No soup for you says BA in Boston

I came across an interesting BA policy on Friday evening in Boston and wondered whether this was common knowledge, or indeed was unique to Boston, so thought I’d reach out here to gather opinion.

I was on flight BA212 from Boston to London last Friday which was delayed by 4.5 hours owing to the outbound plane going tech in London. The flight was rescheduled from a 1750 to 2230 departure well in advance of our arrival into Boston on a connecting US Airways flight. I was travelling in WT+ on a fully flex ticket that cost around £3000.

We checked in and were given $19USD ‘refreshment’ vouchers. As I am OW Emerald I said that myself and my colleague would probably just eat in the lounge which the check in agent said was a good idea.

We went to the F lounge and settled in. About an hour later, I enquired about the food options at the lounge reception. I was informed that because I was travelling in WT+, I was not entitled to eat any food in either the F or J lounges. I said I was surprised at this because (a) most of the tables in both the F and J eating areas were empty, and (b) I had never encountered a lounge where I was able to enter, sit and have a drink, but not able to eat any food based on my class of travel, and (c) even if that were the case, given the lengthy delay caused by BA’s technical issues with it’s plane, surely as a goodwill gesture on this occasion they would allow us to sit at one of the (many) empty tables and have something to eat during what was obviously dinner time.

I made it clear that I was happy to go to the J lounge and go to the buffet there (even though almost all tables were free in both at the time). We just wanted food because by the time our delayed flight left it would be midnight before we had dinner which was clearly too late.

The response was a rude ‘that is BA’s policy, and if you are hungry well then that’s why we gave you the $19USD voucher. So you have to go upstairs and eat in the terminal if you are hungry’. So that’s what we did, we went to the grotty pub upstairs (the only ‘restaurant’ that isn’t in the Southwest area of the terminal, miles away, and isn’t Burger King, Starbucks or Sbarro) and had fish and chips and a G&T which cost around $26USD.

Even if such a policy exists, I believe that in these circumstances some flexibility and good customer service should have been shown because the flight was severely delayed, there were ample spare seats, I’m OW Emerald and accumulate around half my points travelling BA mostly on fully flex long haul tickets in F, J and WT+ so I guess I am a high value customer.

I should add that when we returned to the lounge having fed ourselves upstairs, I mentioned that I wasn’t happy about the situation to another member of staff who came back at 2130 with two vouchers to dine in the F restaurant, which although was a kind attempt at service recovery, was only 15 minutes before boarding was due to start and in any case we’d already eaten.

So my questions are – is this some standard policy that I am simply unaware of, and should have been? Does this policy exist elsewhere? I had a look at the BA website and I can’t find any reference to food only being available to F and J passengers in any lounge. Certainly access to the lounges at busy times is restricted – this is a well known policy – but access to food is restricted? That was news to me.

This is the case in Boston
The lounge dragons give a meal card to applicable J and F passengers to use the dining facility
The others can help themselves from a small selection of sandwiches from the bar area …..if there is any as they do go quickly !!!

I have seen this before in a few East coast American lounges. Its a bit frustrating at times as I plan to eat or not eat accordingly based on my flight times and airport/lounge visits and its disappointing when you turn up to a new airport lounge and this is the layout.

It was a carrot stick and beer meal the last time it happened to me if remember correctly as the ‘token sandwiches’ were all taken before it was placed down for taking.

If you are delayed though you would think they would open up access as the amount of food wasted on the last one I visited looked to be substantial.

Thats true in all the US east coast lounges where they offer a dining room as part of the Sleeper Service – its only for J, even though as a a cardholder you can access the lounge itself.

Similarly in Boston (as you experienced) and Dulles, there is an F dining room. Similarly thats only for F ticket holders, not Gold / Emerald card holders.

Less of a problem in NY as F dining is part of the concorde room , so less confusion for those using the regular F lounge.

On the BA page, in the lounge access tab, it says pre-flight dining excluded:
http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/partners-and-alliances/oneworld/frequent-flyer-benefits

To be fair, they do feed you a full meal in WT/WT+ on the plane (they don’t in F and J, hence the need for pre-flight dining), and you did get a refreshment voucher… It’s not ideal, but it is exactly as per advertised, and no different to any other North American airline/lounge

Surely for £3k, you could have bought a Club ticket?!

@cityprofessional – Indeed it does say that pre flight dining is excluded, my bad. Still, given the circumstances, facing a 4.5 hour delay from 1750 to 2230 departure and an abundance of free tables, surely common sense and good customer service should have prevailed. I’ll know better for next time. I would prefer Club, however I need the flexibility as my plans are often changed or cancelled. Touch-wood when flying WT+ on a fully flex I am frequently upgraded outbound (but never ever inbound for some reason). On North American lounges, I noticed that the former US Airways domestic lounge in Boston Terminal B (in the US Airways Express area), now rebranded as American Airlines, now serves complimentary hot meals and alcoholic beverages to all guests.

@SwissExPat – I have filled in the form online today. Given this is a relatively straightforward delay that cannot be disputed (and wasn’t), do you know how long it normally takes to receive compensation?

Perhaps it’s just a transition from US Airways to Admirals Club thing. Previously I wasn’t allowed entry at all, but I spotted new signage out the front which included a OW Emerald logo and I’ve been in twice this year so far. It’s actually quite big and airy with views onto the apron, and with the addition of some meals and beverages has become a surprisingly reasonable place to relax.