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BREAKING: British Airways ‘buy on board’ menu published

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Now showing on ba.com …. full analysis tomorrow. The obvious question seems to be ‘Where is Colin the Caterpillar?’.

Note that:

“Club Europe (short-haul business class) customers will continue to be offered a full, complimentary menu, which is being improved and revamped from spring 2017 as part of the changes to short-haul catering. Further details will be released on the changes nearer the time.”

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London City and Stansted flights will retain free food and snacks until next Summer. Despite rumours, there is no word on free items for status passengers.

This is a cut and paste from the website:

London Heathrow and London Gatwick

From 11 January, we’re upgrading our food offering in our short haul economy cabins (Euro Traveller and UK Domestic) on flights to and from London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

We’re proud to be partnering with Marks & Spencer, another iconic British brand, to offer you a new ‘M&S on board’ menu that will replace the complimentary service currently provided. You will be able to select from the seasonally inspired menu and buy your food and drinks in one easy transaction.

M&S on board sample menu

Enjoy delicious sweet and savoury treats from British food favourite Marks & Spencer when travelling in our short haul economy cabins, Euro Traveller and UK Domestic, to and from London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

Here are just some of the exciting food options you can look forward to on board.

Fresh food

Classic Fruit Salad £3.10
Includes pineapple, melon, mango, apple, kiwi and blueberries.

Yogurt with Summer Berry Compote and Crunchy Granola – £1.95
Reduced-fat Greek-style yogurt, blackberry and blackcurrant compote and granola with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

Mature Cheddar Cheese Ploughman’s – £3.00
Farmhouse cheddar cheese with vine-ripened tomatoes, pickle and lettuce on malted brown bread

Aberdeen Angus Beef and Red Onion Chutney Bloomer – £4.75
Soft onion bloomer with Aberdeen Angus beef, red onion chutney and tangy mustard.

Bacon Roll – £4.75
A soft white, buttered roll filled with succulent smoked British bacon. Served hot.

Mozzarella and Tomato Focaccia – £4.75
Buffalo mozzarella, juicy vine-ripened tomatoes and fragrant basil pesto dressing on pesto focaccia. Served hot.

Spiced Chicken with Quinoa and Rice – £4.95
Spiced chicken with quinoa, rice and a smoky tomato salsa.

Savoury snacks

Oriental Snack Mix – £2.00
Sesame-coated roasted cashew nuts, edamame soybeans, and roasted corn with puffed brown rice all with a soy and five-spice seasoning.

Hand Cooked Crisps – £1.00
Salt and Vinegar, or Lightly Sea Salted.

Nut Assortment – £1.60
A selection of almonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts and hazelnuts.

Wasabi Peas – £1.60
Roasted green peas with a punchy wasabi flavoured coating.

Something sweet

Percy Pig – £1.85
Soft fruit-flavoured gums made with fruit juice…an M&S classic.

Salted Caramel Hazelnut Millionaire Biscuit – £1.45
Made without wheat and deliciously gluten free.

Chocolate Pretzels and Candy Popcorn – £2.45
Milk chocolate-covered toffee popcorn with popping candy pieces.

Super Nut Fruit and Seed Flapjack – £1.45
Soft, chewy all-butter flapjack.

Drinks menu

Choose from a wide range of hot or cold drinks when travelling in our short haul economy cabins, Euro Traveller and UK Domestic, to and from London Heathrow and Gatwick.

Hot drinks

Java Republic Coffee – £2.30
Twinings Tea – £2.30
Cadburys Hot Chocolate – £2.70

Soft drinks

Pip Organic Orange & Apple Juice (200ml) – £2.70
Vita Coco Coconut Water (330ml) – £2.70
Folkington’s Elderflower Presse (250ml) – £2.20
Appletiser (275ml) – £1.80
Harrogate Still or Sparkling Water (500ml) – £1.80
Coca Cola or Diet Coke (330ml) – £1.80

Alcoholic drinks

Spirits (5cl mini bottles) – £4.50
Assorted range including Bombay Sapphire, Johnny Walker Red, Smirnoff Red, Baileys Irish Cream, Bacardi and Jack Daniels.

Mixers (150ml mini bottles) – £1.50
Assorted range including Schweppes tonic water, slimline tonic and ginger ale.

Red or white wine (187ml) – £4.50
Prosecco Bottega Gold (200ml) – £6.00
London Pride (330ml) – £4.00
Becks Lager (330ml) – £4.00
Magners Original Cider (330ml) – £4.00


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Comments (135)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Save East Coast Rewards says:

    Nice to see London Pride back on short haul economy but £4 for a 330ml can? On VTEC it’s £3.95 for a 500ml bottle of their own Hop on Board ale or less for a can of Stella (full size, not sure if it’s 440 or 500ml).

    For the average customer it means now there’s no difference to the low cost carriers. At the minimum they should have kept tea, coffee and water free to differentiate from the LCCs.

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    You had me at “Percy Pig”!

    In a way, I think this is good. M&S is a great ambassador for the UK, and whilst I take a mild form for miffedness about having to pay, having a choice of great food rather than poor food, but having to pay isn’t bad.

    You do get what you pay for, however. My single flight from LHR to MAN was 4000 avios + £15. Not much movement for lunch in there

  • Uksil says:

    No mention about the excuse that is ‘Business UK’, guess everyone on a domestic flight will fall under the same umbrella!

    • BD701 says:

      Good point, I fear you are correct. I guess one answer would be to eat in the lounge beforehand.

  • Bob says:

    £6 for a gin and tonic… Well, we’ve been saying that CE doesn’t offer enough extra – it seems that they’re opening up the gap by lowering Economy more than raising CE. It should become easy enough to drink the price difference to CE if no free booze in Economy.

  • Mark E says:

    I’m booked to fly with them in July, when I booked it was clear on the website that I would get some kind of free refreshments. I might see if they will still honour something

    • Egg says:

      I would also like to know this.
      Booked in July for March next year

      • Kinkell says:

        Just heard on radio 4 finance programme that all BA customers with flights booked will get emails saying from 11 Jan , no longer complimentaryf&b in economy. Alex Cruz extolling the virtues of how 1000s of folk wanted BoB and how absolutely BA was definitely not turning into a LCC like easyJet. That this new ‘enhancement’ was for a short haul, defined as less than 5 hours.
        Oh well, for us from Inverness, easyJet to LGW or LTN is way cheaper than BA to LHR, including rail fares.

  • BD701 says:

    If it’s anything like my Thomson flight back from Kos last week, where they’d ran out of all sandwiches and hot food. Only crisps and muffins left.

    There’s going to be a lot of hungry passengers willing to pay, but no food.

  • Nick says:

    The race to the bottom continues. I would have at least expected Silver and Gold members to get complimentary food and snacks. As it is we have to collect extra plastic bags when going through security to use for taking food from the lounge on board! Paying for luggage, paying for food, paying for drinks including water is what one expects from a low cost carrier. I am currently an IAG shareholder and a Gold executive member but beaming increasingly disenchanted with the airline. Since Alex Crud took over, the strategy seems to be aimed at attracting more low cost economy leisure passengers whilst reducing the benefits to premium business passengers. I don’t see the logic as the end result must be a reduction in high margin business and first custom and and an increase in low margin business. That can’t bode well for the share price.

    • Bob says:

      Or the strategy is to entice more people to move to CE because of increased difference in offer, move the curtain back by several rows – if they displace Economy passengers to EasyJet, so be it.

      • Nick says:

        I think the problem with that strategy is that many companies will not permit their staff to travel short haul in a business cabin.

        • Andrew says:

          No business class on BA domestics from Heathrow anyway…

          • Paul says:

            No there isn’t but if your are connecting from domestic over LHR then you could be paying a J or F fare and still having to pay for a cup of coffee!!!

          • Alan says:

            Indeed, this is pretty poor – they could have offered free voucher in app/printed on BP in these situations

  • Ed says:

    When travelling with work the free booze is quite a selling point for me to pick ba over other carriers for domestic travel. As I’m sure will be case for many others. Now cost and timings will be everything

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