NEWS: British Airways – food and drink on board update & July flights

22 comments

1. Very good update Michele, thank you. It is unbelievable to me that BA – a company forever trumpeting its environmental credentials – still intends flying from LHR to places like Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle, given the current climate emergency. You can get to Manchester by train in two and a half hours from London, Newcastle in three, Edinburgh in four and a half and Glasgow in five. I cannot see any logic – commercial or moral – in continuing these routes. Now, we know that BA is an ‘immoral’ company – look at their current proposals for sacking and then re-hiring flying staff – but it still baffles me. Where is the environmental and socially responsible leadership one might expect from the company?

   1. I prefer the plane to the train, so once I’m back heading from GLA to MCO, odds are I’ll be taking a connecting flight to London. Others, I suspect, will add to the commercial reasons for BA to maintain the route.

2. David, you obviously don’t live in Manchester. Try getting from a Manchester suburb to Heathrow in 2 hours! More like an hour to get to Manchester City Centre, 2 hours 15 on the train and then an hour from Euston to Heathrow. That’s 4 hours 15, then the transport is so unreliable you’d need to leave at least 2 hours earlier than that to make sure you don’t miss a connection etc. Even leaving home 6 hours before I was due to arrive at Heathrow, I would be nervous of making it on time. At least if you have a connecting flight booked you are covered if you miss a connection, and don’t have to drag your luggage across London. And Manchester is the closest of the cities you mention!

   If BA abandoned those routes, I can guarantee you we would all fly KLM, Air France or Lufthansa instead. Nobody would be making the treck to Heathrow

3. Belfast is well worth a visit (once things open), especially Titanic exhibition and hotel.

4. We have just lost our Leeds/Bradford to Heathrow flights, which seems crazy as Leeds is a business and finance hub in the North which is ‘up and coming’. Channel 4 are relocating, perhaps they will regret that move now! We have never flown on an semi full let alone empty flight whatever day or time we flew.
   Michele suggested that it was easy to get to Manchester, perhaps never having done this journey in winter or when the M62 is blocked!!!!
   Now David is suggesting going by train, again perhaps without experiencing the journey.
   We need BA to realise that if we do not have a service to Heathrow then KLM will be our chosen carrier and no one will be trying to get to Heathrow for a BA flight.
   Rant over. Thank you.

5. Thanks Michele,

   Many people are saying that their will be a “new normal” in the post COVID 19 pandemic world – and I think that airlines will be a prime example.

   It may well become a case of “do you remember when….” However I would like to think that Business and especially First travel can once again become something to get excited about, and that a product can be offered which passengers find aspirational.

   Cheers for the update.?

6. On short-haul, it was crisps and water on the way out to Berlin two weeks ago. Then crisps, a cookie, water AND a hot drink on the way back last week. Same for passengers in J – not sure I’d have been too happy about that, but it felt positively luxurious in the back 🙂

7. Interesting about BA’s comment that they expect the restricted premium cabin to be “temporary”. I am currently contemplating upgrading a late 2020 LHR – BOM avios flight from CW to F and this comment probably prompts me to do so.

   Thank you

8. Thank you for the update. It is rather worrying.

   I have first class flights booked Manchester/Heathrow/Toronto in August. If the flight is not cancelled but is still operating without any of the first class services (ie. Concorde room, decent food on the flight and alcohol etc) then surely I should be able to successfully challenge BA for some kind of compensation/partial refund.

   If I had pre-booked a hotel for dinner bed and breakfast but the hotel knew they would not be providing the food, then I am sure they would give the option to cancel or accept the lack of service at a reduced rate. I don’t understand how BA can withdraw everything yet still charge the same price.

   I’m really just hoping the flight is cancelled.

   ps. I love this website. The first e-mail I open each morning is the TLFL daily update. Thank you.

   1. You’d think so, but I had this problem before. I didn’t get a meal at all because they gave the people in front of me the choice of the chicken or the vegetarian meal. When they got to me, having booked a vegetarian meal, there were none left. I made do with some crisps. When I returned home I raised a complaint, and was told that “the food is complementary, and isn’t part of the ticket price”.

      On your point about hoping the flight is cancelled. I had a Business flight booked for 2nd May for a holiday, which obviously couldn’t go ahead because of the pandemic. BA said they “absolutely are still flying to New York”. While that might be technically true, the FCO advised against all non-essential travel, which this was. BA’s stance is that they’re still flying so if you want to cancel, it’s on your back, and they’ll take a delicious £35pp fee for the privilege.

      1. According to the info on the BA ‘my booking’ page I am not entitled to change my booking or request a voucher because I made my booking before 3 March 2020. I have no clue what the significance of that date is.

         So frustrating!

         1. Hi Sarah, I too booked just before 3rd March, before the current pandemic hit. Strangely enough if you booked AFTER the pandemic became an issue and you were due to travel before the end of 2020, you can claim a voucher. It does seem that BA are unfairly penalising those of us who booked in advance. Given the current issues in NYC and the reduction in quality of service on the flights that are operating, I think I may just take the £35pp hit and defer my travel until next years Vegas sojourn!

9. Spending my own money and flying for leisure what’s the point of paying thousands for a (much) bigger seat, no lounges, no drinks onboard and Ryanair microwaved food? How long will it be until the previous Business/First offering returns, if ever? Currently Premium Economy seems the best bet for any sub-8(ish) hour flight. Guess in the short term I’ll be turning right. I wasn’t going to cancel my Qatar Business flights in November but it’s looking attractive; I’ll rebook P/E and have the deposit for a new car.

   1. I agree completely. I certainly will not even think about booking first class until a near normal service is resumed. I could kick myself for making my first class booking back in February – I’m now stuck with it.

10. I have a question for you for which I’d appreciate your thoughts. We are due to fly to ALC 25th July with Easyjet, our flight and the following 2 later flights now show as ‘sold out’, do you think this flight will be non operational? As Easyjet only inform pax of cancellations around a week before departure I wonder if it might be a good idea to change to the earlier flight which is still free of charges.

11. Michelle, BA have not reduced the number of Avios required for First LHR-LAX in July, mainly 100K one-way. Is there any justification for BA not to offer a partial Avios refund when they plan to offer such decreased services? Perhaps you could ask them if they intend to compensate us.

    1. Hello David

       Today I filled in a ‘You First’ assistance form asking BA a very similar question to yours although I was enquiring about cash refunds for decreased services as I have paid almost 10k for my first class flights to Toronto (I booked in February).

       The response I got was that they are hoping to get back to a ‘reasonable level’ of service and a ‘reasonable normal’ by August and that things are going to be reviewed at the end of June.
       ‘There is unfortunately no partial refund to be processed as the hard product is the same’ – that was the summarising sentence!

       I’m not impressed.

12. I just flew back from Vancouver with American as it was the only option as BA could offer. The flights were good I would say 50% full and on the long haul flight from Dallas they served up what would a standard service from BA…so is AA can do it then BA need to move into gear

    1. That’s interesting to hear that AA have a normal service.

13. Shocking approach from BA re the reduction in the services and refreshments being offered. They show no contrition and far from trying to placate those with bookings in the more exclusive classes, they seem hell bent on provoking them further with refusal to reduce fares in line with the reduction in quality of service. I was recently banned from the British Airways subreddit by some tinpot dictator wielding the banhammer simply for suggesting/insisting that these measures are less about safety and more about cost cutting. If it was truly about safety, then they would simply ground all flights. It is clearly not. Just take a look at their dreadful business practice with firing their staff, all the while using public money for the furlough scheme. If IAG do have the billions in liquidity that they claim to have, then surely they ought to be a little more honourable than they currently are.

14. I’ve just cancelled my First class BA flights to Toronto for August. I couldn’t stand the uncertainty. It cost me 1200 pounds for the privilege (300 pounds per person). The flights may well be cancelled anyway but I just needed closure.

15. Such a fantastic prize.

    I just love the British Airways Lounges, really make work trips easier and personal trips more pleasurable.

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