Brunchgate – aggressive BA service cuts resume

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• qc says:

  21 Oct21 October 11:36

  Meanwhile James Cleverly spent £655 a head on caterering on a day trip on a private jet to Rwanda
  https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/oct/21/james-cleverly-spent-655-a-head-on-in-flight-catering-for-one-day-trip-to-rwanda?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-5

  • Can2 says:

    21 Oct21 October 13:09

    are we surprised?

• PM says:

  21 Oct21 October 11:43

  We always say we won’t put up with BA’s behaviour and cost cutting. We were saying that after devaluations, after the way they treated staff during the pandemic, after vouchers fiasco, after IT meltdowns, after unpaid compensations, probably monthly throughout Alex Cruz’s race to the bottom program, and as recent as last week after Kuala Lumpur’s fiasco.

  But the truth is we are all BA gate lice. The truth is BA can push through with these nonsense because passengers accept it and there is no significant effect on revenues. Even if it comes, it comes with a delay, there are other contributing factors and it is difficult or impossible to attribute it to the specific operational modification. Unless there is a critical mass who are ready to change their habits, BA can test any cost cutting they want, even serving afternoon tea without the tea.

  • JDB says:

    21 Oct21 October 11:55

    The problem is that passengers make a big fuss on sites like this but rarely provide detailed feedback to the right people and just write to customer relations in the hope of an Avios bung to shut them up. There are just so many non serious complaints in the system that nothing sent to CR has any meaningful effect.

    • PM says:

      21 Oct21 October 12:02

      And the message gets further diluted by incidental BA users from no-frill airlines customer base who provide glorious feedback via post flight survey after boarding through a jet bridge for the first time in their lives or getting a complementary bottle of water on board.

      • Johnny Tabasco says:

        21 Oct21 October 12:25

        This is such an unnecessarily snobby and entitled thing to post.

        • Can2 says:

          21 Oct21 October 12:59

          You must be new to the forum

      • Jon says:

        21 Oct21 October 15:51

        What’s wrong with that? I’ve flown many airlines in all classes and I still remain able to appreciate small things that not airlines provide.

    • Sip says:

      21 Oct21 October 12:14

      I agree to a certain extent, for the ones who do and get like 50-65 GBP worth of compensation, they walk out ahead and BA ends up still coming ahead because they pay a few people for the compensation (a small rounding error), and still come out ahead for the cost savings from shortchanging the thousands of customers they serve.
      Personally, I very fortunately grew up flying Asian airlines and because of the competition in the region, it’s the other way around where food is the thing that airlines compete on (because as Rob said, alot of the other costs are fixed), I normally don’t even have the food on BA now when I need to fly them in club or (sometimes even) first and just prepare a bento for my wife and I.

    • Paul says:

      21 Oct21 October 12:57

      Complains via customer relations do get tracked (you’re right that not everyone will complain). But the biggest thing to hit them with is leaving a poor scores on post flight surveys, not just on the catering section, as this will hit NPS, then they will listen.

      • LittleNick says:

        21 Oct21 October 13:25

        I don’t always get a post flight survey? What then? Where else can I leave feedback/complain apart from the online portal?

        • meta says:

          21 Oct21 October 16:08

          I have written so many times to BA, filled countless surveys. In the last five years or so, never received a response. 10 years ago, I used to receive a call from CS the moment I filled in the survey.

          Now I use my money and Avios to fly other OW airlines on long-haul. There are plenty of options.

• Jonny Price says:

  21 Oct21 October 11:44

  To be fair on BA – I was once on the 8.30am flight from LHR to JFK and was served fish for lunch around 10.30am. I had breakfast in the lounge and, whilst the lunch was fine, I didn’t want it mid morning. I do understand that serving brunch mid morning is more appetising than an early lunch. However, as you rightly point out, I would definitely want lunch at 1.30pm (and not brunch), so the 11.29am departure cut-off for brunch feels far too late if you won’t be eating for a couple of hours. I suggest the cut-off should be 9.59am and any departures after 10am should get the normal lunch service. Or – perhaps even wilder – just serve lunch a bit later in the flight for those departures in the morning.

  • John says:

    21 Oct21 October 21:52

    You actually had the fish at 5.30am.

• Gerry says:

  21 Oct21 October 11:53

  I used to be a BA loyalist, going out of the way to fly BA and retaining BA Gold for almost 15 years. Remember a survey that was sent out periodically with a question “Do you feel like BA cares about you?” — I was selecting “yes”. That’s how I genuinely felt. But that was a long time ago…

  Now I feel like BA doesn’t give a crap and makes ridiculous cuts like this one. How much will they save per pax – 15 quid? And lose serious business flyers – like me?

  I finally let my BA Gold lapse… soft landing to silver but I will probably drop further to bronze this year…

  I now fly a broader selection of airlines (JL, NH, SQ, UA, AZ, KL, AF etc this year…). Don’t really care about the status that much as most of my flying is J anyway. And I noticed that even when I’m at HKG or NRT, I prefer other dining options to airline lounges (which are pretty good out there). BA lounge food offering – no need to comment.

  • Xmenlongshot says:

    21 Oct21 October 14:31

    I’ve genuinely steered away from them, down from longer term silver to now blue. Will instead get Miles & More Senator this year – not always better but United, Swiss and Austrian gives some better options (as will Lufthansa once Allegris is rolled out)

• David says:

  21 Oct21 October 11:57

  Just extraordinary. I was GGL before the start of Covid and am now a happy Blue member vowing never to fly BA unless there is no alternative and keeping my membership active only to redeem Avios on Qantas domestic flights. I fly to Australia three times a year from London in First or Business exclusively now on SQ and I have never been happier. On Thursday I shall depart LHR at 1125 and will be looking forward to my chicken satay (served with a fork as I once asked for a fork a few flights ago and it has appeared every time since…the wonders of a good CRM system and an airline that values service) followed by Caviar and book the cook Lobster. Such a contrast.

• LittleNick says:

  21 Oct21 October 11:57

  This is disappointing, the food combinations does sound very strange even if not tried it. Even if it tastes ok/good as some have suggested it’s still all a bit odd. When I flew to San Diego earlier this year in club, the light meal before landing was a chicken and tarragon pie, it was so dry, and next to no chicken in it, I left most of it and I’m not the fussiest eater, I will generally eat almost anything but this was not nice/inedible. First meal was nice though but for an 11 hour flight, would have expected the 2nd meal to have been a much better standard and a full meal.

• LittleNick says:

  21 Oct21 October 12:00

  Going Transatlantic, who are better alternatives for food in Business? Don’t say Virgin please as that’s also gone downhill, maybe not to this extent, but seems like BA are trying to out do Virgin in providing worse food. Who’s better/best? Open to European carriers too?

  • Alastair says:

    21 Oct21 October 12:35

    I would say Virgin…especially as you can pre-order. I normally go for whatever variation of chicken curry is on the menu and have yet to be disappointed as this is an ideal meal to heat up on an aircraft.
    And then the second service is always miles ahead of BA too (you actually have a choice of something hot rather than take-it-or-leave-it afternoon tea).
    And on the return Virgin will happily serve you a full meal at midnight NYC time and then another full breakfast just before arrival if you’re that hungry.

  • Gerry says:

    21 Oct21 October 12:45

    I’ve been a big fan of AF for TATL recently – but that requires a change obviously. I do enjoy the tasty/refined food and service.

    There’s the SQ from FRA but that’s more of a curiosity than a viable solution with just one flight a day that requires an overnight in FRA given the timing of the flight. But it is better than BA, just for completeness.

    Otherwise from LHR direct, I don’t see a huge difference between BA, UA, AA, DL anymore… Each one can have a better or worse day. I tend to avoid VS due to the a/c lottery.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      21 Oct21 October 15:51

      Worst airplane meal I’ve had in the past 5 years was AF J DXB to CDG

      The lounge was miserable and crowded at CDG too

      • LittleNick says:

        21 Oct21 October 21:55

        @THLoyalty, you just dashed my hopes of thinking AF was the answer!

  • Joe says:

    21 Oct21 October 13:05

    As much as I hate to admit it. In my experience if you’re flying direct from London food is actually best on BA or Virgin in business. Even if this change is utterly ridiculous the quality of the equivalent service (ie breakfast on UA vs breakfast on BA) will be better quality. That doesn’t mean that I’ll pick a BA breakfast/brunch service over getting a proper meal on a different airline at lunchtime.

    • LittleNick says:

      21 Oct21 October 13:26

      Thanks all for your comments and suggestions

  • meta says:

    21 Oct21 October 16:13

    SQ from Frankfurt. Emirates from Milan.

• Mikeact says:

  21 Oct21 October 12:37

  Bragging rights…..it was never, ever, like this on Concorde or other airlines prior to ‘loyalty’ schemes, and I’ve flown, a lot.
  All my wife and I ask nowadays, is, please, just get us there safely .

  • JDB says:

    21 Oct21 October 15:24

    I think you should ask also for on time, a modicum of service and cleanliness!

    Re the old days, yes both BA and AF Concorde offered better food than any airline in 2024. First on Aer Lingus, Swissair and Air France were European standouts, but BA was right up there. Even US airlines like TWA and Pan Am offered a better service and F&B quality than anyone today – perhaps that’s why most of these airlines went bust!?

    In general, airline food has declined markedly since the 1980s when there was far less choice but the quality was incomparably superior. I would much rather less or no choice but that it was proper food.

    • Mikeact says:

      21 Oct21 October 20:59

      In my opinion, the only product that beats any airline today, is AirFrance, La Première.
      ‘Magnifique.’

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