BRITISH AIRWAYS FLIGHT BA 001 FROM LONDON HEATHROW (LHR) TO NEW YORK (JFK), 04 MAY 2003

Check-In, Fast Track Security, & Departure Lounges

After spending Friday in Paris (via a day-trip on Eurostar, the high-speed Chunnel train) and the weekend in London, I was ready to ride "the rocket" once again. Despite having just flown Concorde a few days earlier, I was still very excited about this particular flight.

If Concorde is the airplane on which I've always dreamed of flying, then BA 001 is the actual flight of my dreams. Don't get me wrong; my first Concorde flight would've been enough on its own. But flight BA 001 has one special element of Concorde service that BA 002 lacks: the ability to "arrive before you leave." The key is the westbound direction of travel, whereby Concorde "chases the sun," and it's 3.5 hour flight time is less than the 5 hour negative time difference. So, with this in mind, I happily paid an additional fee to upgrade from BA 178 subsonic 777 service to experience Concorde one more time.

Here are some photos of the Lounge Pavilion. entrance:

Concorde Room, & Molton Brown Travel Spa

I enjoyed the Concorde Room in London more than the one in New York. The selection of food and beverages was much better, and the availability of complimentary treatments and showers at the Molton Brown Travel Spa was a significant addition to the comforts available here. I've compiled a list of some comparisons and contrasts between the Concorde Rooms at Heathrow and JFK:

• SEATING AREAS: The Heathrow lounge was equally well-appointed with comfortable seating space. Leather chairs, small tables, and telephones were scattered about the lounge and broken up by small partitions. Although the lounge seemed quite full, I didn't see anyone having trouble locating a place to sit, and the lounge didn't seem any more crowded than the Concorde Room in New York.
• EATING & DRINKING SERVICES: The bar in Heathrow's Concorde Room offered a menu from which passengers could order complimentary sandwiches, salads, and other made-to-order plates, compared with the preset English Breakfast buffet at JFK. The Heathrow lounge also appeared to offer a wider variety of beverages--both hot and cold, alcoholic, and alcohol-free.
• BUSINESS CENTER SERVICES: In London, there were a few work desks available, two of which offered PC terminals with complimentary Internet access. There also appeared to be a full service business centre adjacent to the Concorde Room. These facilities were far better than the closet passed off as a business centre and the complete lack of Internet access in the JFK Concorde Room.
• ADDITIONAL PERKS: These additional perks were available in the Concorde Room & Lounge Pavilion at London Heathrow whilst being completely absent in the JFK facilities--a staffed bag and coat check room for storing cumbersome items whilst enjoying the lounge, the Molton Brown Travel Spa, a view of Concorde from the Concorde Room windows, and boarding of Concorde directly from the lounge.

Here are some photos of the Concorde Room & Lounge Pavilion at London Heathrow:

The Concorde Room entrance was on the same level as the Lounge Pavilion entrance. There was a BA welcome staff member outside to direct First and Club World passengers to their respective lounge entrances.	Once inside the Concorde Room, there were two very friendly BA agents to greet passengers. They checked boarding cards and made themselves available to answer any questions. They were happy to print a souvenir copy of my boarding card upon request.
There were plenty of leather seats and small tables scattered about the lounge, broken up with small glass partitions.	There was a main corridor that connected the business centre on the far end with the bar (behind the photographer).
The bar offered some dining tables and a stand with a complementary selection of reading material.	I ordered a prawn sandwich with some crisps and took a Coke and a Schweppes Bitter Lemon from the bar.
This was the area of the Concorde Room with desks for those who wished to work. There were also two desks with PC terminals for complimentary Internet access.	This was the upper floor of the British Airways Lounge Pavilion. The business class lounge is located on this level via lifts or an open staircase.

Here is the Concorde Room menu:

Taking the advice gained from other travellers on FlyerTalk.com, immediately after checking in at the Concorde room and leaving my bags with the attendant, I made my way to the Molton Brown Travel Spa on the lower level of the Lounge Pavilion to book a complimentary treatment. Because the Spa is shared amongst so many passengers, it was best to book treatments straight away after arriving in the lounge, as times filled up very quickly.

The spa was very nice and offered a variety of different twenty minute treatments, including back massage, facial massage, and foot massage. I was able to book a back massage for 4:30. It was about 3:30, so I went back upstairs to check email and did some exploring until 4:25. When I returned to the spa reception, I was introduced to the staff member who would be taking care of me. She led me into a treatment room and invited me to take a few minutes to relax and get ready. She returned a few minutes later and provided an excellent 20 minute back massage, which left me completely relaxed. At the end, was so refreshed that I didn't even want to move, so I stayed there for a few moments before accepting an offer to use once of the spa's showers, which had just become available.

The shower facilities were wonderful as well. The showers were fully equipped with multiple spa water jets--four body jets in addition to a handheld shower wand and the overhead rain-style shower head--and Molton Brown shower gel and shampoo. The staff made fresh towels available, along with combs and razors, if needed.

After my massage treatment and spa shower, I felt perfectly wonderful, and I've now come to view the Molton Brown Travel Spa as one of British Airways' greatest perks for premium class passengers. Absolutely brilliant!

British Airways Molton Brown Travel Spa	The spa's lobby and reception desk.
My spa treatment room.	Spa shower suite: sink with Molton Brown soap and hand lotion.
Spa shower suite; toilet & shower.	Spa shower with six water jets, Molton Brown shower gel & shampoo.

Boarding announcements were identical to those made in New York for my outbound flight. Once passengers were invited to pass through the gate, I gathered my belongings from the baggage room attendant and proceeded through the glass doors at the far end of the lounge to board Concorde.

The flight information board listed flight BA 001 for New York in the Concorde Lounge.

Passengers boarded Concorde directly from the Concorde Room through these glass doors.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO BOARD CONCORDE BA 001!!