Review: the British Airways Terraces Lounge at Manchester Airport Terminal 3

This is our review of the British Airways business class lounge at Manchester Airport Terminal 3.

Reader John (who spent £1,052 on LEGO last year) kindly sent in some photographs and a brief review of the British Airways Terraces business class Lounge at Manchester Airport T3. For comparison, here is what he thought of the Aspire Lounge next door.

EDIT: This lounge was permanently closed in 2021.  British Airways no longer has a dedicated lounge at Manchester Airport.

Here is his review:

“I’d imagine that more than a few HfP readers have passed through Manchester Airport Terminal 3 as it is used for all British Airways flights departing from Manchester.

When compared to the departure halls in T1 and T2, Terminal 3 is very lacking in terms of, well, everything really. Shops, bars, restaurants, even the layout of security is lacking as you have to pass through a tiny corridor and climb some steps before you enter the main hall.

The good news is that if you’re flying in Club World, Club Europe, First or – until 1st April – Business UK with British Airways, you won’t have to walk far to get to the departure lounge.  There’s a set of steps on your left as you enter the main hall where you will find the Escape Lounge and the separate British Airways Terraces lounge. I’ve managed to get from the curb to a cozy chair in less than 15 minutes.

On the last occasions I visited the lounge last year, it was a very pleasant experience. I was warmly greeted by the BA member of staff at reception (not something I can say for the staff at the Concorde Room at Heathrow) who politely checked my details and told me she’d alert me and my wife when our flight would be ready for boarding.

The lounge is actually very large but doughnut shaped.  The centre is taken up by a cupola that provides a natural light both to the Terraces lounge and the main departure hall on the floor below. A wide variety of seating and workspaces are available around the periphery.

The views from the window are nothing special but you can watch the (mostly Ryanair) planes coming and going.

Food and drink in the British Airways lounge at Manchester

While I’ve only ever visited the lounge for breakfast, the selection is absolutely fine.

There is a very well-stocked bar with a good selection of spirits (not that I was sampling them at 10am) and a couple of choices of wine.

The breakfast choices are the standard selection of cereals and pastries but everything is well-presented, clean and pretty fresh.  If you want a hot bacon roll you need to use your Priority Pass to pop into the Escape Lounge next door.

The coffee was served from a bean-to-cup machine and I enjoyed my two lattes very much.

The ‘business’ section is pretty small – although tablets and ultra light laptops mean the demand for using third party PCs has dropped a lot in recent years – but there is good WiFi throughout the lounge so you only really need it for printing.

The lounge has a reasonable amount of seating and feels massive due to the cupola in the centre of the room.  I can’t imagine it ever getting that busy unless British Airways does, as rumoured, begin long haul flights from the airport.

The only other oneworld airlines that fly out of Manchester Terminal 3, and so also use the lounge, are American and Iberia.  Finnair and Aer Lingus use Terminal 1.  As there are only a handful of flights each day, you should expect the lounge to be pretty quiet whenever you visit.

Conclusion

All-in-all, I find the British Airways lounge in Manchester Terminal 3 a fine place to start your trip. It is nothing special but certainly very comfortable and accommodating.

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, here are the three options to get FREE airport lounge access via a credit or charge card:

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,300 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here. 

You also get access to Plaza Premium, Delta and Eurostar lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

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

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with two free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here. 

Additional lounge visits are charged at £20.  You get two more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A huge bonus, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free LoungeKey card, allowing you access to the LoungeKey network.  Guests are charged at £20 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £195 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.