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British Airways Club Europe catering …. it’s coming home

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According to rumours on Flyertalk, which have been confirmed by a British Airways short-haul crew member I know who has seen the in-house presentation, the new Club Europe catering – rolling out from mid September – sees the return of scones to Afternoon Tea.

In fact, you can pretend that the last 18 months was a Dallas-style dream.

It’s goodbye to getting wine in tiny portions from full-size bottles – the individual bottles are returning (champagne remains in large bottles on longer routes, smaller bottles on shorter routes)

New British Airways Club Europe catering

It’s goodbye to the bizarre new zonal system which downgraded the catering on BA’s core European business routes – the old banding system returns

It’s goodbye to being served your meal a course at a time on longer routes

What is NOT going away are the small trays, due to storage issues with the refurbished and new aircraft.   Your wine glass will also be pre-loaded onto the tray.

This means – on longer routes where the main course will no longer be served separately – you will receive a tray with lots of very small plates on it and a wine glass.  That said, BA’s portion generally did not fill the plate space available …..

In all seriousness ….

We are told that the catering budget for Club Europe has been increased.  What is provided should be of higher quality than what went before.

We are also promised more frequent menu rotations.  Apparently the meal choices will be changing every two weeks, instead of every three months or so.

On longer routes where there were historically two hot options, an additional third cold option will be added.  This is being done for logistical reasons (the ovens only take 48 meals at once and a full cabin can be 50+) although it has the benefit of also increasing choice.

As usual with British Airways, the proof of the, erm, panini is in the eating.  However, as all of the cuts to long-haul economy catering have now been reversed, there is some hope here.

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Comments (88)

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

  • Jon says:
    23 Aug23 August 08:19

    Flying on 16th September in Club Europe to Split. What are the chances of it being rolled out by then? Do we know an exact date in mid-September?

  • Andrew B says:
    23 Aug23 August 08:40

    I flew Club Europe on Monday from TXL to LCY and was served a light meal complete with the infamous warm scones. Happiness…

    • ChrisC says:
      23 Aug23 August 09:45

      LCY has always been different from LHR and LGW.

      No BOB for starters!

  • Judge says:
    23 Aug23 August 08:45

    I do hope they are getting rid of those dreadful paninis. They actually put me off travelling Club Europe.

    Pleased to see the return of proper afternoon tea (not sure how they could call it “afternoon tea” when they weren’t serving scones!)

  • vlcnc says:
    23 Aug23 August 09:14

    I still don’t see the value in Club Europe. The food alone doesn’t make up for massive price disparity for what effectively is an economy seat albeit with a blocked middle seat…

    • Rob says:
      23 Aug23 August 09:23

      That’s fine, BA doesn’t care. 10% of its customer base is willing to pay more and it is happy to take some extra money off those people. That’s why Tesco has normal chicken (which on the back of the packet says “this chicken is from Thailand, it has already been frozen and defrosted once”) and Finest Chicken.

      However, for leisure trips for non-status pax it can be decent value in my view. If you’re looking at £50 extra return, which on a leisure route of Gatwick over a weekend it might be, the extra Avios, lounge access, fast track, priority boarding etc makes it a good package. If you need the tier points it is even better.

      • Nick says:
        23 Aug23 August 09:30

        Best put-down reply ever 🙂
        I do agree with you on that. Not sure about the changes though. Hot meal on ‘medium’, yes I can get on board with that. But on the long ones (ATH, HEL) I really like it being served separately, it gives you time to eat the (decent) cold starter before the hot main. And a return to economy wine rather than Club? No thanks!
        (The ‘individual’ wines are the ones from WT. The ‘full’ bottles are the ones from CW. Massive difference ????)

      • Catalan says:
        23 Aug23 August 09:30

        Totally agree! Plus (@vlcnc) most of the major European airlines have similar seating layouts in their business class.

        • vlcnc says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:14

          Yes and that is why business class is mostly pointless in Europe. It’s a total scam. If it was branded as “Premium” as many of the LCC are doing and sold at a lower price-point that would be reasonable but it isn’t and is laughable as a business product and highly-misleading. I get the feeling a lot of people buy into this purely because it is branded as “business” when it is anything but…

          • Rob says:
            23 Aug23 August 10:48

            BA does not want you in CE. They are happy you’re down the back. If everyone was willing to pay for CE it would be too cheap.

        • vlcnc says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:55

          Yes because I am not foolish and dim enough to pay for that as an offering. It’s poor value for money and most obviously agree with me.

          I am happy for BA to charge a premium for a premium product. But that is not what is on offer here. I think for someone like yourself it probably doesn’t matter as you have so much Avios you can easily burn it without much thought. But for most people I would say it’s poor value out of their miles.

        • will says:
          23 Aug23 August 12:25

          You can either pay one price and have no lounge access, no hold luggage, no food, no priority boarding or pay another, higher, price and have lounge access, free hold luggage, on board food and drink and priority boarding.

          The quality of those offerings and the value of the premium charged are subjective but I’m confident that having access to free champagne and boarding first qualify as premium relative to not having them.

          Whether or not it’s worth it is down the the individual and while their club cabins have high load ratio’s it’s a case of BA knowing their market well enough to keep the shareholders happy.

          We’d all like a flat bed, 3 bags, limo to the place and bottomless Dom P and fillet steak for £5, it doesn’t mean that someone can offer it profitably. I’d personally argue that few of us are willing to pay for the things we say we want and I’d back this up by the fact most of us travel on LCC’s these days for short haul and did so before the food, drink and baggage were taken away from economy with BA. Cause and effect need putting in the correct chronological order.

        • vlcnc says:
          23 Aug23 August 12:40

          No one is asking for anything unreasonable on a premium cabin in short-haul. It’s very easy to dismiss these legitimate concerns as wanting what one can’t have but the product should at least reflect quality and value for money I don’t believe it does. The premium charged is not worth what is offered.

          As for your last point I am someone who would have previously flown with BA in economy short-haul over an LCC before but don’t now – in fact my favoured carrier in Europe now is easyJet who at least don’t have miserable crew and offer a comparable product at much better value for money. On short flight there has to be more of an incentive to upgrade as people are more likely to be happier with a less premium experience for a shorter amount of time given the cost.

          Rob himself has made this point before – there is no point in BA competing on price alone. It doesn’t even make any sense given BA’s hub and the effective limitations that has.

      • vlcnc says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:08

        I think those people are fools. It is very poor value money or miles wise. If you have status there is even less reason for this as you get lounge access anyway.

        I do take your point about tier points, but I think getting into that business of doing things just to acquire something regardless of value is foolish.

        • Genghis says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:47

          I agree with you. Personally, having status, the only extra value I really see is the food (with a seat with less legroom than an exit row) which isn’t worth it in my view.

        • Rob says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:52

          For a family of 4, CE works well with 2 rows.

          Everything is relative. You might buy Finest Tesco chicken, someone on minimum wage may buy Tesco Basic and call you a fool for paying more.

        • vlcnc says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:56

          Yes because I am not foolish and dim enough to pay for that as an offering. It’s poor value for money and most obviously agree with me.

          I am happy for BA to charge a premium for a premium product. But that is not what is on offer here. I think for someone like yourself it probably doesn’t matter as you have so much Avios you can easily burn it without much thought. But for most people I would say it’s poor value out of their miles.

        • vlcnc says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:59

          Apologies not sure what happened there with replies – too many threads!

          That is fine Rob but as I said the chicken comparison doesn’t work as BA are effectively selling a dressed up “basic” chicken as “finest”. My point it is not good value for money or reflective of the quality received.

        • Genghis says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:59

          Indeed, everything is relative. However, paying for quality chicken (not Tesco finest but from the butcher), I can see the quality as it’s not pumped with water. I’m therefore willing to pay the difference as there is something tangible.

          But I see paying the extra for a meal on CE for a seat with less legroom not worth the difference.

          As with everything, different strokes for different folks. I’d rather “waste” my money eating at good restaurants but others think I’m stupid for it.

        • vlcnc says:
          23 Aug23 August 11:08

          @Genghis: I am exactly the same and obviously this is my opinion. As an open minded person I am willing to change my mind when weighing up arguments but I guess I just don’t see the justification for spending extra for the quality that is offered by CE. I also think for people who not as Avios rich as Rob might be, it would be poor use if miles for the experience and for cash ticket buyers, poor value for money.

        • Chris says:
          24 Aug24 August 10:28

          I applaud that you are not foolish or dim enough to buy something that you don’t want (well done), and I suggest most people don’t buy things that they don’t want. However, perhaps you are not smart enough to realise that other people put value on things that you don’t see value in. For example, I place a huge value on a guaranteed empty seat next to me, it reduces the likelihood of an overweight person spilling onto my seat to zero.

      • vlcnc says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:18

        Also the quality comparison with a supermarket chicken doesn’t work here. As BA are basically selling “normal chicken” as “finest chicken” as you put it and staggeringly people are falling for it! ????

      • vlcnc says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:27

        (At £50 it might be reasonable, but it is rarely that cheap!)

        • Catalan says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:33

          Wow! How’s that for a monologue 😉

        • Rob says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:45

          The point is that it SHOULD be priced so high that 90% say No.

        • vlcnc says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:46

          I am not sure how it is a monologue when I am responding to statements others have made.

          Just because someone posts a retort doesn’t mean that their comments become truth and prevail over the others. I have actually patiently challenged each point made which is more than most people do. And I have yet to see a good justification for the extra expense CE entails.

          I respectfully disagree about the value of CE as it currently is and I know for a fact there are a lot of people on here.

        • vlcnc says:
          23 Aug23 August 10:48

          @Rob: I agree that there is an element of it being a more exclusive cabin – my point is it is poor value for money. Low grade food, economy seating, slop in lounges is not worth the inflated extra cost charged.

        • Andrew says:
          23 Aug23 August 16:19

          My own monologue (though I agree yours was not one)… I flew economy recently as a silver card holder, got the exit seat with the middle seat blocked, and bought plenty from BoB which was really quite nice. But I couldn’t help but miss Club Europe. My reasons were:
          1) Almost every CE flight I’ve had has been lovely and peaceful, including one where my friends were down the back in around row 14 and had a horrible flight with screaming children and raucous stag dos. I had absolutely no idea of any of this. Combination of distance, the curtain, the engines drowning it out…? Anyway, there just wasn’t the same peace sitting in economy.
          2) Having an absolute guarantee of the blocked middle seat – I think it does make a difference. I sat next to a guy on a flight to Addis Ababa once (in economy, before my points obsession) who acted as if he was looking for something for the whole 8 hours. He was constantly twisting and turning, leaning forward and then slamming back against his chair, half getting up and then sitting down again. I don’t know if it was some bizarre form of exercise but I was ready to kill him by the end, as I imagine was the poor person whose tray was attached to the back of his chair.
          3) It’s a lot easier to nip to the loo (often) and have a window seat if you’re in 1A/1F without pissing your neighbour off, and there isn’t usually a queue.
          4) I like the meal service as it breaks up the journey and I’m a sucker for hot food.
          5) The separate CE buses at LHR are a nice touch these days, if not a bit ridiculous when you have two rows of CE.

      • shd says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:51

        Would love to know how many BA routes have any cheap CE “I” r/t fares priced at only £50 more than the cheapest ET “O” HBO r/t fares.

    • David says:
      23 Aug23 August 09:38

      If it’s all about the seat, best no mention CE @ LCY.

      But it’s not, its about the lounge, the baggage allowance, the onboard, and .. the free seat (except at LCY)

      • Judge says:
        23 Aug23 August 09:53

        CE via LCY is my favourite short haul product, despite the lack of lounge, fast track security or free middle seat. The service, catering, leg room and small cabins more than make up for it.

  • Peter K says:
    23 Aug23 August 09:26

    Bet they aren’t doing a gluten free version ????

  • Tomasz Skrzypczak says:
    23 Aug23 August 09:38

    Can’t read more about BA, it’s just pointless! I don’t fly business or first, looking at their economy class, they are like Ryanair with A380 and 747 to me. Get rid of that low cost CEO and get somebody who understands quality. Bring back quality to BA!

  • ChrisC says:
    23 Aug23 August 09:44

    They need to get rid of the awful bread in plastic they serve on the tray with the ploughmans afternoon tea.

    It’s absolutely awful. Made the mistake of trying to eat it once. Never again! Does no one at BA try this stuff before inflicting it on passengers? The wastage must cost a fortune. Just serve a normal bread roll instead.

    • Matt says:
      23 Aug23 August 10:04

      Agree the ploughman sandwich is VERY poor quality. Sometimes that is all that is left in CE when they get to me. I always make a point of saying “Thanks for the stale ploughman’s”. The Barcelona business route, usually at a minimum of £200 return deserves better…

      • shd says:
        23 Aug23 August 10:54

        Being offered “a ploughman’s lunch” in CE when the flight departs at 16:15 local time (and arrives LHR at 17:15) seems more than a bit silly.

      • ChrisC says:
        23 Aug23 August 12:36

        Sandwich?

        I’m talking about the ‘meal’ which is a small pork pie, some cheese and salad and some pickle. Plus the dessert cake.

  • Mark R says:
    23 Aug23 August 10:13

    Hot or cold scones ?

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