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BA trials no hot breakfast
The frequent flyer community has been up in arms this week over the latest BA trial. The good news is that apparently they may also be trialling giving out a small bottle of water in Club before departure which I really welcome. I have had this on an ad-hoc basis and do really appreciate irt after standing on a hot airbridge.
Unfortantely I don’t think the other trial is good news at all. British Airways has been trialling eliminating hot breakfast on domestic flights such as Edinburgh because the crew are struggling to serve people in the time. This is most likely down to the enormous size of some Club cabins (though the changes to The Club may solve that issue).
Now I would not mind a cold breakfast if there was a decent choice, but the menus that have been shared seem incredibly stingy, and every option is sweet.
Here is an example:
- Fresh fruit
- Pain au chocolate
- Raspberry bowl
The slightly better news is that you can have all three, which is just as well as the portions are tiny. The raspberry bowl is the same size as a starter or dessert bowl in Club Europe!
Nutritionally, there is little protein in any option and if you are trying to cut down on sugar or have to watch your sugar, then this is not a great selection, though I’d hope for some yoghurt in the raspberry bowl. I would be happy with a breakfast sandwich, continental breakfast or perhaps a hot bacon sandwich which would take less heating time and has been offered on very short flights. If it’s just about saving time surely the continental breakfast which they serve in Club Europe would actually be quicker than offering three different items? Surely there could not be a cost-cutting motive at play here?!
Some people also say it is cut down the amount of waste, but this would be easily lessened with pre-ordering or simply indicating that you don’t want the meal, as they did on JAL. I can never undertand why BA doesn’t reintroduce pre-ordering since most major airlines have it, even just on long haul. That would save money, waste, and make customers more satisfied!
So far, the reaction has been less than positive, so let’s hope it doesn’t stick.
BA told the Independent, “Following customer and crew feedback, we’re trialling some changes to the meal options we offer on our shortest flights because it’s become increasingly challenging on such short journeys for our teams to heat and serve a hot breakfast and for our customers to enjoy these comfortably.”
What do you think of the trial? Do you think this is acceptable for a Club breakfast on a 90-minute flight?
Air France/KLM Flying Blue status match results
Even if you did not make use of the last Air France status match, it is interesting to see the results of the promotion that Air France has now released. I did take advantage and now hold Ultimate status as a match for my then GGL. I would say so far, and from feedback from others, the perks and personal treatment you get are much better than BA with personal service and lots of upgrades (I think I only had one or two in my whole time as a GGL that wasn’t because of a seat failure).
Flying Blue, the loyalty programme of Air France and KLM, was first to launch a status match back in January, as a response to the changes the largest British airline made to its loyalty programme.
The loyalty program offered a £99 status match offer, which many TLFL readers found tempting. I find the number of flights booked extremely interesting. That is a decent chunk of flights that would have most likely been booked with BA before.
Here are the stats:
- Numbers of applicants: Within three months, over 4,000 BA customers across the UK had their status match request approved. They can choose between 18 UK departure points served by Air France and KLM, including regional airports without BA services such as Bristol, Cardiff, Humberside, Norwich or Teesside.
- Travel benefits: 95% of the status-match customers acquired Flying Blue Gold status or above, enabling them to enjoy lounge access, priority services, and other privileges when flying with Air France, KLM and SkyTeam partners.
- Flights booked: 17,500 flights were booked by this specific group through the end of August. Around 60% of the status-match members booked at least one flight with Air France or KLM. On average these active travellers have booked 7 flights so far.
- Destinations: Flying Blue members are using Air France and KLM services to Paris and Amsterdam or connect beyond to destinations across the globe. Many of them are also taking advantage of the direct travel options with SkyTeam partners including UK flights operated by partners Virgin Atlantic, and Delta Air Lines to the US.
- Booking premium cabins: Around 60% of the revenue has been generated by bookings in premium cabins, underscoring a demand for elevated travel experiences in Premium Economy, Business Class as well as First Class (La Première).
Benjamin Lipsey, SVP Customer Loyalty – President Flying Blue at Air France KLM Group said: “The strong uptake of our status match offer in the UK highlights Flying Blue’s ability to quickly adapt and deliver meaningful benefits to frequent travellers. We are delighted to welcome so many new members who are embracing the Flying Blue experience and choosing to fly with us – especially in our premium cabins – as they explore the world with Air France, KLM and our partners.”
Did you take part in the status match or try KLM/Air France recently? Let us know your experiences in the comments below.
20% off Accor hotels promotion
I recently wrote about a number of Accor points promotions, and now there is an actual money-off sale. To get the discount you need to book via the app. This usually means that you won’t be able to use most cashback sites but 20% is better than you would get anyway. You can also combine it with your discount for being an ALL member. Accor has some decent luxury brands such as Fairmont and Raffles so this could be a valuable offer.
To qualify, you need to book a stay of two nights or more between 25 September and 9 October 2025 for stays from 24 October to 10 December 2025 on the Accor app. You can find the code to download the app and the official promotion page here.
16 comments
I fear the problem is, there are few viable alternatives that add a better catering experience in business class on short haul European flights to create a bit of competitive spirit.
(Thus far) BA’s Club Europe catering is fairly decent – they at least provide a choice of meal generally.
Comparing with the other euro airlines:
Lufthansa & Swiss – pretty bad. A cold ‘meal’ with only one option – which is take it or leave it – on flights of up to about two hours.
KLM – a cardboard box with disposable cutlery and cold items.
Air France – again mainly cold meals and with no options.
Austrian at least usually serves a hot dish although no options available.
Iberia actually has one of the better intra-europa catering experiences I have had.
The problem is, there just seems to be no competitive advantage to actually improve the short haul business class offering. It is the same with seating – the blocked middle seat instead of a ‘real’ business class seat – whilst your competitors are all raking in the cash with flexible business class seating capacity why would an airline lose out by enhancing the product?
It is a shame in a way, but I guess it is what the market is willing to accept (and not willing to pay for).
British Midland, BCAL and AirUK all used to serve a hot breakfast once entire passenger compliment on the EDI-LON routes. I wonder if this trial is really about operating flights with fewer crew plus achieving associated hotel cost savings on the night-stop?
BA are BA – they seem to have a new CEO…..is it 2TK??
Trying to say the market is not willing to pay for true business class is facile. For a return flight to Edinburgh – £400 I think warrants those cabin crew to find a way of serving a decent hot breakfast. Equivalence with European operators is analogous – there is a culture of cold Euro breakfast so most customers don’t want it. Not the case for BA.
I also did AF/KLM status match to gold and tbh, the business offering of both partners are 100% better than the BA business class. My last AF business was as good as a recent Etihad flight. My last BA to Houston was, at best, mediocre.
I’m at the stage where I’,LL be happy to say goodbye to BA.
Oh the good old “from customer feedback” LIE that’s used to justify every Cruz-esque bean counter slashing. So glad I’m done with this shower of 💩
I had BA new breakfast. What a disappointment.
The lounges are so busy you can often not find a seat So the breakfast was a good choice and often to a better standard to that in the lounge.
It is meant together Business Class do please can we have some service with quality as should be fit a national carrier
Turkish airlines fit in a full hot meal service on their Istanbul / Ankara 60 minute flight.
It’s a bit of a manic process, especially the clearing up but great service and value for money especially as a lot of passengers are transiting from somewhere to Ankara.
Yep-so many other airlines do a full service on short flights- Istanbul- Ankara is a good example. BA just can’t be bothered with maybe adding an extra member of crew on these busy flights- it’s really not difficult- but I also think they do not care anymore!
Hate to go against the flow BUT I am quite happy with the cold breakfast. The crew rush like mad to get a hot breakfast served and cleared up and I’ve never been a fan of egg in the air!
This is not about time constraints. I can recall when hot meals were served to all BA passengers on domestic flights to and from Aberdeen on the Heathrow route.
As Catherine Tate’s Nan would say; “what a load of old ……….”
Do BA management forget that the whole plane was served a hot breakfast on domestic routes until fairly recently? They seemed to do it comfortably and there was always a second offering of tea & coffee.
Anonymous spokespersons are a real annoyance. Not only do they seem to have a lack of understanding of their customers, the business and its past, but in this instance it appears they’re telling the public that their crew are incompetent.
I fly Club Europe quite frequently, sitting in a row 2/3 by choice. So often the “cold” breakfast choice Cold meats / Cheese or Smoked Salmon runs out with Row one if say 2 people select it. Pre-ordering would be a good choice. Sometimes there is upwards of 8 business class rows when travelling to Spain, Greece etc. Surely BA must realise more than 2 people will order the Cold choice. In my opinion Fresh fruit, Pain au Chocolate and Raspberry bowl is not acceptable.
I took the flying blue status match despite having lifetime gold with BA. I have made several flights with Air France to Paris business class and I even went to Dubai with MEA in business class. I have five flights in my diary in the coming 3 months this including an SAS to New York in December and an economy to Dubai in November with Air France . The service is excellent and I’ve already guaranteed platinum for 2026 and I’ll be two thirds of the way to platinum for 2027. Had BA not butchered their own scheme I would have chased GGL. Not only did I give up but a Swedish friend of mine who was aiming for gold immediately switched to Flyibg Blue.
“Customer feedback” – do BA really think we are that stupid? That said, on a recent flight London to Newcastle – 45 minutes – there were 9 rows of club so it was a mad rush for the crew to get everything out. But they did along with champagne…
Maybe they need to limit the size of Club Europe to a level in which they can manage to serve a suitable level of service.
Recent LHR-EDI flight had 11 rows of club! 44 pax. The poor staff worked hard but row 11 must have got their afternoon tea as the aircraft was starting it’s decent!
Travelled LHR-EDI Club last week. I don’t mind being subjected to a trial but if it’s that different to what was before, why not communicate with passengers upfront so they can plan ahead accordingly. I quite enjoyed what was offered but was looking forward to a cooked breakfast.
I’m very much for preordering a meal on all flights, say at time of booking. If you have a dietary requirement, you can already do this so why not for all. Alternatively, for short haul flights encourage passengers to eat beforehand in the lounge. Again, communicate!
Boarding. Board Club passengers first then like the COVID way of boarding, start from the back. There were over 40 Group 1 ticket holders on our return flight, chaos at the gate!
Club passengers obviously generate more revenue so if there is demand for those seats on a flight, I guess the airline will want to reduce economy rows in favour of Club. Providing a meal service which is easier for crew to deliver all makes good business sense. I too remember the days of the shuttle when all onboard were offered food and drink, and plenty of it!