Trip Report – Seattle with British Airways, Heathrow T5

On Sunday I had the pleasure of flying with British Airways from London Heathrow to Seattle Tacoma.

I was looking forward to the Terminal 5 experience (I know, it’s years old now!), and comparing it to the other terminals at Heathrow.

First things first, I had already checked in online so only had to drop my bag off. But nevertheless there were plenty of desks available with no queueing necessary. With that done I wandered around and confirmed that you can still see part of the parking apron and 09L/27R runway from the Cafe Nero at the north end of the check-in hall.

Once through security, you are immediately confronted with a view of the parking apron and one side of the terminal’s Pier B. You can also see part of both runways, and distant aircraft at Terminal 4 and the cargo ramps.
My trip was sponsored by British Airways, so I made my way to the very exquisite Concorde Room. This was a real treat, with various areas of comfortable seating, a bar and dining area. It also has an ‘outside’ area (still indoors) which has similar views over the parked aircraft from the comfort of easy chairs.

Our aircraft was departing from gate B39. We made our way downstairs and on the underground train to Pier B, and then straight to our aircraft which today was Boeing 747-400 G-CIVS. This pier also has plenty of views of the surrounding gates.

Our flight went very well. I can heartily recommend the comfort level and service you get in British Airways Club World on a long haul flight, with both a private area to work/relax and a lie-flat bed (see picture for legroom). We landed 9hrs 35 mins later at Seattle, which was a strange experience as I was in a rearward-facing seat with no direct window views. So touchdown was a complete surprise!

It was getting dark at Seattle, so I had little chance to check SeaTac airport out, but I did get views of aircraft parked at the various piers from my walk to immigration and the baggage hall.

Stay tuned for more Seattle highlights, and our return trip bringing a brand new Boeing 777-300 back to the UK! And I’ll also be running a competition very soon!