British Airways pre-ordering of meals starts today for flights from 1st December

Back in August I reported on the rumours that British Airways was about to start allowing the pre-ordering of food in Club World and First.  This has now become a reality with the service set to launch on December 1st.  World Traveller Plus is also to be included.

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.

With the new BA scheme, you will only be able to choose from the standard menu for your flight.

Today is the first day that you can pre-order a meal via ba.com.

The initial batch of routes will be:

Las Vegas (Heathrow departures)

Phoenix

Rio de Janeiro

Vancouver

Dallas

Seattle

More routes will be added in 2015.  You can book from 30 days before departure until check-in opens.  If all has gone to plan, if you are flying these routes between 1st December (the launch date) and 18th December (30 days from today) you should find an option to select your main course available via ‘Manage My Booking’ at ba.com.

My initial concerns about this scheme remain.

It is a logical conclusion that British Airways will now be able to reduce the number of spare meals loaded for other passengers who have not selected a meal, 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 World Traveller Plus or Club World stop you being upgraded? At present, it is BA policy not to upgrade passengers with a special meal request.  This may or may not end up also applying to passengers with pre-ordered meals.

Let’s see how it goes.  We should get the first pieces of feedback in the next few weeks.

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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (October 2024)

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:

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

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.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Avios. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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