[EU_Flyer]

I’m with rferguson. If non alcoholic drinks are still complimentary, I’d be happy to either bring my own food from the terminal or buy off the BoB menu. Often I eat the food just because it’s been offered rather than my being hungry.

But I agree with arguments that this takes BA off the ‘full service’ premium carrier list. The perception of BoB cheapens the BA brand in my view which is a shame. That said, I suspect people will get used to it and continue to accrue their Avios by flying BA despite BoB. The Golds will want to stay Gold so they can get all the other benefits (lounge etc) and safeguard their position for longhaul. Same for Silver.

[SimonS1]

Seems the logical way to go. The food offering on SH has become a joke and needs putting out of its misery.

Will BA remain Bevvie Airways though? I think we should be told.

[AlanOrton1]

As many have said, the food in Y on BA short haul is barely different from a bag of peanuts with your drink.
Logistics wise I’m not sure how the cabin crew could serve drinks, offer a ‘snack’ from the basket, and then take orders and serve M&S food all via one trolley run.

If I were a betting man, I’d guess the snack basket will go, to be replaced by BoB offerings. Not sure this would make me any more \ less likely to fly BA in short haul Y.

What would be disappointing, though I’d hardly be surprised, is if alcoholic beverages were made non gratis in the future. It is a little thing that differentiates BA.

[FDOS_UK]

I’d be very surprised if drinks don’t become chargeable – if not now, then in the future.

Logical analysis of the short haul network and consumption habits is likely (IMO) to show far more revenues to be made from flogging booze and soft drinks than from sarnies.

[TimFitzgeraldTC]

I’d never travel BA shorthaul because of the current food offering which is kind of derisory and insulting. Either have a proper meal service, or have something decent I’d be happy to buy. At the moment worst of both. If I had status I’d use lounge before hand to get a decent bite to eat and a drink. If I didn’t and I was that time poor then I’d wait an hour or so until I land – or buy something that is more edible than the current options onboard.

Yes it would be nice if went back to old days of flying short haul and it all being romantic with silver service meal. But now such huge numbers are used to travelling in Europe without getting a meal/drink I think it is a storm in a teacup issue. Should cut down on waste and the cabin crew should be earning extra from the sales of on board goods as they’ll take a cut. I’ll still maker my purchasing decisions for European flights on convenience of airports / times & schedule. Not what my sandwich / nuts / crisps options are onboard.

[FDOS_UK]

Harking back to 1978, when I started flying BA on business (in Y), you did get a hot meal in eco on routes like Pisa and Lisbon (can’t remember the very short flights), but alcoholic drinnks were charged and only became free later.

The meal wasn’t silver service, it was plastic fantastic 🙂 Maybe in F in those days, when they carved a roast on the aircraft (so I’m told).

[AMcWhirter]

FDOS_UK makes a good point.

You have to remember that IATA was still powerful back in 1978 and it was an IATA rule (for IATA airlines) to charge economy passengers for alcoholic drinks on international flights. There was no short-haul business class at that time.

Things changed not long after the non-IATA Asian airlines began flying to Europe.

[Charles-P]

I agree with MartynSinclair that there is no real need for food on a short haul flight and if hungry the airport food tends to be better anyway, I like a nice light seafood snack personally. As BOB is clearly here to stay I applaud BA for choosing as a supplier a strong reliable British brand that has a reputation for decent food.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=759456]I agree with MartynSinclair that there is no real need for food on a short haul flight and if hungry the airport food tends to be better anyway, I like a nice light seafood snack personally. As BOB is clearly here to stay I applaud BA for choosing as a supplier a strong reliable British brand that has a reputation for decent food.

[/quote]

You really cannot say, per se, that there is no need for food on a short haul flight.

There are always going to be some pax who have very tight connections including BA Y or WT+ flights where breakfast is a party size Mars bar and who may not have eaten a proper meal for ~6-7 hours, who need something to eat and don’t have time to pick something up in the airport.

Maybe not the majority, but there will be some.

I wouldn’t consider M&S a strong brand overall.

http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/rise-fall-marks-spencer/article/1212188

[canucklad]

I’ve not got an issue with BA and EI and the others offering BOB.
What I have an issue with, is the headline marketing messages that those same airlines use to convince the general public that they’re a premium service.

A classic example, being the Finnair advert at the top .To the uninitiated the message is…..Quality and quality comes at a price. So , I’d be mightly unimpressed to pay a premium ticket price in Y , followed by an inflated price for a drink and a sandwich at 30,000 ft.

Tom’s earlier comments about the proposition, should ring alarm bells. I’d have thought that Snr Cruz would have conxsulted the ex BMI crew for advice. BD made a pigs ear of delivering BOB, primarily because of perception, offering a drink and sandwich to me free, and then asking the person sat next to me for near on a tenner just felt wrong.

And I’ll add this question…..Is BA trying to ride on the back of M&S’s reputation for quality or is a struggling M&S trying to sell their wares anywhere they can..
And if you’re going to buy M&S sandwiches on-board, why wouldn’t you buy the equivalent much cheaper before you buy.
Reek’s of desperation I’m afraid!!

[JohnHarper]

Well it’s come at last, the last differentiation between BA and Ryanair has gone.

What I can’t understand though is why anyone will take the chance of BoB from M&S, a failing brand desperate to maintain market share somehow when you could buy a genuinely fresh sandwich from Pret in the terminal rather than packed in a CO2 laden container with a use by date of sometime in the middle of next week on it. You only need to read the ingredients on M&S food to see it is far from a premium product, something more and more people are waking up to.

I also agree with the post above, before too long food on long haul will be an M&S ready meal at an extortionate price introduced after much market research that tells BA that their passengers want to pay for inflight meals while sat nine abreast on a 787. The same food will be available in all classes but in F or C it will be slopped into a china bowl in C or a porcelain bowl in F for you rather than the M&S plastic container.

Equally I’ve thought for a long time that there was only room in Western Europe for a couple of premium carriers. BA have been clearing the decks nicely for some time with outdated products and non-existent service for Air France and Lufthansa to pick up the top end of the market – just compare the F products or the fact that AF offer an Amuse Bouche in C which BA removed from F and you can see them both pulling out in front and remaining profitable while they do it.

[FDOS_UK]

To be fair, Ryanair’s Irish ******** can be amusing at times and does seem to have a gift for getting lots of free publicity.

[LuganoPirate]

Some time ago I suggested BA should give up short haul and do a deal with easyJet for feeder passengers. I’m still convinced that may happen and I doubt whether BA will make anything out of BoB but will just alienate more of their passengers who will take to the LCC’s instead as there is little more to differentiate them.

In the meantime though I can see BoB being offered at a small discount if ordered with your booking (non-refundable of course!) online along with the extra baggage, insurance and so on.

Like many I never eat on these short-haul flights but I understand some do like a snack, however the difference between feeling satisfied with a snack and the small bag of nuts (or worse crisps) being offered makes it hardly worthwhile. Also looking at the price of a KitKat on the Iberia menu at EUR 2, as opposed to the EUR 1 in the shops makes me think people will now load up on snacks before boarding. It remains to be seen how successful this will be and how long before it’s discontinued?

[JohnHarper]

Oh and I forgot. Instead of the crew being incentivised to sell by earning commission, they will have targets to meet in terms of sales and if they fail to meet them there will be sanctions. This is BA after all, not some touchy feely operation like easyJet!

[JohnHarper]

[quote quote=759506]To be fair, Ryanair’s Irish ******** can be amusing at times and does seem to have a gift for getting lots of free publicity.[/quote]

I think he works on the same basis as Old Beardy that any publicity is good. That of course is not true and quite often the wheels come off!

[Author]

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