Flapjack or banana bread? We try BA’s new short haul economy snacks!

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• Tony says:

  2 Oct2 October 08:54

  So the millions of diabetics in the world get….nothing! Those cakes are pure sugar.

  • Andrew. says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:32

    It’s not as straightforward as that.

    Flapjacks are usually 50% oats which are slow release, about a third butter which is all fat, and then about a 1/6th sugar. So there’s going to be around 4.5 grams of sugar in a 28g oat bar.

    That’s about the same amount of sugar as in 28g of grapes, and a third of the sugar in a banana.

    • HW99 says:

      2 Oct2 October 09:38

      Have tried both the new bananna bread & flapjack, and that flapjack tastes so sickly sweet. Had to buy a bottle of water just to get the taste out my mouth.

    • Numpty says:

      2 Oct2 October 09:52

      50% + 1/3rd + 1/6th = 100% or 8/8ths 😉

      • TimM says:

        2 Oct2 October 11:37

        3/6 + 2/6 + 1/6 = 6/6 is the way of common denominators (of which I am).

• Paul says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:07

  I’ll need them to supply a magnifying glass too to be able to see that !

• yorkieflyer says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:13

  Or get nothing last Friday in CE down to London, “ a catering issue” . They had a full bar but couldn’t open it due to some mumbo jumbo

  • Jonathan says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:33

    Get onto the BA CS dept !

    • yorkieflyer says:

      2 Oct2 October 12:12

      We got a £10 voucher and they’re blaming a tunnel closure so to be fair extraordinary circumstances. It’s the no bar when it’s onboard I don’t get

      • Londonsteve says:

        2 Oct2 October 22:18

        What is a ‘tunnel closure’? Heathrow is nowhere near the Dartford tunnel, the Hindhead tunnel or indeed, the Channel Tunnel, so what bleeding tunnel are they blaming this on? It really is a litany of calamities and excuses with that airline.

        • Rob says:

          2 Oct2 October 22:29

          As I understand it, the tunnel closure meant that catering vans had to leave and re-enter the airport to reach aircraft which meant additional security screening. The extra time taken per delivery meant that there wasn’t the capacity to service all aircraft.

• Robert says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:15

  A very token change….BA are still very much at close to the bottom for full service carriers on their offering. So when I travel to Istanbul on BA I get a little snack the size of a credit card and a small bottle of water in economy…..If I travel on Turkish Airlines in economy I get a full meal, free drinks, newspapers , inflight entertainment and better legroom…….this is how far BA is from the rest and yes Lufthansa quickly being more miserly….but Lufthansa still ahead of BA in many respects. Nothing is moving forward with BA. Being part of IAG has definitely not benefitted BA where an inept management in Madrid tell equally inept BA leadership team lacking any innovative ideas to do as their told. BA offer cost cutting and stripping the product. Anybody can do that!

  • Jonathan says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:23

    That’s why if you fly to Istanbul, providing you’re not in dire need of tier points, don’t bother with BA, and fly Turkish Airlines instead ! They’re going to be more expensive, but you get the comfort of flying a proper airline who knows how to treat all customers, something we won’t be ever thanking Alex Cruz for wrecking during that dreadful period of BA

  • JDB says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:30

    When trying to compare TK to BA or LH, I think you perhaps don’t recognise the structural advantages TK has over the European legacy carriers (many of which have gone bankrupt). These advantages apply also to US carriers, the ME3 and to an extent to the European LCCs. The corporate baggage, much of which the legacy carriers cannot shed is a serious burden/competitive disadvantage. It’s not really surprising that TK offers more than BA on the same routes, yet BA flights are busy and I think a bit cheaper as a way of keeping seats for transfer passengers.

    • Londonsteve says:

      2 Oct2 October 22:23

      You frequently raise the issue of the headwinds that legacy European carriers have to face and I understand the nature of these, but I fail to understand why I as a mere paying passenger should care? Should I not restrict myself to comparing what I receive for a given amount of money and choose between carriers based solely on these factors?

  • William_T_Fish says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:32

    I flew to Istanbul on BA last month and this was the ‘meal’ service. 4.5 hours in the air + 1 hour on the tarmac warranted a cake and water going out, with flapjack and water on the way back. Absolute joke. Part of my group went with Turkish Airlines and got a light meal.

    • lumma says:

      2 Oct2 October 13:13

      If you can get on the widebodies, I’d prefer Turkish economy over Club Europe on that route.

      Although to be fair, Turkish business is crazy expensive for London to Istanbul

      • Paul says:

        2 Oct2 October 16:35

        Because it a real business class. Proper seats, often lie flat, IFE, great catering.

• Jonathan says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:19

  I was on an extended Europe flight with Lufthansa, and they were serving beer, they only gave a one filling for all sandwich, and a small chocolate towards the end of the flight

• David says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:22

  On my recent flights from Gatwick to Kos we didn’t even get a small bottle of water – just a plastic cup and water poured from a large bottle. Talk about cutbacks ….

  • Londonsteve says:

    2 Oct2 October 22:27

    Yes, for some reason Euroflyer serves water from a large bottle into a plastic cup. You need to request it when the trolley comes round trying to sell cafe products, it’s not handed out to everyone unlike the small bottles of Harrogate spring on mainline BA from LHR. To be honest, I prefer the Euroflyer approach as it minimises waste and not everyone necessarily wants a glass/bottle of water whereas everyone seems to take the bottle when offered it during LHR flights.

• r* says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:23

  I’m curious if BA think this is an upgrade or if its a cost saving measure.

  If its cost saving, thats just sad, if they think its an upgrade, perhaps they should offer pretzels alongside the cakes and see what ends up being being left in the galley.

  • Jonathan says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:32

    Funny thing that when a The Times /
    Sunday Times journalist was chatting to Sean Doyle, it was implied that he’s trying to unwind all of his predecessor’s extreme cost cutting measures, then not too long afterwards, Rob posted an article about how young travellers are dealt with when flying, and things were changed by the then CEO (or under that awful leadership), as again a silly cost cutting corner. I can’t remember the full ins and outs of it, I don’t remember reading too much into it, as travelling with children isn’t a problem I ever find myself in

  • Rob says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:31

    I doubt it’s cost saving – the pretzels were not exactly hugely expensive – but neither is it much of an upgrade.

    • Londonsteve says:

      2 Oct2 October 22:32

      The flapjack and banana cake will be way more to procure than the tiny bag of pretzels but we’re talking pence. Somebody, somewhere within the airline clearly thought it’s a wise investment in the ‘onboard customer experience’ whereas I’d suggest it doesn’t move the dial and is therefore money down the drain. Swapping a savoury snack for two extremely sweet bites without also offering free tea and coffee feels like a mismatch whereas at least the water served to extinguish the saltiness of the pretzels. I never thought I’d hanker after the days of the half sandwich and sticky bun with a free drink from the bar, but I really do. That and 34 inches of legroom!

• Pat says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:32

  Used to get a snack and small bottle of water with BA. Not any more last two times I have flown with BA to and from Faro, Portugal have received a small snack and small plastic cup of water.

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