IAD – Concourse B – British Airways Lounge – Airline Lounge Review

Concourse B, Washington Dulles International

Introduction

This is my review of the British Airways Lounge in Washington Dulles’ Concourse B.

Rather bizarrely, I was (this time) flying on a Star Alliance carrier – I entered using my Priority Pass, which also gains you access to the Turkish Airlines lounge.

However, at 2pm the lounges changes from a Priority Lounge to a BA lounge – and the staff aren’t afraid to aggressively eject people.    

Visited

September 2022 at 12:00

Opening Hours

For Priority Pass users 06:00 to 14:00.

For BA users the lounge is open from 14:00 to 21:45. Although I guess in theory, from 06:00 to 21:45.

Entry Conditions

The lounge is open to OneWorld Emerald and Sapphire members, and those traveling on BA flights back to Heathrow. I am not 100% sure, but I am also assuming it’s available to those traveling on American Airlines domestic flights too.

Alternatively, Priority Pass holders can access the lounge from 06:00 until 14:00. The staff in here, I’ve seen to be quite aggressive and rude, so will have no issue ejecting you at 13:59!    

How to Get There

For general reference, it’s opposite Gate B42.

The AeroTrain at IAD, that goes between the terminals, doesn’t go in a loop. So depending on where you are, may depend which stop you get off at!

From the Main Terminal, it is probably easier to catch the AeroTrain to B-Gates. From here, up the escalator you will see the BA lounge in front of you.

If you’ve landed from C or D Gates, you may prefer to get off at A-Gates and walk through to B-Gates. In which case, you’ll find the BA Lounge on the right-hand side, after quite a long walk!   

Whether it’s quicker to take the Aerotrain or walk, I’m not sure!

Another option, if you fancy doing something different – is to take the Mobile Lounge from D-Gates to A-Gates or even Z-Gates and walk. This is quite a novelty if you’ve not done it before!

Layout

I’m writing this as a Priority Pass visitor – and will endeavor to update this as a ‘proper’ BA visitor at some point in the future!

As you enter from the desks and check in (again, the staff here are fairly rude), you’ll walk through to an area of modern casual seating.

This casual seating pretty much stretches all the way through to the end – in ‘Priority Pass mode’, any dining areas in the lounge are roped off.  

Where the food is, there are some high tables with stools, but this is the limit. The dining areas seem to be in the roped off area.

If you are working, there is quite a nice little work area, with desks and a printer. I was actually quite impressed by it!

Food and Drink

Food

As I understand it, when it’s turned into non-Priority Lounge, the food is quite good.

However, on my visit, it was a few crisps with pastries/sandwiches which had no food labels. Not great at all!   

There are QR codes everywhere, but they did not work when I scanned them – presumably these spring into action after 2pm.

Drinks

Drinks on the other hand, were fairly consistent with the UK Galleries lounges. There were a variety of soft drinks, a good variety of beer and some wines. Nothing sparkling, and no bar.

Wifi

I tend to find BA lounges pretty good for Wifi – mine worked perfectly for the time I was there.

Showers

There is a single shower in this lounge. I didn’t use it, but whilst it looked OK it didn’t look great!

Conclusion

On the one hand this would be quite an impressive lounge, when in ‘BA mode’. But when in Priority Pass mode, it’s not so good, and the staff are pretty rude – maybe they mellow in the evening?

Hopefully I’ll soon come back to this on a BA flight and after 2pm. But if you have a morning flight and want a drink and a relax, I’d actually recommend the Turkish Airlines lounge in IAD – which is far more friendly!