Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Is British Airways ending its brunch service?

Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission.  See here for all partner links.

In an unsurprising move, we believe that British Airways has decided to roll back its much-maligned brunch service.

Our source believes that it will end in February.

There is already some respite this month because Christmas meal options have been added over the festive season.

Brunchgate - aggressive BA service cuts resume

It’s fair to say that the Press Office was sitting on the fence when we asked for confirmation:

“We trialled our new brunch offering with customers during the summer and it received good customer feedback so we rolled it out across 24 flights.  We want our customers to be happy and we will listen carefully to their feedback on the changes.“

We are still to meet someone involved in this mysterious trial. Let us know if it was you!

What happened with brunch?

Introduced on 15th October, the British Airways brunch service replaced the previous meal pattern which served breakfast on flights departing before 8:30am and lunch afterwards.

Breakfast was in effect extended under the new menu, with brunch served on all flights departing from 8:30am until 11.30am.

In reality, because a flight that pushes back from the terminal at 11:30am isn’t at cruise until an hour or so later (particularly at Heathrow, which is often congested), passengers were being served brunch well after midday. Those in the rear of very large Club World cabins might not get their brunch until 1:30pm – time, I think, when most people have moved on from eggs and bacon or waffles!

Brunchgate - aggressive BA service cuts resume

Whilst the brunch service didn’t exclusively serve breakfast items, it did lean heavily in that direction.

On an October flight from London to St Lucia, for example, you had a choice of smoked salmon, goats cheese and grilled artichoke or a cheeseboard for starters – the standard lunch options.

For the main course, it suddenly swapped to breakfast items. It was a choice between British mixed grill (chicken, pork sausage, mushrooms and hash browns); cheese frittata with baked beans, potato hash, mushrooms and four cheese sauce; or belgian waffles with chocolate sauce and custard.

The rest of the menu was unchanged. Brunch came with a standard dessert and the full wine menu was available. Because who doesn’t have wine with breakfast?

Brunch gets a hard landing

As you can imagine, the new brunch menu went down like a lead balloon. I suspect most people would agree that breakfast is normally the least exciting meal to be served on a plane. Often there is little room for variety, with a heavy focus (as above) on eggs, potatoes, sausage and/or bacon.

(HfP policy is that we avoid reviewing flights which only have a breakfast service if we can because it gives the airline little room to shine.)

Brunchgate - aggressive BA service cuts resume

The thought of extending what is effectively a breakfast service in all but name beyond midday did not thrill customers.

The press coverage, both on Head for Points but also nationally in The Times and The Telegaph amongst others was overwhelmingly negative. The Times dedicated virtually the whole of page 3 of the print edition on 29th October to the story and we were told it was the most read article on their website that day.

HfP guest writer Oliver Ranson crunched the numbers and realised that the 11:29am cut-off affected 25% of First Class seats and just over 20% of Club World seats, concluding that 20% was BA’s “magic number” when it came to what were presumably cost-saving measures.

What was particularly perplexing about the changes is that British Airways has been touting a £7 billion investment in its customer experience. Whilst the lions’ share of the budget will be spent on new aircraft and IT, BA was also investing in new Club Europe cabins, onboard wifi, new lounges and a new First Class.

It was unclear how the new brunch menu fit into the narrative of an airline moving back upmarket after a decade of cuts in the 2010s under the previous CEOs.

This is despite the fact that BA parent IAG posted an operating profit of €2 billion in the third quarter alone. As a shareholder, I’m delighted. As a passenger? Less so.

British Airways acknowledges the problem

It didn’t take long for the cracks to emerge.

As we reported a week after our original article highlighting the changes, British Airways began offering customers that complained about the new meal service up to £150 in vouchers in compensation.

Given that the cost saving to BA of serving you brunch instead of lunch was likely to be under £2, offering up to £150 in compensation wasn’t going to be sustainable (not everyone gets this much – some are offered £100, some receive Avios).

Anyway …. assuming that our information is correct – and there hasn’t yet been an internal memo on the rumoured changes – normal service may resume from the February 2025 menu switch. Let’s see.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

Get 5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

Capital on Tap Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (142)

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

  • Tom says:
    14 Dec14 December 07:08

    The brunch service is indeed a joke that needs reversing, but that won’t be enough to change perceptions that the whole soft product has reverted back to Alex Cruz-era cost cutting, sadly.

    Just landed on ORD-LHR, I have taken 50+ long haul flights this year across a range of airlines (about 40 in F, rest in QR J) and this was by a stretch the single worst flight, i.e. sadly worse than all the QR J ones. Food from ORD in F was basically inedible, crew were friendly but have zero idea what they are doing (everyone made up their own beds, zero proactive offers of anything), the only wine that actually belongs on an F wine list had been drunk on the outbound flight, plane is a nearly 30 year old 777 with the old F seat. Quite honestly I feel a bit embarrassed as a Brit getting off this flight, this is basically what AA F was before they scrapped it.

    • JDB says:
      14 Dec14 December 08:49

      @Tom – there you have it. The brunchgate saga has had the very positive effect of drawing attention away from all the rest. The brunch was just swapping one sort of second rate food for another; not exactly a big deal.

      The service is so inconsistent and casual as to defy belief. There appear to be no official service protocols – they make it up as they go along and they don’t have the requisite hospitality skills or training. While one does sometimes come across really excellent crew members (more commonly on short haul) most seem to be rather miserable and have no interest in the passenger or job. They either don’t recruit well or don’t have enough applicants to be able to choose. It’s quite remarkable to observe the counterparts on other European airlines just being of a different calibre.

      Some refer to QR service as being ‘robotic’ which may be a reference to the standardisation of service levels but that can only be good for passengers and I will take that any day vs BA. The BA false bonhomie is worth nothing.

      • Tom says:
        14 Dec14 December 08:59

        Exactly.

        In terms of service it’s partly about pay, all the experience has left the building and they will never reacquire it as BA are now recruiting the same staff as low cost carriers who view it as a job for a couple of years in their 20s, not a career. This is fine for Euro Traveller but leads to service that is just embarrassing for a longhaul premium product costing four figures for a ticket.

      • George says:
        14 Dec14 December 09:53

        Why do they need a good service? They’re making billions without it.

      • Cranzle says:
        14 Dec14 December 19:31

        It’s a (british) cultural thing. The level of ‘service’ in retail & hospital hospitality is dire.

      • can2 says:
        15 Dec15 December 19:16

        And people tell me to use headphones when I complain how noisy/chatty/loud crew can be. It is taken so for granted amongst many people that nobody complains!

  • George says:
    14 Dec14 December 07:26

    IAG’s share price is up almost 50% since 15th October…..

    • Rhys says:
      14 Dec14 December 09:40

      Up over 100% since I bought during covid…

      • JDB says:
        14 Dec14 December 10:36

        Should have bought Rolls Royce rather than IAG though! IAG is traversing a golden patch greatly assisted by the shortage of aircraft keeping fares and load factors high as well as the reduction in staff unit costs engineered during covid. Will all that last? Will the UK consumer hold up?

      • can2 says:
        15 Dec15 December 19:18

        It’s not “rocket science” exactly to buy the dip :)))

        How is that not a conflict of interest ?

  • PeterK says:
    14 Dec14 December 07:34

    We flew to DFW two days before the breakfast service switched to the Christmas lunch service.

    We departed on time at 1040, airborne by 1105 and sitting in the small front J cabin we’re first to be served. Meal service didn’t start until well after 1200 and our hot dish was served around 1310! I reckon it would have been 1330 ish before the last row of J received their hot dish.

    One correction Rhys is that unlike lunch service there is no choice of desert on the brunch service., in our case it was a panna cotta. The cheese plate was one of the starters.

    2 of the main choices were breakfast dishes and the other was a chicken breast. Luckily we were able to get the chicken main! At least into DFW afternoon tea was served, I was dreading it was going to be a dry panini.

    The crew apologised for the brunch offering whilst taking our meal orders!

    • Jenny says:
      14 Dec14 December 08:21

      Yes I noticed this. The menus currently being posted on social media still have no choice of dessert, yet bizarrely have fresh fruit and cheese as starter options!

      I recently flew BA economy medium haul, and the boxed meal I was given was truly awful. Nothing available to buy on board as a result. Only one drink provided for a 6h 20min flight. Won’t be flying that route again with BA.

  • Mark says:
    14 Dec14 December 07:36

    There seems to be an obsession by people in these product jobs at BA to keep changing and messing with the menus and service styles.

    I understand young people at the start of their careers want to prove they can “do stuff” but as a passenger I expect evolution not revolution. I also expect on a ticket price of several £000s not to have BA accountants penny pinching for something I feel I’ve already paid them well for.

    I also expect BA to benchmark and it should aspire to be at QR/SQ/JL levels of service not AA/UA although since the North American market is so dominant to its business and US airlines so weak they don’t need to try hard.

    A really good menu of British classics and some dishes from destinations suitable for time of day with no scrimping on costs would be great! And no work experience kids playing with menus!

    • Tom says:
      14 Dec14 December 08:15

      “I also expect BA to benchmark and it should aspire to be at QR/SQ/JL levels of service not AA/UA although since the North American market is so dominant to its business and US airlines so weak they don’t need to try hard”

      Given BA is mostly a UK-US airline, I understand why it isn’t trying to go toe to toe with SQ and QR on quality and so I’m not sure this makes sense as a benchmark. Unfortunately, the problem is I’m not even sure it’s better than the US airlines these days (is Club World really better than Delta One? I’m unconvinced). BA F is barely to the level of QR J or SQ J right now, let alone the equivalent cabin class.

      • CamFlyer says:
        14 Dec14 December 08:33

        I’m trying AA Premium Economy this weekend, for a head to head comparison against my very mediocre WT+ experience on BA in November.

        • John says:
          14 Dec14 December 12:13

          My WT+ experience to Cape Town last month was distinctly underwhelming. Trays not cleared for an hour after both meal service, no second drink at breakfast, no fizz on the return, seat broken on outward journey. I really should be looking forward to my first trip in First next April, but not sure I am now.

      • Alex G says:
        14 Dec14 December 08:35

        I’ve only taken one flight on BA this year in F. It wasn’t as good as J on JL or AY.

        Really poor service.

        They no longer have the staff to provide a consistently First Class service.

        Only worth F if you have to fly BA and the alternative is the old CW dormitory.

    • JDB says:
      14 Dec14 December 08:24

      It’s just not realistic from a financial or structural perspective to expect BA to benchmark itself to QR/SQ/JL. There is also unfortunately a cultural issue which inhibits a proper food offering at BA as well.

  • JDB says:
    14 Dec14 December 07:38

    If BA does reverse this decision, it seems most unlikely it will simply forgo the cost savings in the catering budget but instead make them less obvious. The English breakfast might be missed vs most of BA’s fairly dreadful previously served main courses.

  • Pedro says:
    14 Dec14 December 08:02

    Not just Club passengers who are hacked off. Cabin crew too as they are left with only the unwanted waffles and yuck chocolate sauce for their brunch! Chatted to all four different cabin crews on each leg of my recent eleven hour LGW-Aruba via Antigua and return flights. All have complained to BA management. Meanwhile my subsequent compensation was down at 6,000 Avios, confirming that there has been a huge passenger backlash.
    Related topic: One crew member had heard second hand that a Virgin pilot was confirming the airline´s return to LGW. She saw this as a very good move as it would force BA management at LGW to up its game. Fingers crossed.

    • JDB says:
      14 Dec14 December 08:08

      @Pedro – what are the crew suggesting BA needs to do at LGW if VS were to return?

      • James C says:
        14 Dec14 December 08:46

        Upgrade the LGW fleet to Club Suites would be a starter for 10.

        • JDB says:
          14 Dec14 December 08:52

          Why would they do that? Is Virgin going to have decent seats if it returns to LGW? Many families and couples which make up much of the LGW passenger base prefer old Club.

          • James C says:
            14 Dec14 December 09:29

            I’m not saying they would. But it’s what I’d like to see. And it’s also the case that ex LHR leisure routes get Club Suites ie BGI, NAS/ GCM, MLE. And this would also reflect the broader refocus on leisure. I don’t have long haul numbers but as an example 46% of BAs short haul customers were leisure in 2019, they forecast that it will be 61% by 2027. And I’m not sure your point about families and couples preferring old Club World aligns with my experience- feels like flights I’ve been on that have switched from CS to CW I’ve had people moaning to the crew. How many ‘how can I get old Club World/ my flights been switched to Club Suites can I change’ posts do you see in the forum?

          • Alex G says:
            14 Dec14 December 10:40

            Because BA is a brand. And you should get the same experience regardless of whether you fly from LGW or LHR.

          • Andy says:
            14 Dec14 December 21:47

            Who in their right mind prefers old club. When did you carry out the above survey and what were the numbers pray tell

          • Rob says:
            15 Dec15 December 08:21

            Club Suite is a disaster with young kids. Trust me.

            The middle pair in CW on the other hand is like a mini private playground they love.

    • Rhys says:
      14 Dec14 December 11:04

      Shai has stated – as recently as last week – that returning to LGW would be nice but not happening soon.

    • mkcol says:
      14 Dec14 December 11:47

      That’s Galley FM for you.

  • CJD says:
    14 Dec14 December 08:21

    I think the daftest thing about the decision is that business class passengers on a long haul flight have probably already had breakfast in the lounge before their flight. If you’ve connected down from Glasgow (as an example) then you’ve also had the lounge and the flight down where you may have been offered breakfast as well.

  • Jeremy says:
    14 Dec14 December 08:24

    They also mess with the breakfast , on the USA flights they have this breakfast barrito which I found inedible , along with most of club world , as the only hot breakfast choice at that time they have even managed to ruin breakfast

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

New to Head for Points?

Welcome!  We’re the UK’s most-read source of business travel, Avios, frequent flyer and hotel loyalty news. Let us improve how you travel. Got any questions? Ask them in our forums.

Get 25,000 Avios with the Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

GET A SIGN-UP BONUS OF 18,000 VIRGIN POINTS!

Latest Forum Posts

Get 80,000 bonus points (worth 80,000 Avios) and £400 of dining credit with The Platinum Card (Offer ends 27th May)

Check reward flight availability instantly for free!

See a whole year of reward seat availability on one page at SeatSpy.com

Get up to 10,000 bonus Hilton Honors points

Booking a luxury hotel?

Our luxury hotel booking service offers you GUARANTEED extra benefits over booking direct. Works with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz Carlton, St Regis and more. We've booked £1.7 million of rooms to date. Click for details.

SME? GET THE ONLY FREE SMALL BUSINESS CREDIT CARD WHICH CAN EARN AVIOS

Get points worth 30,000 Avios with 'first year free' American Express Gold (ends 27th May)

The UK's biggest frequent flyer website uses cookies, which you can block via your browser settings. Continuing implies your consent to this policy. Our privacy policy is here.

Got it!