Lufthansa is the latest airline to upgrade its lounge in Heathrow Terminal 2. Now reopen, the recently renovated lounge is situated in the main terminal area, making it the favourable Star Alliance lounge for the group’s airlines operating narrowbody aircraft into Heathrow.
Heathrow’s A gates only accept narrow body aircraft, and airlines like Aegean, Brussels, LOT, Eurowings and Lufthansa often utilise these gates. However, in comparison to the Singapore, United and Air Canada lounges, the previous incarnation of the Lufthansa lounge was a lacklustre sea of brown and beige leather and light veneer wood.
Paired with the slatted windows which don’t make for great apron views, it was my least favourite of the Star Alliance options at this popular terminal for London. That said, the refurbishment, which started in October last year has gone some way to making the space a little more enjoyable.
It’s clear there have been some upgrades to the flooring, lighting and furnishings. The workspace – which was a sorry situation – has now been refreshed, with chain curtains to offer more privacy, making it a more ideal space to host a Teams call should you need one prior to your flight. The Business area has two phone pods with sound dampening.
For those able to access the premium ‘Senator’ lounge which never really offered anything more than a little bit more space, has also seen improvements with locally inspired design elements throughout.
Sven Thaler, Senior Director Sales Northern Europe comments, “We are delighted to reopen our refurbished lounge in a prime location just after the security checkpoint. As the second largest airline group at Heathrow with more than 360 weekly flights, we are committed to investing in our premium customer experience and our long-term presence in Heathrow Terminal 2.”
That said, the designs are really only skin deep, with new focal seating areas and surrounding light fixtures being the main changes. The buffet bar areas and many of the pre-existing furniture is still there, meaning this is more of a refresh than a real redesign.
The addition of rather obvious stock imagery of London landmarks, such as black cabs, the London Eye and the underground do little to truly represent London, and highlight perhaps a lack of knowledge of true London design and aesthetics. Contemporary art pieces would have worked better in instilling a ‘taste of London’ to the lounge which is still a sea of light veneer wood. We won’t knock any upgrades to this lounge as it certainly needed a lick of paint, but we were hoping the designs for such an important hub to the Lufthansa group would have gone a little further, especially after being shuttered for the past three months.
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