[Travellator]

Terry

Spanish flight not long enough for Breakfast – LOL -the BA one on the way out was good – better than Baked Beans in the LGW lounge – what a disgrace !

[BeckyBoop]

BA breakfast is bad, eggs are rubbery, but worse is the bacon rolls – hard bread and one slice of fatty bacon which has not been cooked properley.. yuk!

[VintageKrug]

I’ve only flown Titan once and was impressed; it’s not the bad option many make out.

[Travellator]

VK – Very good option – 757 still a super aircraft to fly onboard !

[MartynSinclair]

BeckyBoop – 01/06/2012 08:52 GMT

BA breakfast is bad………………. yuk!

Not if you order a special meal!

[rferguson]

I read this thread with interest.

Sometimes I feel that comments made on these threads are a little over dramatic. ‘Inedible’ food in Club? It is a bit like a previous thread on this forum by someone that was disgusted that they only received a drink and a pack of snacks on a LHR-MAN flight (airborne time 30mins). I can honestly say that in 16 years of serving food in CW on BA flights only once have I seen a meal I would consider ‘inedible’ (it had a moth in it). YES the food definitely DOES vary in quality. Sometimes the food can be described as quite poor by Business Class standards or more often decidedly average.

BA did announce last year an increase to its catering budget for Club World flights. Unfortunately this has not seen a ‘blanket approach’. The first phase was to improve the quality of the primary meal from LHR. The quality of the starter was improved. Spending per meal was increased by 30% to improve the quality of ingredients in the main meal. The sauces/gravys/’jus’ for the main meals are also now heated separately and poured after the hot meals after cooking so the meals aren’t cooked in a sea of sludge. The dessert quality and even bread offerings were also improved.

The most recently completed phase was flights departing (nearly) all North American stations to the UK following the above methods.

I do agree that food out of some other countries can be described as quite poor. As well as hot breakfasts no matter where the origin. I can only hope that the catering budget increase will reach these areas eventually.

One thing that really does make a huge difference and where I really do feel BA missed the boat is the technology they use to actually cook the meals. In CW the meals are still cooked by old ‘dry heat’ ovens unlike steam ovens that many other airlines now use. The end results really are so much better with the steam ovens (BA installed these in cabins with the new ‘F’.). It is unfortunate that even when we took delivery of the new 777-300’s the galleys were still equipped with the ancient technology.

[Tete_de_cuvee]

What rferguson has posted am in agreement with. The starters I have enjoyed over recent months have discernibly improved as have the breads. Curry and steaks have been fine.
Knowing the limited capability of the cooking facilities I steer clear of eggs and bacon.

[BeckyBoop]

Martyn, what sort of thing do you get on a special meal breakfast?

TdC, hun we wont be able to make it on Tuesday in Poole for the bike rally as wee need to come back to London on Monday, have fun .;) xx(Sorry to change the subject every one else)

Have a great Jubellee bank holiday weekend everyone : o) xxx

[MartynSinclair]

Look through the following:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel/specialmeals/public/en_gb

In the mornings I generally go for a fruit platter. If I need something more filling, will generally book an Asian or Vegan vegetarian option or a Jain meal.

Always receive a good quality meal, presented nicely and very very tasty.

[Danwolf]

MartynSinclair: think I already know the answer to this, but thought I’d ask regardless, if the special meal ordered doesn’t sound/look great, are you able to request one of the ‘normal’ meals? Do the crew kick up a stink or anything?

May order a special meal option for my return journey to avoid rubber eggs…or just wait till the arrivals lounge…

[MartynSinclair]

Hi Danwolf – hoped you enjoyed Asia.

I know some may not like this comment, but it all boils down to the crew’s attitude and the way you deal with the question.

Generally, you will be offered what ever is left, however, when for example a dairy vegetarian has been loaded instead of non dairy (I don’t eat cheese for example and haloumi appears to be a current favourite for the chef’s in vegetarian meals), the crew more often than not mix and match, what I do like, even with spares from First. It is these occasions that I have had my best meals on BA.

It also depends on where you are coming back from. Out of BKK, the fruit platters are exceptional + the offerings in the club kitchen, I never go hungry.

[rferguson]

Regarding ordering a special meal and then requesting an alternative from the menu…..we will try to accommodate your request. After taking the meal order of the remaining passengers.

Reason: we are catered for the number of passengers on board and the special meal you ordered is included in that figure. In terms of starters, the catering is provided at 100%. So if we have 30 J class passengers and one has order an Asian Veg meal for instance we will get say 22 of starter option 1, 7 of starter option 2 plus 1 Asian Veg meal. So if you had ordered a special meal and decided you wanted the crab starter instead it is only fair really that you wait to see there is one left.

Main courses work a bit differently. There is slack in the numbers and for 30 passengers there will probably be 40 main courses in total. On BA these are usually a beef or red meat dish, a chicken or fish dish, a vegetarian hot dish (typically pasta) and a cold main course salad. You can almost guarantee that the ‘left overs’ will be the beef and vegetarian. Of course if all the options are still available once we had taken the order of everyone else all the options will be available to any passenger that has ordered a special meal but wants an alternative. However, we will wait until we have taken the meal order of everyone else that has not ordered a special meal. It is hardly fair to decline Mr Smith his chicken main course because we have given it to Mr Brown that doesn’t like the look of the special meal he has ordered.

[RichHI1]

Adjacent topic, flew back to HNL yesterday on AA. Both flights in premium cabin, meal choice unavailable. Luckily my British “charm” managed to fix it but apparently AA is cutting back on meal wastage which means less chance of the meal you can eat. Some carriers allow you to pre order on line which is great. Unfortunately AA special meals are very restricted and anyone who has tried their vegan offering would never criticise BA again. Apart from that usual class act.

[AMcWhirter]

“Both flights in premium cabin, meal choice unavailable … “

A sign of Chapter 11 cost-cutting, perhaps ?

[Author]

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