British Airways to allow pre-ordering of food in Club World and First

British Airways is on the verge of rolling out a trial of a pre-order food service, Business Traveller reported last week.  This will allow passengers in Club World and First to specify their choice of meal in advance and be guaranteed to receive it.  At present, non-status customers can find that their first choice of meal is not available.

This is NOT a version of the Singapore Airlines ‘Book the Cook‘ service.  Singapore allows you to pick from a substantial range of meals – there are 20 different main courses available for a First Class passenger departing London, including lobster thermidor – so you know that you will be getting something you want.

The British Airways version, based on what has leaked out to date, will not be like this.

My understanding is that it is effectively a cost-cutting move to reduce wasted food.  You will only be able to choose from the standard menu for your flight.  The airline will then be able to reduce the number of meals loaded for other passengers, reducing the chances that they will be able to have their first choice.

Rather like pre-selecting seating, you are likely to find that you will HAVE to pre-select your meal – whether or not you like picking your food weeks in advance – because the chance of getting what you want onboard has shrunk.

This leads to another question …. would pre-selecting your meal in Club World stop you being upgraded?  At present, it is BA policy not to upgrade passengers with a special meal request.  If BA did allow you to choose a meal which was not on the on-board menu it would almost certainly block you from an upgrade.

To be fair, we do not yet know the full details of this service so it could turn out to offer genuine benefits.  Expect an announcement in the next few weeks.

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As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

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There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

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British Airways American Express Credit Card

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You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

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There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

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Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.