British Airways launches a new Speedbird Cafe menu for your short-haul Economy flights

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• Save East Coast Rewards says:

  14 Jul14 July 07:47

  Buy on board has been available for a while (all this year for sure), it’s definitely not true that you needed to pre-order a coffee. Ordering is done over the on-board WiFi usually and I’ve not been on a BA service where they push through a trolley taking orders but apparently that’s an option when the wifi ordering isn’t working. If you can’t use the wifi based system you can still ask the crew to get you something.

  The on-board menu was limited, basically drinks (although not champagne, that is pre-order only, but most of the other stuff is there) and snacks. Nothing substanttial in the way of food. No sandwiches, pies, etc. As you say “Only selected ambient (ie non-perishable) food items are available without a pre-order” it sounds like nothing has changed on that front.

• H says:

  14 Jul14 July 07:50

  Would anyone have any knowledge of
  what BA’s Club Class offering is for long haul
  departing at about 9.30 a.m. please?

  • Doomonger says:

    14 Jul14 July 08:00

    A pack of Percy pigs

  • WaynedP says:

    14 Jul14 July 08:44

    Imagine you’ll start with breakfast, which should be similar to that served on my May Club World offering:
    • Chilled Orange juice
    • Yoghurt, muesli & strawberry compote
    • A selection of warm breakfast pastries from the bakery
    And a choice of one of either
    • Traditional British Breakfast : scrambled egg, bacon, seared pork sausage, hash brown potatoes, mushrooms, tomatoes
    OR
    • Cheddar Cheese Omelette : creamed spinach, potato cheesecake, vine roasted tomatoes

    Perfectly edible and does the job, but as frequently pointed out on HfP, not much of a step up from countless other adequate one-tray breakfasts I’ve been served on countless ECONOMY flights in my lifetime.

  • Rob says:

    14 Jul14 July 13:18

    Long haul, until the end of October they are still doing ‘mini meals’ anyway – small portions, served at once on one tray. Doesn’t really matter what you get as there isn’t much of it anyway!

• Matthias says:

  14 Jul14 July 08:12

  The steak & ale pie is lovely indeed, but it is also really tiny!

  • Doommonger says:

    14 Jul14 July 10:24

    No surprise there Matt, have you seen the prices at his pub the Gand and Flowers £80 for fish and chips … fooking outrageous 🙁

    • John T says:

      14 Jul14 July 12:29

      Goodness I’ve just looked up the menu. All desserts £26.50.

      They are the most expensive desserts I have ever seen.

      • bafan says:

        14 Jul14 July 15:57

        You have not gotten around much then!

        • Mutley says:

          14 Jul14 July 17:03

          Probably doesn’t frequent the sort of establishments that you do🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

        • Mike says:

          14 Jul14 July 21:05

          A fool and his money are easily parted

• Paul says:

  14 Jul14 July 08:17

  If only their marketing department ran operations. The images of cold beers and over stuffed sandwiches look great and are very slick.

  Sadly what you get is some crushed item in cellophane and you can guarantee it wont look like any of those images.

  • Luke says:

    14 Jul14 July 09:08

    If it turns up…

    and the plane itself turns up.

• flyforfun says:

  14 Jul14 July 09:28

  I flew KLM for the first time in years this week. 4 sectors out of LCY to the south of France and back. I was surprised to receive a wonderfully tasty and chunky almond macaroon on the 1st leg. Down to Montpelier and back was a fresh tasting cheese sandwich with tasty sourdough bread (none of that Chorley method abomination bread) with a tomato spread, They still server free drinks including beer! I overheard a crew member say to a pax, “of course we server beer, we’re a Dutch airline”. The return LCY leg was clear unbranded bag of salted crisps. So easy, so quick. Yes, less choice, but you don’t feel like you’re being nickel and dimed every step of the way.

  Also, clean planes, smiley happy crew and even the gate attendants were mostly jolly! The Shengen passport control is the one downside to quick transfers, but I managed my connection home despite a 45 min delay.

  • Oliver says:

    14 Jul14 July 10:43

    Same as Air France, they are basically the same company. A nice sandwich or pack of biscuits with free drinks in short haul economy. No onboard menu. Lovely and sophisticated crew for my few flights this year so far.

  • SP says:

    14 Jul14 July 13:49

    If you fly BA from LCY you’ll get a snack and a free drink

    • Martin says:

      14 Jul14 July 14:21

      My last flight from there was like the old days. “You said you wanted two beers, didn’t you?” I didn’t, but if you insist…

      • Erico1875 says:

        14 Jul14 July 18:20

        We did BA economy PMI to LCY. Snack was a coronation chicken sub and a shortbread cake. 2 drinks given out no problem. LCY to EDI was just a packet of crisps. Drinks if we wanted though.

        • Rob says:

          14 Jul14 July 20:21

          LCY catering is totally different to BA mainline – CityFlyer is a separate company, separate head office, separate management team.

• E says:

  14 Jul14 July 09:46

  The range of savoury food items i.e. sandwiches is still pretty poor. Whilst I am a Tom Kerridge fan I think I;d be happier if they sold a wider range of sandwiches or whatever, and perhaps some hot savoury meals too, such as pizzas or ready meals for the longer short haul flights.

  If easyjet can manage it, BA should be able to.

  • SH says:

    14 Jul14 July 10:49

    Maybe M&S sandwiches, perhaps? Oh, wait…

    • Mike says:

      14 Jul14 July 21:06

      M and S sandwiches that would be a great idea

      • Rob says:

        14 Jul14 July 21:40

        They only loaded 1-2 even when they offered M&S buy on board, because BA originally made Tourvest take revenue risk on unsold products. Even when this policy was reversed there was no major change in availability.

  • TimM says:

    14 Jul14 July 11:00

    Actually easyJet don’t manage it very well anymore. There was a time when EJ had a limited choice of drinks and food and the cabin crew never stopped serving them. Now they have an over-bloated menu selection and every food choice requires a trip to the galley to prepare it. Result: only one food & drinks service on my last 3 hr flight.

    Two generations ago, when food was included in the standard airline fare, service had to be efficient and there was little or no choice. In an effort to maximise choice and minimise storage for it, service levels have become unacceptable.

  • SP says:

    14 Jul14 July 13:46

    On my recent Easyjet flights I’ve been advised in advance that there would be no fresh food available to buy on board. The bar on the last flight was pretty much empty as it hadn’t been replenished in three days and the flight was delayed because no food was loaded for the crew, so they had to go into the terminal to buy something. The grass is definitely not always greener!

• Mike says:

  14 Jul14 July 10:05

  This is very dull food — all shades of beige!

  I think I’ll stick with my airport Pret or meal deal.

• Chris Cannon says:

  14 Jul14 July 10:14

  You forgot to finish the headline with “which you can’t order because either the WiFi doesn’t work or the items weren’t loaded in the first place”. Seriously BA are a crock of shit and I’m seriously questioning my loyalty

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