[KeaneJohn]

The main fact here TominScotland is you are in the lounge 2 hours or so after the op was. Say you have a flight leaving at 7pm be at the gate 6.40pm, leave for the gate 6.30pm you wont have time to eat anything hot.

Assume your flight is 90 mins that means in the UK you land at 8.30pm, out of airport by 8.50pm and maybe in around 9.30pm/10pm. If you are flying in Europe you can add an hour to that and if flying Y you will get a drink and some crisps.

You probably have left your office around 4pm to get to the airport for the flight and had time to grab a sandwich for lunch.

So your 45 mins of downtime when you could grab a glass of wine and something hot to eat you can now have ready salted crisps, a biscuit or a bar snack. Fantastic.

[Daytripper]

Everyone has different priorities and expectations from their airline experience.

I travel long haul on BA frequently, in Club. I rarely drink or watch movies, and use the flight to work or sleep, more often the former.

The BA food offering in the First lounge used to be good enough to eat there, allowing me to skip the onboard meal, making my flight time more productive.

The hot food slop they now serve in the First lounge is such a step downhill that most of it tasteless and inedible.

The result – I now eat on board, wasting productive time that could be spent working (which is my priority in the quiet ‘me time’ of a long haul flight), or sleeping (which I get precious little of at the best of times.)

Thanks BA. Your USP just slipped away.

[esselle]

StephenLondon

I agree, some white Bordeaux can be of high quality, but very few are. This was not one of them.
So my comment was to highlight the fact that the best white wine on offer was a (pretty run of the mill) Bordeaux.

[SCF]

I do hear all of you re downgrading of service and food, but coming from Africa, it is all a BONUS to me! I mean, in BA’s lounge at Cape Town International, one doesn’t even have the pleasure of champagne! Never mind Walker biscuits. And the sandwiches look like rejects by M&S after 3 days! The place is crammed and there is often no where private to sit. Magazines are appallingly short and low on quality. Hot food? PLEEEZZZE. So, complain by all means, but have pity on us (others) who don’t even get these privileges that T5 offers.

[StephenLondon]

@daytripper – Agree that everyone has different priorities when they fly – I’m still struggling to comprehend why hot buffet food seems to feature so strongly before safety, comfort, route network, on-time departure, etc. But then everyone with hot lounge food as their top priority can always go to other carriers if BA fails so miserably.

Do you then work in the lounge to make up for lost time sleeping or working on board? Or would going to PlaneFood or even Carluccios land side figure into your routine from now on?

@esselle, shame. I suppose BA could follow Delta’s lead at their new flagship lounge at JFK T4 with their comprehensive wine list, including Dom Perignon 2002 by the glass or bottle. The drawback
is…they charge for it all ($40 for a glass of DP, $199 for the bottle).

[Flyboy18]

has anyone actually complained to BA or just moaned on here!?

[MartynSinclair]

The other point to consider of course is that do BA actually care about the downgrade to the food offering.

Its not as if they don’t have a captive audience…………. especially in T5. Do they actually have the audacity to think passengers will fly another airline if their food offering is not up to scratch………… I think not….

[TominScotland]

I continue to struggle here, folks. As far as my recent experience of T5 First, T5 Business (North) and T3 First, IMHO THERE HAS NOT BEEN A DOWNGRADING IN THE QUALITY OR QUANTITY OF FOOD AVAILABLE. In the T5 First Lounge, the menu gives a really good choice of breakfast and later-in-the-day options and the self-service has always been extensively and fully stocked during my visits over the past month or so.

I am not a biscuit expert so those of you out there who are called Walker, McVitie, Nice or Jammie Dodger clearly have an advantage over me but I have to say that, as a Scot, the ubiquious tartan packaging of a certain brand of shortbread biscuits is so commonplace now (budget hotels serve them, you know!!) that I cannot see why anyone would get their smalls in a twist over them. Neither am I am expert on Bordeaux but to link the word disaster to a tipple that does not quite take your fancy is, well, a tad over the top, yes?

Anyone have any important business travel issues to share?

[Tim2soza]

Dallas DFW 1st and Business lounfe for BA last Thursday (23-May-13) every single spirits bottle was 100% empty.

[esselle]

StephenLondon

I guess the difference with AA is that they never offered any premium products, food or drink, free of charge. So to start offering them, at a price, seems quite a sensible business decision.

TominScotland

The Bordeaux comment is purely an illustration of the point frequently made about this being an exercise in cost saving; far better wines were offered previously, but have been replaced by products which are of inferior quality, and cost less.

[ANDREWYOUNG1]

If only BA could take a leaf out of VS’ book with the food and drink in the Clubhouse – it’s a different world isn’t it! Loosen the purse-strings BA!

[ViajeroUK]

Used T5 south lounge yesterday morning and have to say breakfast offerings were not too bad, bacon rolls not as good as they used to be, triangular shaped ciabatta type of roll which was only sliced about half way through, bacon stuffed in but more bacon was hanging outside the roll than was actually inside it.

Fruit, Swiss muesli and Greek yoghurt went down very well, except all the dishes were hot!, machine coffee, but at least it was hot. Never checked on champagne but as I was driving after the flight not of real interest.

[Ellwood]

I went through the Galleries South Lounge on Sunday night and there was a family near me who were complaining about the changes and that there was nothing for the little kids.
I then went on about the lack of Quavers in the new catering offering and that Quavers and Champagne was my guilty lounge pleasure. The mum went off out of the lounge with the son to find something he wanted to eat and when they came back I was proudly presented with a bag of Quavers by the kid!

I have not been through the lounge outside of meal times yet but I am not looking forward to it.

[TominScotland]

Here you are, eejp1007, buy your own, pop a couple of packets in your briefcase and stop moaning…….

http://www.americansweets.co.uk/walkers-cheese-flavour-quavers-potato-snacks-case-of-48-bags-6099-p.asp

My complaint is that the penny pinchers from BA no longer provide Gorgonzola- flavoured tiramisu.

It is, indeed, a real hardship to have to use the BA Lounge at any time of the day but somebody has to make the sacrifice

[VintageKrug]

The lack of Gorgonzola-flavoured tiramisu in the lounges is a DISASTER of HELLISH proportions.

WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!

[Author]

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