British Airways Catering
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at 16:45 by MartynSinclair.
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MartynSinclairParticipantJust curious – are there passengers that choose economy and business flights, based on the catering offerings by an airlines??
In First I accept catering/lounges may be a decider.
Pre covid 19, i find it strange that any passenger would feel “beholden” to any airline. I authorise the expenditure, I select the provider. BA is far from perfect in terms of a modern offering, but the bottom line for me, out and in to LHR, I find the dated club world seat very comfortable to sleep, avios for SH works exceedingly well, probably 80% of my SH flights are free (except for the small add on), at least I can get into the lounges in London (unlike LH in FRA – which were constantly standing room only). As for using Stansted or Luton – yuk. They also go to where I need to go.
If part of the cost of my fare is towards food, well it’s my choice whether to eat it – as it is also my choice to either pick up something at the airport pre boarding or take something along from home.
BA may be racing to the bottom – but pre covid 19, the airline still got me there in comfort, on time and if overnight, very well rested.
…and I hope BA will continue to do so.. and very soon… 🙂
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17 Sep 2020
at 10:09
TiredOldHack2Participant[postquote quote=1010206][/postquote]
Just look at it. Who cares?
17 Sep 2020
at 11:01
TiredOldHack2ParticipantAgreed. On long-haul overnight flights, which comprised most of my travelling in the Before Time, that (and attentive cabin crew) was the main attraction for me.
Board and take off on time, stiff gin before dinner, dinner and enough wine to see me sleep happily, then head down and goodnight for the next eight hours.
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17 Sep 2020
at 11:03
K1ngstonParticipant[postquote quote=1011096][/postquote]
I see your point Martyn but there are better alternatives for you to get to where you need to be in Asia I can name 5-6 off the top of my head and you could also use partner airmiles to get around Europe CX for example… As someone who knows you particularly well isnt it the wine list that best works for you when travelling LH? 🙂
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17 Sep 2020
at 11:09
MartynSinclairParticipant[quote quote=1011157]I see your point Martyn but there are better alternatives for you to get to where you need to be in Asia[/quote]
Happy to be educated over the BBQ, (whenever that may be) – but my choice of long haul carrier (in business) considers, price point, seat comfort / ability to sleep, no midway stop (i.e. middle east), FFP (each Asia trip generally generates around 5 easy to access European sectors in C for free on one world, worth nearly as much as the overall ticket price) & of course access to my favourite CX lounge in HKG. What doesn’t influence me is food quality or time en route (as long as I can sleep).
[quote quote=1011157]isnt it the wine list that best works for you when travelling LH? 🙂[/quote]
Wine??? whats that, now week 15 and feeling great. As for LH, that was a previous life… (as you also know) 🙂
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17 Sep 2020
at 12:19
CAIParticipantIf you were selecting a Long Haul carrier on the basis of their wine list it would absolutely NOT be BA. In the last 5 years I have noticed a significant downgrading of the wines served in CW and First, all part of the constant cost-cutting which not even the premium cabins are immune from. In CW apart from Champagne the typical retail cost of the wines served are £10-12 per bottle. On one flight last year one of the red choices was a Bordeaux Superieur which retails for £8. Perfectly drinkable but seriously BA an £8 wine in business class?
In First apart from the sparkling wines, especially Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle which is outstanding and seriously pricey, the retail cost of most wines is in the £15-25 range. So a step up but hardly a patch on what other airlines serve to their first class customers. There is nearly always a white Burgundy in BA First and whereas a few years ago it used to be a Meursaullt or Puligny, now it might be Rully or Santenay, so a step, or two, down in quality.
I am a wine educator and organise wine tours all over the world (my last long-haul flight with BA was in February when I took a group of 24 people to South Africa), so I appreciate that the on=board wine list is more important to me than most others. However it’s the constant BA cost-cutting that is so depressing.
27 Sep 2020
at 09:44
esselleParticipant[postquote quote=1012023][/postquote]
Although I haven’t flown F in BA for some years, the rot has been setting in for a while. Not just the quality of the wines, but the knowledge of the crew serving them. On a flight from HKG in F, I was asked if I wanted some ice cubes in my champagne as it didn’t seem to be cold, and was offered something referred to as Merolest when I asked what whites were available.
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27 Sep 2020
at 10:21
LowflierParticipantAs a follow on from the ice cubes in the champagne tale I would like add an experience that you can only laugh about. On one trip to DXB about two years ago I was fortunate enough to have an op upgrade from PE to Biz. I think that they must have had new recruits in the cabin as the service was not what I would expect .. specifically.
When having the meal I was offered more wine however I was wanting to try a different red so said I’d wait and try a different when I’d finished that one however I was told I should take it as she would NOT be back. Suffice it say I made good use of the call bell after that!
After the meal I asked for a Drambuie of Glayva ie whisky lequeur with my coffee and she had no idea what I was talking about. She went away to get the supervisor who came and asked me and similarly thought I was having a laugh. On looking at the drinks list (which maybe I should have done to start with) it did not list them so I had a port instead. Drambuie is a pretty basic drink and even if they didn’t have it they should at least know what I was asking for!
Lastly before landing they do the afternoon tea with the always good BA scones and cream. The scones were being handed out in a nice basket and The lady opposite in the ying-yang asked what they were – which astounded me – and then the lequeur-challenged crew member confessed she didn’t know what they were – maybe some kind of fruity bread thing. If you don’t know what a blo*dy BA scone is then why are you serving in BA biz?!
As I said this was an op upgrade and I was grateful for the lie flat seat but if I had actually paid for the business seat I would have been spitting nails. The seat was quite good, the catering ok at a push and the service was shocking with the bring your-child-to-work service. Sadly there was no customer feedback email following the flight!
That was my worst experience but on other long haul business it has been mediocre pretty rushed experience. I would say having BA status is definitely worth it but I would never book ba business rather go for a partner or use PE.1 user thanked author for this post.
27 Sep 2020
at 18:28
norbert2008ParticipantAs I started this I new BT readers would come up trumps. I see Swiss are managing full service (no hot towels only) on Long Haul. Why cannpt BA at least use glass wear? Only asking?
28 Sep 2020
at 07:28
SimonS1ParticipantLooks like the Mail are in on the act.
Something must be done, surely.
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1 Oct 2020
at 21:12 -
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