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

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Just over a month ago, British Airways replaced the free snacks it provides on short haul economy flights. Instead of a bag of pretzels or crisps, you now get a choice between banana bread or a sultana flapjack.

No images were forthcoming when the change was made, but both Rob and I had the opportunity to try them on our recent flights to Lisbon for World Aviation Festival.

This is what they look like:

British Airways economy snacks flapjack banana bread

They are hand made in the Cotswolds by Four Anjels Ltd. According to their website, they also produce own-label goods for Pret, Caffe Nero and Itsu.

Here they are, in the nude. Click to enlarge.

British Airways economy snacks flapjack banana bread

Now, I know what you’re thinking. How big are they? Well, I took some photos with a British Airways Gold card for scale – that’s the same size as your standard credit card. Don’t say we don’t offer a public service!

British Airways economy snacks flapjack banana bread

The dimensions of the flapjack are 6.5cm by 2.5cm by 1cm thick. The banana bread is slightly taller.

According to the packaging, the flapjack weighs 28g. This compares to 110g to 125g for the flapjacks in my local newsagent.

No weight for the banana bread is given but it is noticeably lighter. I wouldn’t be surprised if it weighed just over half.

The banana bread contains egg and wheat.

The taste test

Both Rob and I agreed that the flapjack is the clear winner of the two. I’m no flapjack connoisseur but it had the chewy, sweet oaty texture I associate with flapjacks. The small size means that you don’t get large pieces of sultana though.

The banana bread is less successful. It is extremely fluffy, and not at all like the more stodgy, moist banana bread I would normally enjoy or bake myself. The banana element is via puree (19% of the weight) and the cake has a light banana smell.

Conclusion

Whether you will prefer the new snacks versus the old ones will depend on whether you have a sweet or savoury tooth, I think.

(It also depends on when you are flying, as early morning services still serve a Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain bar instead of the new cakes.)

You do at least get a choice between two options now, whereas previously only one snack was stocked. If you didn’t like it then tough.

And, whilst small, a small bottle of water and a snack is still more than you can expect for free on virtually any other European airline in economy. Good luck getting much of anything for free in economy on Lufthansa.

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Comments (195)

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

  • vlcnc says:
    2 Oct2 October 09:45

    You currently get a snack with a choice of sweet or salty, and a drink including tea or coffee as hot options with ITA. I dread to think what Lufthansa is going to do it.. Although its a sad state of affairs that we have to be so grateful for such pitiful offerings. Long live the KLM Sandwich!

  • Catalan says:
    2 Oct2 October 10:12

    Why is everyone in such a ‘flap’ over this?

  • Peter says:
    2 Oct2 October 10:20

    I got EU261 compensation from LH paid into my account less then 48 hours after the flight got cancelled! With BA you are lucky if it takes less than 48 hours to get through on the phone

    • meta says:
      2 Oct2 October 13:41

      Lufthansa is just as bad. They are willing to go to court over 30 euros difference for accommodation as they’re ‘internal maximum’ is 165 euros, and I paid 195 euros, saving them the cost of the taxi as it was the last room available on the night at Frankfurt airport. Their lawyer even called me to say that he tried to persuade them to pay it up, but no luck.

      Stupid managements wasting their shareholders money on very obvious cases.

      • Lady London says:
        2 Oct2 October 18:28

        And I hope you pursued them meta? I’m surprised you found a room at the airport for only that much.

        Trivial amount that they hope you’ll let go, but think of how many passengers they are bullying with their greater mass and leaving ouy of pocket by their deliberate lawbreaking.

  • paul says:
    2 Oct2 October 10:41

    Definitely a slow news day then.

    I’d rather they remove the galley for extra revenue seats, give us £2 off our seat and continue to provide rubbish removal for my £5 WHS or Boots meal deal.

    • Rhys says:
      2 Oct2 October 10:46

      I think you’re flying with the wrong airline then!

      • yorkieflyer says:
        2 Oct2 October 11:49

        No, Short haul is just a bus, BA make a very poor effort at this, the key indicators being time keeping and reliability in which they score poorly. I only ever use BA for short haul to connect to their quite adequate long haul Club World product

    • Rob says:
      2 Oct2 October 10:47

      That’s why you’re not working in publishing.

      This will be our most read and most socially shared article of the week, probably by 50% vs the 2nd best.

      • JDB says:
        2 Oct2 October 10:56

        It should work out well then as in the next couple of weeks you should have the CMA decision on Heathrow H7 and whatever Amex has up its sleeve. Both topics seem to generate a lot of ‘expert’ comments .

        • Rob says:
          2 Oct2 October 11:03

          Yes, next week will be a good one 🙂

          Page views for Sep 2023 were up 24% on September 2022, even though we did try to front-run some more boring stuff towards the end of the month to keep the number down.

          30 million is now possible for the full year (plus 11m opened ‘full article’ emails) although at present it looks like we’ll be about 800k short.

          No-one is going to read an article on H7 though ….

          • dundj says:
            2 Oct2 October 20:35

            I’ll be honest, the H7 decision is something I have had on my radar and looking forward to reading. However, I know I’m in a tiny minority in these things.

    • TimM says:
      2 Oct2 October 11:56

      The meal deals (Boots or WHS) always involve something I don’t want. You can however choose from a selection of sandwiches (tuna-mayo, egg and cress or cheese & onion) for a little over a Pound each. Otherwise take your own. Security has never stopped me with cheese and water biscuits.

  • Ladyshopper says:
    2 Oct2 October 10:41

    Has the flapjack actually got a GF marking on the pack meaning they’ve used GF oats? If so then I’m impressed!

    • Rhys says:
      2 Oct2 October 10:45

      Aren’t oats always gluten free?

      • vlcnc says:
        2 Oct2 October 11:17

        In theory yes but I think for purposes of GF they have to be extra careful for those that are very sensitive in case of contamination.

        • Rhys says:
          2 Oct2 October 11:20

          It says on the back that it’s produced in a facility that handles other things including wheat and nuts

          • TimM says:
            2 Oct2 October 11:59

            I always find it odd when a packet of nuts has the health warning, “May contain nuts”.

          • Peter K says:
            2 Oct2 October 19:14

            Ah, so maybe not actually gluten free. Coeliacs are recommended not to eat products that ‘may contain’ gluten.

            Also, from the official Coeliac UK website, “The term ‘gluten free’ is covered by law and can only be used on foods which contain 20 parts per million (ppm) or less of gluten.”

      • Danny says:
        2 Oct2 October 13:59

        Cross-contamination in the manufacturing facility can mean they aren’t strictly gluten-free.

      • Ladyshopper says:
        2 Oct2 October 14:07

        Oats themselves are. However, due to the way they’re milled/processed, then coeliac’s can only eat oats that are marked specifically as gluten free.

        Therefore unless the flapjack specifically has a gluten free marking, it isn’t GF.

        It’s a bit of a minefield unfortunately.

    • yorkieflyer says:
      2 Oct2 October 12:10

      I thought GF was Goodfellas till mrs Yorkshireflyer put me right recently

  • Lynn says:
    2 Oct2 October 11:02

    I’ve seen bigger liquorice allsorts than those snacks.

  • whiskerxx says:
    2 Oct2 October 11:09

    “Now, I know what you’re thinking”

    I’m thinking – why are you flying in economy?

    • Rob says:
      2 Oct2 October 11:09

      We weren’t.

      We flew in Club and had the snacks sent up from Economy. That’s why we had both (in fact we had multiples of both).

      We also travelled on separate flights so our views were genuinely independent and not subject to any groupthink 🙂

      • whiskerxx says:
        2 Oct2 October 11:13

        Must try that next time. I’ll take an extra bag.

      • vlcnc says:
        2 Oct2 October 12:08

        And also even if you were what is the issue? You’re a blog covering the BA experience. Also not all of us think Club Europe is worth it (yes, yes, long time debate) so it is useful to know the offering.

  • Linda says:
    2 Oct2 October 11:35

    On the LHR to GLA flight on Thursday pretzels were still being offered…. As well as the water, of course

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

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