The Final Verdict
4
The Space
The Food
The Drinks
The Amenities
The Service

Rather unfairly, London Gatwick gets a hard time from people, many of whom haven’t even actually flown through the airport. Thats’ not to say some of it isn’t totally warranted, it’s just that not all of it is. In 2017, British Airways rolled out new lounges at London Gatwick, including a Galleries First lounge for Executive Club Gold, Oneworld Emerald and passengers actually flying First Class.

Two years in, I felt like it was time to put the lounge through its paces once again, and see how it’s fared since the opening years ago. In short: it’s solid.

After navigating through the scaffolding and other passenger friendly features of Gatwick which have earned the airport its mediocre reputation, you finally reach the nice, clean scaffolding free British Airways Galleries Lounges in the South Terminal.

Up an elevator you go, and you’re instantly presented with a friendly welcome desk. Keeping the theme of life on board, Gold, Oneworld Emerald and first class passengers turn left into Galleries First, while Silver, Oneworld Sapphire and business class flyers can turn right into Galleries.

The first impression is good: there’s big floor to ceiling windows, relatively high ceilings and on most occasions, plenty of empty seats. Does it have a mystique, vibe or real allure –  not really – but that’s true for most of BA’s lounges. It’s sophistication over style, though I do believe there’s more room to intertwine the two.

If you’re a plane geek, you’ll be quite happy here. The large windows offer uninhibited views of the approach path into Gatwick, allowing you to catch a British Airways Boeing 777, Cathay A350 or an Emirates A380 from 300 feet all the way down to touchdown. It beats TV these days, for sure.

If you turn left into the lounge, an immediate right and straight on until you hit an aisle will lead you into where all the goodies are. As far as things to keep you preoccupied go, the BA Galleries First Lounge has plenty, with a generous supply of high end booze, a business centre, help yourself buffet and screens with the latest news and sports.

Oh, and there’s one weird quirk here. Despite British Airways penchant for reserved styles and rather uniform spaces, there’s an over the top Austin Powers-esque seating area all on its own. I have no idea how or why it’s there, but it’s fun, and I like it, in a very odd way.

For spirits fanatics, most people look no further than the Johnnie Walker Blue, which is bountifully stocked in the Gatwick Galleries First Lounge, in addition to some non blended Scottish treasures and American bourbon. BA Galleries First at Gatwick currently offers Canard Duchene Charles VII for a blanc de blanc Champagne, and Jeeper Rose.

For those actually flying first class out of Gatwick, you’ll need to wait until on-board to enjoy Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle, unlike out of Heathrow where the Concorde Room offers the same champagne as on board.

In terms of food, don’t get your hopes up. It’s just fine, and the buffet can patch an empty stomach, but it’s nothing to write home about. Breakfast is an entirely typical British fry up buffet, though there are some pastries and also yoghurt and healthy alternatives to be found. At other meal times, expect canteen style food, albeit fairly tasty stuff.

One nice addition, which is perfectly acceptable for airport coffee is the Union Coffee Roasters self service bar, which is certainly an improvement over the previous iteration. Outside of Australia there’s hardly ever any coffee really worth speaking of in an airport, but this is passable. A focus on alt milks and good “to-go cups” would definitely help elevate this setup further.

As to creature comforts and business travel necessities, the Galleries First Lounge at Gatwick has done a mostly excellent job. If only that extended to more proactive staff, that’d be even more true.

There are power ports at most seats, and the business area of the lounge, tucked behind the buffet is quiet and comfortable with plenty of space and gadgets to fulfil any business needs. It’s just really nice to see a business centre laid out thoughtfully, as opposed to most,  which were clearly afterthoughts on what to do with an extra closet.

British Airways doesn’t often announce specific departures from Galleries First, so it’s important to keep an eye on the screen and note the time it takes to reach a gate. Most are between 4-8 minutes walk, but some require an additional bit of time, so if you like your priority boarding and want to queue up before everyone else, be sure to pad a few minutes ahead of your flight time.

What makes this lounge difficult to judge is the Oneworld Emerald slash “first class” designator, of which it’s really not anywhere near the standard offered by Cathay Pacific, Qantas and others in their first or Emerald only lounges. At Heathrow this is solved with the Concorde Room for actual first class passengers, but here at Gatwick, it’s just a bit of a stopgap that makes it a slightly above average business class lounge.

Sadly, I wouldn’t even say it’s amongst the best business class lounges in the world in terms or food or service. Nonetheless, it’s a great place to kill some time, have an expensive scotch on BA and enjoy the runway views, which are sensational.

Gilbert Ott

Gilbert Ott is an ever curious traveler and one of the world's leading travel experts. His adventures take him all over the globe, often spanning over 200,000 miles a year and his travel exploits are regularly...

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10 Comments

  1. Did you not clock the menu’s? The ‘slight’ advantage of the First Class lounge is that there’s a menu you can order from if you can’t face the buffet. To me that is the key point and only difference, aside from the fact you can help yourself to the champagne rather than having to ask for it.

  2. One thing worth pointing out is that the BA burger there is served with real chips instead of the hopeless oven chips served at Heathrow. Just ask one of the lounge attendants and they’ll rustle one up for you.

  3. We were in the business lounge yesterday and the self serve Nicolas Feuillatte champagne was sublime

    They had a popcorn machine with paper popcorn cups… and the food really is rather good too….not very relevant I know bit just saying

  4. It is a nice space, although a word of warning. Last time I was there a week or so ago on a trip to Naples, on BAI was refused access even though I am Qantas Platinum (OneWorld Emerald). I was first told by the two staff members at the entrance desk that Qantas had left OneWorld. When I showed them the OneWorld website on my phone, with Qantas featured prominently, they then said BA was no longer accepting Qantas Platinum status holders as guests. After 15 minutes or so on the phone to the BA service centre, the staff on the desk reluctantly let me in. The first time I have ever had trouble accessing a OneWorld First lounge as a Qantas Platinum cardholder. All very strange. Several glasses of champagne made up for it.

  5. These pictures are modified to present the lounge in a more favourable light. The pictures you have published are not the true reality. This lounge is dated and often has crusted food on the hot plate that is not first class. You should be ashamed of yourself in trying to mislead people with the pictures you have published. Why make the colours deeper and richer than they are? You are not an estate agent selling a house!

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