Air France will open a brand new flagship lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) — and elite members of rival British Airways may very well be impressed to leap ship.
The service has confirmed that it’ll open and function a premium house in Terminal 4 at LHR in spring 2026, offering devoted areas for premium-cabin passengers and elite members on the U.Ok.’s largest airport.
Associated: Air France extends its La Premiere community to Atlanta, Boston and Houston
What to anticipate from Air France’s new Heathrow lounge
The brand new lounge, situated airside in Terminal 4 — which is dwelling to Air France, KLM and plenty of SkyTeam companion airways (notably excluding Delta Air Strains and Virgin Atlantic, which function from Terminal 3) — will span roughly 8,000 sq. ft and accommodate seating for round 150 friends. It’s being designed in-house by Air France with company SGK Brandimage, persevering with the aesthetic seen within the service’s newest lounges in Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) and Chicago’s O’Hare Worldwide Airport (ORD). It would embrace:
- French fantastic eating in devoted restaurant-style areas
- A full-service bar with a curated listing of French wines and Champagne
- Spa and leisure zones, plus quiet corners for working between flights
- Entry for La Premiere first-class passengers, business-class (excluding Enterprise Gentle) passengers flying SkyTeam airways, and SkyTeam Elite Plus members of Flying Blue and companion packages like Delta SkyMiles (Gold Medallion and above) and Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership flying on SkyTeam airways departing from Terminal 4
This lounge is prone to be the most effective lounge choices in Terminal 4.
Associated: Video from the primary flight within the new Air France La Premiere top quality
Heathrow is a key station for Air France’s short-haul community, with as much as seven each day flights this winter between LHR and CDG. From March 29, 2026, Air France will even add two each day flights between CDG and London Gatwick Airport (LGW), giving U.Ok.-based vacationers extra choices to hook up with the airline’s international community.
A part of a wider Air France lounge undertaking
The LHR announcement is the newest installment in a broader lounge enchancment initiative from Air France, which has been investing closely in its premium cabins and floor experiences because it targets prosperous leisure and enterprise vacationers.
Reward your inbox with the TPG Every day publication
Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists
In 2025 alone, the airline:
- Redesigned and expanded its flagship lounge in Terminal 2E at CDG, spreading the house over three ranges and growing capability to 638 seats
- Reopened a completely refreshed lounge in BOS on Aug. 20, with over 5,000 sq. ft of house and 126 seats
- Inaugurated a brand-new lounge in ORD on Oct. 17, situated in Terminal 5 and providing round 5,000 sq. ft of house and 105 seats
Associated: Stylish new Air France lounge opens at LAX with a spa and unique first-class space
A brand new temptation for pissed off British Airways elite members?
The biggest airline at LHR, British Airways, has just lately moved to a revenue-based system for incomes tier factors, with steep new thresholds for Bronze, Silver and Gold standing.
Beneath the brand new construction, vacationers who beforehand relied on intelligent tier level runs or discounted long-haul business-class fares on BA or companion airways now discover it considerably tougher (and costlier) to resume standing. That’s prompting some frequent flyers to contemplate crediting flights to different packages inside Oneworld or past.
Understandably, rival European airways have seized on this chance, providing British Airways Membership elite members standing matches to attempt to lure them and their journey spending. A serious disadvantage for London-based members contemplating becoming a member of Flying Blue is the meager lounge entry obtainable when selecting to fly with Air France or KLM from Terminal 4, save for the underwhelming Plaza Premium contract lounge at the moment utilized by the airline.
That is particularly stark in comparison with the quite a few airport lounge choices obtainable when flying British Airways or its Oneworld alliance companions from Terminal 3, 4 or 5.
Nevertheless, this information of a brand new lounge in Terminal 4, from an airline recognized for opening spectacular airport lounges, could also be sufficient for sad BA elite members to modify their loyalty to Flying Blue or one other SkyTeam loyalty program.
Backside line
That is an thrilling improvement for passengers departing from Terminal 4 at LHR come spring. Whereas there isn’t any scarcity of lounges throughout the sprawling airport complicated, there was a definite lack of premium choices for Air France, KLM and different choose SkyTeam airways’ premium passengers and elite members.
Delta will proceed to fly from Terminal 3 (the place business-class passengers can proceed to benefit from the excellent Virgin Clubhouse), however this offers a big incentive to ebook SkyTeam flights from Terminal 4.
Associated studying:
