Heathrow Express vs Loungebird
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Heathrow Express
Plan and book your journey quickly and easily with live train times and instant ticket access. Manage your account details, payment options, and preferences for a personalized travel experience.
- Personalized travel information
- Quick ticket booking
- Live train times
- Mobile ticket wallet integration
- Account management
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The new improved Heathrow Express app has some great features and benefits to help make planning and booking your trip quick and easy. Personalized experience – Create an account and login to activate all the features of the app. Including presenting your travel day information with your tickets along with live train times on your home screen. Quick booking – Need a ticket in a hurry? Book a ticket in seconds. Once you are logged in you will have the option to activate this new feature, allowing you to book at ticket on the day of travel in just a few clicks. Live train times – In addition to the scheduled times and service information, you will now be able to see live train times on the day you travel, making your trip planning even easier. Accessing tickets – Your tickets can easily be accessed and managed in one place on the app, allowing you to view upcoming tickets for travel and manage past tickets. Plus, you can still add your Heathrow Express tickets to your mobile wallet. Manage your account – With all your details in one place, including payment options, personal details, language and currency settings it’s easy to create and manage your experience how you want it.
Loungebird
This app helps travelers at London Heathrow Terminal 5 find and access airport lounges. It provides live and historical occupancy data, details on access requirements, and operating hours. Customize the app's appearance with different gauge styles and icons.
- Live lounge occupancy data
- Historical occupancy trends
- Lounge access requirements
- Operating hours and timezones
- Customizable gauge styles
- App icon selection
- Home and Lock Screen widgets
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Loungebird is the perfect pre-flight companion for lounging at London Heathrow Terminal 5. Live occupancy. Intelligent forecasts. Effortless guidance from Autopilot. Everything you need to find the right lounge, and begin your journey in luxury. FEATURING ▼ Autopilot - Get automatic lounge recommendations based on live conditions and your personal travel preferences. - Tailor your experience to your airline status and preferred cabin. ▼ Occupancy intelligence - Look ahead with occupancy forecasts for the coming hours. - Explore live, predicted and historical trends throughout the day. - See when the crowds are expected to rise, fall and clear. ▼ Real-Time Occupancy - Stream live occupancy data directly from the lounges - no reload required. ▼ Lounge Details - Find lounge locations, opening hours and entry requirements in one place. - Find out when a lounge opens and closes with support for multiple timezones. ▼ Extensive Customisation - Select a gauge style that suits you, changing the feel of the entire app. - Personalise Loungebird with a selection of beautiful App Icons. ▼ More - Stay informed at a glance with Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. - Access Loungebird using Shortcuts. - Check current lounge occupancy with Siri and Spotlight. DISCLAIMER This app is not affiliated with British Airways, London Heathrow or any of their subsidiaries/affiliates. ------ Terms of Use: https://loungebird.app/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://loungebird.app/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Loungebird at 100% against Heathrow Express's 30%. Loungebird also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). Heathrow Express's advantage is ratings volume (6.8K vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Loungebird holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Heathrow Express has 6.8K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 30% of Heathrow Express's written reviews are positive against 100% of Loungebird's.
Heathrow Express ships an update every 3 weeks, Loungebird every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Heathrow Express | Loungebird |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (6.8K ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 30.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6.8K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 4 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 63 MB | 156 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Heathrow Express | Merrick Sapsford |
Customer experience
Heathrow Express
Loungebird
Bugs and requests
Heathrow Express
Reported bugs
5 issues- App crashing on ticket viewing
- Incorrect ticket dates/directions
- Payment processing failures
- Account creation issues
- Ticket information not syncing properly
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to add/manage tickets in app
- Improved ticket downloading/syncing
- More payment options
- Better account management features
- Live service updates and notifications
Loungebird
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Heathrow Express
No in-app purchases
Loungebird
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Heathrow Express free?
Is Loungebird free?
Which has better reviews, Heathrow Express or Loungebird?
Do Heathrow Express or Loungebird have ads?
Which is updated more often, Heathrow Express or Loungebird?
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