a basket with shortbread cookies, nuts or crisps. For some reason I always thought that ARN flights had a snack besides packaged goods.
Is this it?
The flight was uneventful and when we arrived in ARN, I went to McDonalds and had 2 sandwiches before taking the shuttle to my hotel.
ARN airport. Heading to Skycity.
Thank you for this FR!
I thought that you'd be getting the new BoB product on board, apparently they are waiting to introduce it.
The snack you got is typically what you'd usually get on BA domestic flights. Light but comparable to some other European legacies unfortunately...
Hi Scott.
The way that I understand it, ARN is considered a Band 3 route (flight time 115-179 min.) and I was supposed to get some kind of snack like filled flatbread or similar. I was surprised that all I got was a choice of packaged items and that was disappointing. It seemed that BA decided to just phase out the old catering guidelines completely in anticipation of the new B.O.B.
Thank you for your comments.
Thank you for sharing this FR with us!
Nice pictures from the lounge.
The cost-cutting is strong with BA..... I did the same route in July 2016 and they offered a bacon roll with a muffin or a salad.
Thanks for sharing!
Have a good one, see you.
Hi RI 777.
It's a shame that BA decided to decrease the service before the implementation of the B.O.B. menu from Marks & Spencer. C'est la vie.
Thanks for your comments.
Thanks for sharing this FR Adan!
“I have never been given a more convoluted set of directions for a lounge.”
- The Galleries North is much easier to access, hence the larger crowds there. There are less mice to make it to the end of the Galleries South maze^^ The BA Lounges are pretty lackluster so it’s not like you missed much during your shot stay.
“To my surprise there was no wrap or bacon sandwich distributed, just a basket with shortbread cookies, nuts or crisps.”
- And less than 2 months later, these are gone as well^^ The BA in-flight catering has gone from good to decent to poor with the matter of 6 months. It was a very rapid decision to go LCC and follow SK (the pioneer).
"I went to McDonalds and had 2 sandwiches" <== That sounds healthy :P
Hi Michael.
"The BA Lounges are pretty lackluster so it’s not like you missed much during your shot stay."
- That seems to be the consensus.
"The BA in-flight catering has gone from good to decent to poor with the matter of 6 months. "
- Talk about a steep decline.
"That sounds healthy :P"
- I had a vegetarian and fish sandwiches. Both were fried. :P
Thanks for your comments.