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British Airways improves short haul snacks in Economy, and makes lounge loos unisex

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The longest journey starts with a single step, so we should roll out the red carpet for banana cake.

Unfortunately I wasn’t suppied with any photographs of the banana cake, but from 9th August, the bag of pretzels you are given in the British Airways Euro Traveller cabin is being replaced with it.

If banana cake isn’t your thing, you can also choose sultana flapjack.

A320neo airbus

These are, I admit, slightly bizarre choices – I suspect chocolate cake and plain flapjack would appeal to more people – and we have still to see the portion size. I would be pleasantly surprised if it was the same size as a standard pre-packaged corner shop flapjack. I suspect neither are gluten free.

The ability to offer much else than a piece of flapjack is hampered by the reduced galley facilities on the newest short-haul aircraft, where additional rows of seats were squeezed in instead.

The trial of free tea and coffee in Euro Traveller on selected short haul routes such as Amman and Cairo may also return – it ran for a couple of weeks recently as an experiment. Whether a free cup of tea is acceptable as ‘refreshments’ on a five hour flight is a different question, but it’s better than a bottle of water and a pretzel bag.

To be fair, Royal Jordanian (to Amman) and EgyptAir (to Cairo) run long haul aircraft on these routes for anyone who wants a flat bed in Business Class or more space and full meals in Economy – and Royal Jordanian offers Avios and BA tier points to Amman too.

Flying to India?

There is good news if you are flying to Delhi or Mumbai. All cabins will now get a second hot meal during the flight.

The airline has also announced that ‘chilled snacks’ will be placed in the Club Kitchen on these routes.

IFE improvements too

British Airways has also confirmed the completion of its IFE upgrade, which has doubled the number of items available. This includes the addition of Paramount+ content and a total of 395 movies and 770 audio titles. It does seem as if BA is getting competitive in this area, at least in comparison with other European airlines.

Heading to the loo?

In toilet news (and this was not part of yesterdays announcement, but I wanted to slot it in somewhere), British Airways has made the loos in the Galleries First and Concorde Room lounges at Heathrow unisex. I’m not sure about other lounges in Terminal 3 and Terminal 5.

It never made a lot of sense to have separate male and female loos, given that none contained urinals, and it led to unnecessary queues at times. A full refurbishment of these loos remains well overdue.

Is Calum the man for the job?

How much of the above reflects the appointment of Calum Laming as Chief Customer Officer remains to be seen.

If you thought that being, say, leader of the Conservative Party or Manchester United manager was bad for job security, it is nothing compared to being the British Airways ‘Chief Customer Officer’.

The first person to hold the title was, I think, Frank van der Post. Frank joined from Jumeirah Hotels, the Dubai-based hotel group with a strong reputation for customer service. Despite being well liked in the frequent flyer community, Frank left in 2014 after four years, allegedly frustrated with not being given the money he wanted for investment.

Frank was replaced by Troy Warfield. Warfield only lasted 18 months. His appointment raised eyebrows at the time because he had no airline experience, having previously worked at Avis and Kimberley-Clark, where he oversaw Andrex in Europe.

Warfield was replaced in 2017 by Carolina Martinoli who had done a similar role at Iberia. She was later promoted to the IAG board as Chief People Officer.

Tom Stevens, previously head of airport operations for BA, picked up the customer experience mandate on an interim basis during the pandemic. He was confirmed in the role in early 2021. In early 2022, he had a sudden desire to “pursue his ambition to work overseas” to quote BA.

Let’s see what Calum can do.

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Comments (300)

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

  • John says:
    2 Aug2 August 05:39

    “British Airways has made the loos in the Galleries First and Concorde Room lounges at Heathrow unisex.”

    They’ll probably denounce that as “chilling wokery” in The Telegraph and demand Sean Doyle’s head by the end of the week. Apparently the toilets at GB News are also unisex…

  • Marc says:
    2 Aug2 August 05:43

    Re. in Flight entertainment improvements, I’d love to see the use of the inflight wifi to provide flyers on short haul to access the inflight entertainment. Recently travelled internally in Australia and both Qantas and Virgin Australia had free WiFi and access to inflight entertainment via their app. I assume due to the competition of one doing it. Would be a game changer for BA in Europe!

    • Paul says:
      2 Aug2 August 07:26

      Be very careful what you wish for. AA have done this and went one stage further, they removed the screens so you use your own device. 5 hrs from LAX to HNL watching your phone is a pain

    • Matt says:
      2 Aug2 August 07:29

      But what BA short haul aircraft provides IFE screens now?

    • Gordon says:
      2 Aug2 August 08:39

      I was happy to find Jet Blue had free Wi-Fi on a couple of internal US flights recently. Tbh I was impressed with the service as a whole. They turn pax away from the boarding gate that try and board out of line! Take note BA….

    • Alex G says:
      2 Aug2 August 12:36

      JAL have free WiFi, IFE, and offer you a soft drink on short internal flights.

      (And of course the ground staff wave the plane goodbye when you leave, and neatly stack the suitcases on the conveyor belts when you arrive. Ahhh, civilisation.)

      • BigDave says:
        2 Aug2 August 13:02

        AirCanada YYV to YYC very short flight screens for every seat and free softdrinks

      • Gordon says:
        2 Aug2 August 13:15

        Sorry did I Forgot to mention,

        JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach, free brand-name snacks + drinks, free wi-fi along with live TV and movies at every seat – all with award-winning service.

  • Jenny says:
    2 Aug2 August 05:47

    I’ve never had the pretzels, but think the previous crisps were the best option. I doubt the new cakes will be suitable for the many people with gluten or dairy intolerances / allergies whereas crisps suited almost all diets.

  • Andrew J says:
    2 Aug2 August 06:01

    There are two urinals in Galleries First at T3, so I guess they will remain for those who identify as male, or they will be removed.

  • Expat in SJC says:
    2 Aug2 August 06:04

    Galleries Club South also unisex. T5B had unisex signs up on the loo doors but still had the male washroom sign up in the hallway by the whispering pink bar.

    • kevinchoi says:
      2 Aug2 August 07:16

      yep can confirm as well, the ones in Galleries South are unisex when i was there on Monday

    • Trevor says:
      2 Aug2 August 14:24

      I noticed this back in June. I wrote to BA and asked for clarity as the signage was contradictory. Outside signage says single sex washrooms, inside signage says unisex. BA sent a generic cut and paste response which ignored the question asked.

  • Steve says:
    2 Aug2 August 06:12

    Although I support the equality not having urinals is such a waste of time for everybody. One toilet booth can easily accommodate 2-3 urinals, so the flow of at least males is much higher.

    And the mindless walking around trying to find the empty toilet in galleries just to wash my hands is the peak of non effectiveness. Whoever designed that probably designed the Schiphol airport as well.

    • Matt says:
      2 Aug2 August 07:38

      Yes. Urinals for men should have been a no brainer.

      Equality and equity/fairness are different things. Making everybody use the same loo is bringing equality in that area, but why would you want equality in that area?! The overwhelming majority of people will prefer gender specific loos, and it also gives the practical benefit of putting urinals in the men’s loo which as you point out is quicker and improves flow of men in and out.

      In the case of the current BA lounge where every cubicle is standalone unit with toilet and sink, then unisex makes sense. But it’s a crap design nonetheless.

  • JABS says:
    2 Aug2 August 06:30

    And little menus in CE this summer… Is that a return, I’m sure I remember them in the past (I could have imagined that) but haven’t had one for years!
    Looks like things are in the up 😉

    • Save East Coast Rewards says:
      2 Aug2 August 07:11

      Depends on the route. They have always been on the longer CE routes but not always handed out. Earlier in the year they made an appearance on domestics. This is because of the requirement to show calorie counts on meals in the UK. Sometimes I don’t get them on domestics but not sure whether that’s because they’ve not been loaded or the crew are embarrassed to hand one out for the afternoon tea offering where the menu would make a more filling meal than the actual sandwiches

    • Paul says:
      2 Aug2 August 07:29

      They have been back for quite some time but in true BA style their deliver is inconsistent. The one constant at BA is their inconsistency!!

  • Erico1875 says:
    2 Aug2 August 06:37

    Wow! If Callum really is responsible for these game changing decisions. then he really is the right ma.
    11zŹn for the job and worth the big buck salary.
    I just can’t wait for the banana cake on my next flight

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