British Airways cuts the new Club World business class meal service – before it even rolls out

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• RIccatti says:

  7 Jan7 January 05:44

  Only one question, how are Cathay/SQ/Qatar crews manage to do things and requests, and it for BA it turns out to be “unsustainable” to serve a meal if there is salt and pepper shakers/or more than one kind of bread roll involved.

  Also reminds me one time, when flying in AA business, I have made a bed and found a crew member sleeping in the bed I made. Cabin manager only raised her tone of patronising voice and hinted that she will report to authorities if I create any issue. High comedy.

  • Jim says:

    7 Jan7 January 11:14

    Its called cost-cutting.

• MansNotHot says:

  7 Jan7 January 06:10

  Am I the only one who finds it extremely bothersome with how much space the new bedding takes up – seems to cause an issue particularly on landing when there is a sold out CW cabin and the crew are faffing around to find space because the floors need to be clear

• Lesley Clare says:

  7 Jan7 January 06:38

  British Airways management … There lies your answer !!!! The management don’t do the job ! Also surely simpler nutritious meals could be served rather than al a carte

  • JAXBA says:

    7 Jan7 January 07:46

    Some will read your suggestion of ‘simple’ to mean basic/cheap; for some reason, some people actually place a higher value on what something cost than its actual quality/taste. I.e. If the meal only cost £2 to make, or the bottle of wine is ‘only’ £20, it *must* be bad.

    Serve something simple and the accusation will be that it’s low quality.

  • Paul says:

    7 Jan7 January 11:27

    A la carte and BA- that’s an oxymoron!

• Phil Gollings says:

  7 Jan7 January 07:26

  It is getting more obvious that on a long haul flight on BA the only objective is to give the staff as much rest as possible. On a recent Hong Kong flight it was like they had come from another job to serve the awful food, one drink and then all go and hide until the soggy pastries. At times there was no one in the cw galley, but there was a sleeping crew member for the odd hour. It was also a hassle when you asked for a drink.
  On a cheaper Qatar or Emirates flight you are constantly asked if you want anything. That is on top of having a clean and comfortable seat.

  • Anna says:

    7 Jan7 January 09:01

    Perfect excuse to forage round the CW kitchen/bar!

    • Stupot says:

      7 Jan7 January 09:36

      Forage is exactly what you would need to do. Slim pickings there.
      Why is this about crew rest. Make them do the job properly like other airlines do!

      • Richard G says:

        7 Jan7 January 10:51

        On the subject of, I assume that’s only supposed to be for Club World passengers? Last flight I was on it seemed to be being used more by the WTP passengers in the section in front (of which I was one)… wasn’t long before the club world lot would have found themselves with nothing at all.

  • Jamie says:

    7 Jan7 January 12:12

    Qatar/Etihad/Emirates are heavily subsidised to the sum of billions – whatever their faults the likes of BA, Qantas, AA etc are never go to compete with that so it isn’t really a fair comparison. If you want the best service for the best price, Qatar et al are always going to win – although unless you’re going to the Middle East/Australasia it’s probably not the most convenient route!

    • Rob says:

      7 Jan7 January 12:22

      They are not subsidised directly – my wife finances EK planes at commercial rates. What they have are multi-runway 24/7 airports with new fuel efficient aircraft in what is now the worlds central hub.

      BA paid nothing for its Heathrow slots which now sell for $75m per pair. I could go on.

      • Catalan says:

        7 Jan7 January 12:37

        Air France paid nothing for CDG slots, KLM paid nothing for AMS slots, Lufthansa paid nothing for FRA or MUC slots. I could go on 😉

• Hunter says:

  7 Jan7 January 07:35

  I assume (hope) that the new White Company bedding is also being rolled out in First? Just that only Club World is ever mentioned.

  • JAXBA says:

    7 Jan7 January 07:48

    AFAIK, just a new F pillow from TWC. The mattress cover and duvet haven’t changed.

• JP says:

  7 Jan7 January 07:35

  No surprise. As a Gold card holder (only because I have to fly some BA routes but an invitation level loyalty with a US carrier despite being London based) I have witnessed BA cuts across 10 years leaving me flying them only when there is no other choice. I flew LHR-SFO in First a few days ago and the food choice was utterly abismal – chicken tikka masala? I remember when that was the economy chicken option. BA is is a continuous free fall to ruin with premium cabins. When will Cruz and Walsh get fired? Not too soon.

  • ed says:

    7 Jan7 January 08:26

    Funny you should say this! My partner and I are flying to LAX in a week and we literally started laughing at the dismal pre-order menu which highlights the chicken curry you probably suffered (or a good old slab of overcooked BA beef).

    I’ll be interested to see if we get the new bedding or that old scratchy blanket that I wouldn’t deem good enough for my dog.

    • Nick says:

      7 Jan7 January 10:43

      LOL! 🙂 Yes, in my experience over the past 10-15 years on transatlantic routing BA seem incapable of serving anything but totally dry, overcooked fillet when it’s available. Now, American (and US Air previously) have always got it right! I avoid at all costs with the former!

    • JP says:

      7 Jan7 January 19:11

      Ed – I assume the white duvet like thing was the new White Co bedding – it was better than the old blankets although I found it too narrow to fully cover me. I didn’t order the curry…couldn’t bring myself to…the piece of grey fish with a stodgy thick pasta thing supposed to a raviolo was no step up though! The amuse Boucher was a piece of salami and a hard lump of Parmesan. Classy.

• JP says:

  7 Jan7 January 07:39

  Oh and the first seat and cabin were filthy. Muck on the floor, rubbish from previous passengers down the side of the armrest, crumbs on the seat, chipped paint on the screen..I could go on. BA is a disgrace.

  • Darren says:

    7 Jan7 January 10:41

    Maybe the previous passengers should clean up their rubbish before departing.

    • Paul says:

      7 Jan7 January 11:31

      They do this on short haul dressed up as recycling!

      • Darren says:

        7 Jan7 January 15:59

        It’s not recycling, it’s common decency. Why leave your rubbish for the next passenger, I despair when I see the state of some cabins on departure.

        BTW that doesn’t excuse the carrier, a clean/safe environment in any class should be a given and if advertising a first class product then that’s what you should expect. BA does lag behind others in this area.

• Ian says:

  7 Jan7 January 07:43

  Off topic…

  Anyone else noticed transfers from Tesco Clubcard to BAEC taking longer than normal?

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