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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.

  • VinZ says:
    2 Oct2 October 14:11

    I got one on my last flight, didn’t even open it.
    Never opened a single bag of those pretzels (chive and sour cream??? please…)
    Crisps were fine, the Belazu nuts even better
    But as a rule, I rarely eat on a plane.

  • Neil Cunningham says:
    2 Oct2 October 14:26

    I had the new snacks several times…. It’s a ridiculous waste of their money and I’m sure my chewing them uses more calories than they deliver. BA… don’t bother with snacks unless you’re serious!

  • Dev says:
    2 Oct2 October 14:28

    Its less than what you get on Air France – Half a sandwich, and a buttery biscuit or Madeleine.

  • Daniel says:
    2 Oct2 October 14:43

    On a short-haul flight, all I really want is a coffee (a bite of a snack is hardly going to solve anything) – so always appreciate the free coffee served efficiently by SAS. I have always found the bottle of water from BA rather miserly!

    • Londonsteve says:
      2 Oct2 October 22:45

      Free tea and coffee would cost BA probably less than a pound a flight (considering only about 30% of people will ask for either) but the reason I suspect they don’t offer it is the fact that some people will buy it for £3 a pop.

  • Julian says:
    2 Oct2 October 16:03

    Goodness not that long ago when a full cooked meal on London to Paris was the norm
    Remember superb hot breakfast on British Midland and on BASguttle to Glasfow
    How things change

    • HertsSam says:
      3 Oct3 October 00:17

      25 years ago I had to fly to Manchester for a few months. Had the choice between BMI and BA.
      BA was cattle class in terms of seating and a cold sandwich. Don’t remember about the drink.
      BMI was a proper seat with a hot English breakfast. And the breakfast was served, eaten and collected in the time it took to fly from LHR to MAN.
      And both were business class fares at about the same amount.
      Now I don’t remember the following exactly but on the return journey if the carrier you flew with outbound was full, you could walk across to the other carrier’s desk and fly on their plane. Definitley BMI accepted a BA boarding pass to get their plane home. No idea how it was paid for but didn’t cost me or my company any extra money.

      • Lady London says:
        3 Oct3 October 09:28

        It would be great if more such cooperation became general.

        • Dubious says:
          3 Oct3 October 13:13

          Difficult and expensive, but some H class fares via DUB might be possible, at least on the DUB-LHR segment:

          HV2RO
          “THE FARE COMPONENT MUST INCLUDE TRAVEL FROM/TO/VIA LON VIA
          INTERNATIONAL SECTORS ON
          ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING
          ANY BA FLIGHT
          ANY EI FLIGHT
          ANY IB FLIGHT
          ANY JU FLIGHT
          ANY OU FLIGHT
          ANY RO FLIGHT
          ANY FB FLIGHT
          ANY XK FLIGHT
          ANY RC FLIGHT
          ANY QM FLIGHT
          ANY WF FLIGHT
          ANY W2 FLIGHT.”

          The real issue today seems to be the lack of any alternative operator on the same domestic airport-pair.

  • Freddy says:
    2 Oct2 October 17:33

    8 pages of comments about a miniscule snack on BA. I had thought amex had swapped MR points for a yearly snack credit

  • Lady London says:
    2 Oct2 October 18:39

    Rhys I think your photo of the snacks we’d thought were normal size, placed on top of a British Airways Executive Club Gold card, immediately linking it to British Airways and yet revealing the pathos of its absolutely microscopic size… is genius.

    Surely this photo must win the 2023 Award for Most Evocative Photograph in both the Business and Leisure sections of the National Travel Photograph Awards?

    • Rob says:
      2 Oct2 October 19:26

      I thought the same when he sent it over. The photos I took on my flight did not come out anywhere near as well and I totally forgot to add some element of scale.

      Definitely Business Travel Journalism Awards material for next year 🙂

    • ChrisBCN says:
      2 Oct2 October 19:56

      This was a genius move. I’d like to see all BA meals measured by gold card. ‘the galleries bacon bap is precisely 0.8 of a gold card ‘

      • Michael says:
        3 Oct3 October 22:12

        Is this the real reason why BA no longer issue physical Executive Club cards? To avoid comparison with the meagre snacks offered????

        I also agree that complimentary tea and coffee would be an extremely cheap win for BA in terms of giving the appearance of hospitality. Might just be my Irish upbringing but it seems wrong to be offering snacks without tea or coffee….

  • Mayfair Mike says:
    2 Oct2 October 19:20

    158 comments (now 159) from supposedly affluent middle managersand worldly-wise adventurers analysing a bottle of water and a tiny flapjack my 6 year old could make at school 🤦‍♂️

    • Gordon says:
      2 Oct2 October 19:28

      Now 160! I will sample this snack on my next short haul trip in November to Berlin! I may be in need of some sustenance if I fail to gain access to galleries….

    • Peter K says:
      2 Oct2 October 19:33

      Maybe that’s the point. They don’t want something that a six year old could make (and eat in two mouthfuls) to be the main offering from BA?

      Doesn’t bother me personally as I don’t fly BA ET (not at my local airport, no gluten free meal if flight long enough to go to London), but maybe for some it does.

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