“The Concorde Bar” – the new British Airways lounge concept for First Class ticket holders

British Airways opened its refurbished airport lounge in Singapore recently.  As well as giving it a makeover with the ‘Galleries’ concept, the space was increased by over 40%.  This was driven by the introduction of daily A380 services to Singapore from December.

What is most noticeable about the lounge, however, is that it contains the first ‘Concorde Bar’.  This is a new concept which BA intends to roll out – the next one is due to open in Dubai.  As the name suggests, this is really just a separate room with additional seating and a dedicated attendant to fetch drinks – it will not offer separate dining.

‘The Concorde Bar’ will ONLY be available to ticketed First Class passengers.  It will NOT be accessible by British Airways Gold card holders.

To quote from the BA press release:

“The Concorde Bar Singapore is the first Concorde Bar to open anywhere in the world. An exclusive haven for First customers and their eligible guests only, the design is strikingly different in style from the main Galleries lounge with black timber, Nero marble and champagne metal finishes.

The Concorde Bar offers a variety of seating options including communal bar seating, more private sofa corners and dining booths. Customers can enjoy digital panoramic views of the Singapore skyline which will enable them to connect to the time of day outside when travelling through time zones.”

As far as passengers in Singapore – and soon Dubai – are concerned, this is an improvement on the old situation where there was no private space for First Class passengers.

As the previous lounges were ‘one class’, Gold card holders are not losing out from this development.  Very few British Airways outstations have dedicated First Class lounge facilities.

What will be interesting is whether “The Concorde Bar” appears in Gatwick South next year.   Next November, all of the BA services at Gatwick are moving from the North Terminal to the South Terminal.  This should be good news in terms of investment in new facilities.  However, it is still unclear whether a separate ‘Galleries First’ lounge will be built for Gold card holders.

It is possible that a “Concorde Bar” will be built instead, exclusively for ticketed First Class passengers out of Gatwick.  This would leave British Airways Gold card holders without their own lounge and would represent another small downgrade in benefits.

(NB.  All of the photographs in this article are of the main lounge and NOT of “The Concorde Bar”)

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)