British Airways will introduce food for purchase on their European network from 11 January 2017. Passengers in Euro Traveller and UK Domestic were hitherto provided with complimentary food on board so this is a huge change. Online reactions have been mixed. Some people vow never to fly British Airways again and others are completely ambivalent to the idea. Here is why I think this is the right decision.
Complimentary does not equal good!
The current complimentary food British Airways serves on some routes is quite frankly insulting. Unhealthy choices such as a small packet of crisps or a bag of spiced nuts is not really fitting for a premium airline.
No, it is the booze, stupid!
What will the thirsty British executive do at the end of a hard week without a free Gin & Tonic or five? Rather than being complimentary, a drink such as this will cost £6.00 when the changes come in. I hazard a guess that most of the bleating from the frequent flyer community is due to this fact. Waddling off the aircraft tipsy courtesy of British Airways will no longer be possible without some personal spend – and that probably won’t be reimbursed by payroll.
All of that being said, surely bringing in buy on board food lowers British Airways to the level of airlines such as Aer Lingus and Iberia or budget carriers such as Ryanair and easyJet?
Newsflash – BA have been on this level for a long time!
Aer Lingus are a Skytrax 4 star airline along with British Airways and they have had food for purchase on their European network for years. Aer Lingus food has a decent variety, is popular and most importantly provides a choice for passengers.
Why would I now pay extra to fly British Airways?
Four immortal words – British Airways Executive Club. The price premium is the price paid to have Avios miles and all the options and perks the programme provides.
In addition, British Airways has a competitive long haul product backed up by a decent array of lounges which holds them far above the low cost carriers.
Overall Thoughts
The downward spiral of the European aviation product means BA are now raising their standard to that of their competitors and this is long overdue. A partner known for quality food such as M&S helps reinforce the premium image the airline strives to maintain. The fact British Airways continues to be a traditional full service carrier in every other cabin class (not to mention its ground offering) should mean people will continue to fly with them. Thank you for reading and please leave any comments or questions below.
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Wrong wrong wrong! This article totally fails to see the big picture and why BoB is the wrong way to go for a heritage legacy carrier like BA. see why: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fly-serve-sell-jeremy-clark?trk=prof-post
I see your point, but I disagree with it. European flights are quite short and BoB is now common throughout the continent. Aer Lingus is the shining example here with an extremely good transatlantic product in both Economy Class and Business Class and within Europe they are buy on board. This hasn’t tarnished that brand. I think too many people are too busy comparing British Airways to Ryanair rather than to something more comparable like Aer Lingus and all the other legacy airlines that do BoB. Thanks for the comment and your article was a good read even if I do disagree!
Thanks for the response and I take your point but – with respect – you miss the entire point! As a hospitality person in the travel business, this is a discussion that we should not even be having!
The fact that this phenomenon is “now common throughout the continent” is already a tragedy. To use Aer Lingus as a “shining example” is to promote the dumbing down of service on legacy carriers that should differentiate rather than assimilate with LCCs. I spoke to one authority on the Aer Lingus project who, when trying to defend the policy told me that “we had considerably fewer complaints that we had anticipated”! Any business in the hospitality trade that measures the success of its policies by the number of complaints it didn’t get is clearly being run by the clueless. Unless of course we decide that air travel is not a platform for care and hospitality but merely a method of transporting flesh from one point to another as cheaply as possible. In which case – box yourselves up and call DHL.
But for BA the irreversible damage is now done. Let’s just hope for their sake that M&S doesn’t go the way of BHS or that M&S food doesn’t suffer a scandal on the Tesco Lasagne scale – because that is ALL it takes to further ruin the reputation of a great brand (BA) and one which they foolishly have left in the the hands of others.
This is a triumph for short-term profitability over long-term catastrophe.
Am off to the airport now to fly Penang to Bangkok with Thai. A flight of just under 2 hours – in economy – where I will be served a full tray with a hot meal and beverage service and a bot of wine – for free. That – my friends – is hospitality.
Thank you for your excellent comment. When you directly compare the service versus the the Asian and Antipodean carriers you are completely correct. What you receive is much nicer, much better and a more pleasant experience overall. That I will not dispute as I love a decent meal service.
That being said, you need to take into consideration the differences from a business perspective. Certain costs in Asia are much lower which means there is more money to spend on better catering. Also, the expectations of the market are different in Asia when compared to a Europe with a vast amount of low cost and charter carrier penetration. The competitive landscape is different as well. All of these factors together explain the British Airways decision and taken together is why I support it.
Appreciate the comment, it was very thought provoking! I hope you enjoyed your trip with Thai!
So you STILL think this was a good idea? http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-airways-inflight-charging-food-drink-menu-expensive-easyjet-budget-airline-ba-a7521401.html
No amount of money could pay for this type of brilliant PR. Not. !
I absolutely and firmly believe this is a brilliant idea. I read the article there – it’s not really comparing apples with apples. When easyJet start serving identical food on board or BA choose the easyJet range, then you can say this or what is more expensive. I’m trying the new food in a couple of weeks on BA – can’t wait to give it a whirl!
. . .and there’s more! http://www.onboardhospitality.com/blog/choice-onboard/
Too late to save them now.
It’s early days. I’m going to be trying it myself on a flight in about a weeks time so I’ll be sure to post all about it!
If its just a bag of crisps complimentary, then better to be able buy from a wider choice of good food. BA should offer GBP5 off every ticket for the saving!
That definitely won’t happen! Wishful thinking there… haha!
I’d say that it’s not really the quality of the food, but just the fact that you get a free snack that breaks up the flight that makes the complimentary food so appreciated by me. Unfortunately, BA appear to be going down the budget airline model more and more now, which could seriously harm loyal, but budget-conscious Economy tourist travellers.
And you’ve got to ask yourself if they’re really going to be saving/generating that much more money with these efforts. The prices seem so exorbitantly high that I predict most passengers will just buy at the airport beforehand…
Anyway, RANT OVER! And I can appreciate your side of the argument. 🙂
I completely understand where you’re coming from there. The food situation does break up the flight for me as well. That being said, I’d rather pay for something I want rather than having to choose from something I don’t really want just because it’s free. I’d be interested to see what Joe Average things – I saw someone mention somewhere that someone commented on a newspaper article about it shocked because they didn’t realise BA offered free food at all!
They will generate money from it without a doubt I expect. The price premium is over the on the shelf cost and the food costs very little to produce so they should do well. I like how they are taking cards only as well. To be fair, I think there’s a certain set who will always buy at the airport and a certain set who will always eat on board, so I don’t believe it’s going go be as big a deal as people make out.
Perhaps it’s because I have no historical emotional attachment to BA that I can see it through a different lens. Thanks for the comment though, I always enjoy your opinions 🙂
Any hints if Club Europe food is going to improve/be influenced by the M&S menu as a result?
Well rumours are that there will be improvements of some kind. Nothing has been announced yet… I’m dying to see what happens there! Probably new crockery or something haha!
While I sadly did not stagger from either of my BA flights within Europe last month, I very much liked that food was included. That made a nice counterpoint to US carriers.
Well, it will still be included if you fly in Club Europe. I understand the feeling of getting something complimentary but I just don’t think the complimentary offering was worth it. I like something more substantial really as I enjoy eating when I fly as it adds to the experience. Thanks for the comment!