Spain Planning: Transit through Heathrow

The first step in planning our trip to Spain was to get plane tickets. Our schedule is pretty flexible as we don't mind taking my son out of preschool, but we wanted to wait for the good summer weather to end here before we left town.

I called our frequent flyer program, and was able to get coach class tickets for everyone in October. We fly into Barcelona and out of Madrid. We have long layovers in both directions at Heathrow, and this is the first time that we won't be elligible to use the business class lounge. Luckily Heathrow is a nice big airport with lots of room to run and lots of food options, so we might actually have fun exploring.

This morning, I checked out the Heathrow Airport Website to see what facilities there are for children. (It's nice to check in advance since things aren't always clearly signed and easy to find.).

Here's what I found out:

There are a number of play areas at Heathrow Airport. They are unsupervised, soft play areas for children aged 2 to 6, including the one after security in Terminal 1, near Gates 35-56.

The KLM Holideck lounge in Terminal 4 also has many facilities to keep children occupied. To use the lounge it costs £17.95 per passenger, and children can enjoy toys, games, an arcade, magazines and complimentary refreshments.

There are a number of shops in each terminal that have computer and arcade games available to keep children occupied whilst waiting for a flight. BAA information desks offer free a colouring book and crayons to children, and many shops offer a variety of magazines, comics and puzzle books to keep children entertained.

I'm assuming that we'll be in Terminal 4, but perhaps we can shuttle over to Terminal 1 for a little while to play. We’d probably have to be desperate to use the KLM lounge though... with the dollar at a new all time low against the Euro (and not faring well against the British Pound either), the lounge work out to just under $40 per person! Wow!

Possibly my favorite destination inside Heathrow Airport is Pret-A-Manger. It seems silly, but being able to get a freshly made sandwich, some fresh fruit for the kids, and a smoothie inside the airport (instead of warmed over pizza or a limp salad) makes me delighted.

2 comments | Posted on September 14, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

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  1. Gayna on September 21, 2007 at 4:12 a.m.

    Love the site :)
    When flying out of Heathrow they are insane about the one bag per traveler rule. We got caught out the first time as husband and i travel with two bags each (which contain business stuff and real entertainment for the kids) and then the kids each had little bags with little things in. Luckily we were able to stuff their bags into ours to get through the 'one bag' check point. It's a dumb rule but they are insane about making travelers stick to it so be prepared with a big bag to contain everything. The size of the one bag is basically the size of a small-mid size roll-on suitcase so it is big! but even if you have two kiddy backpacks they will tell you to lose one.

    Have fun!

  2. debbie on September 21, 2007 at 4:18 p.m.

    Thanks for the reminder. I need to measure my bag. I had a terrible experience years ago where the BA agent checking me in at Paris Orly was so concerned about the rules at Heathrow that she took it upon herself to inspect every single item in my carry-on even though I was within the size guidelines! She even tried to impose a limit on the number of diapers I could bring on and told me that I could bring baby food, but not sweets for E (what is she, the sugar high police) Since then, if I think what I have is at all questionable, I bring a printed copy of the current regulations.