Food, glorious food! Half the reason I pay extra to fly business class is to see what victuals are being provided. British Airways have decided to upgrade the experience up front so there is now a new Club Europe lunch.
Previously on the short European flights, you would have received panini after panini after panini. Quite dull, to say the least! Let’s have a look at what is on board now.
BA836 – London Heathrow to Dublin (LHR-DUB)
28 October 2018
Airbus A319 – G-EUOD
Seat: Club Europe 1A
Departure: 13:45 Arrival: 15:10
Excitedly hoofing my way to the South Lounges in Heathrow Terminal 5, I was disappointed to find the Troika ‘Cloud’ artwork in non working order. After drowning my sorrows with Champagne in the lounge while admiring the view, it was time to board.
Before the flight I asked if the front row was free but was told it was booked by a family of four. To my delight, the crew announced boarding complete and nobody was seated there so I happily moved.
A Toilet Break
Lounge Champagne was making its presence felt, so it was time to visit the forward toilet. These are a decent enough size and contain all you need in a clean enough environment.
New Airbus A320neo aircraft are usually being delivered with space saving toilets at the back of the cabin. I tried one when I flew SAS from Dublin to Stockholm and they are tiny – so I enjoy a spacious loo when I find one!
Heading For The Runway
London Heathrow is always a great airport to sit and watch the action. There are so many different airlines operating a variety of aircraft so it’s a feast for the eyes.
After the video safety demonstration, we headed out to the runway. Along the way, I did a spot of sightseeing, checking out all the planes. Soon enough it was our turn and we leapt into the sky on our way to Dublin.
Club Europe Lunch
Since the new catering was announced, I had been looking forward to the roast beef option. Happily it was on the menu for my flight so that was clearly going to be my choice.
Trays come with a glass, napkin and the cutlery all together and once delivered, the crew offer warm bread from the basket. I set about getting some pictures.
Featuring three courses, the food not only looks good, it tastes good too. The coleslaw starter is nice, the beef – well, I hoovered that up – and the dessert was scrumptious.
Being pretty pleased with all of that, I asked the crew if they had any of the other option left. I figured that since a family of four had not turned up in Row 1, that there’d be leftovers. I was not wrong!
Another lovely meal with the goat’s cheese, quinoa and beetroot really going well together. This is definitely the healthier option for those wanting to be good. I of course ate all of this too, all in the name of research, you understand!
Time To Land
Each one of those meals is a proper sized lunch and I had trouble stuffing in most of the second one, eventually leaving about a quarter of the salad. It feels like more food than what was offered previously.
I customarily keep some of my Champagne to sip in a plastic tumbler during landing. This marked the end of the flight and we deplaned into a late afternoon Dublin after a lovely flight.
Overall Thoughts
When it looks good, it usually is good and the new lunches for the short flights at British Airways are excellent. I’m pleasantly surprised at the quantity provided plus it is a nice mix of modern flavours.
Cabin crew were lovely on this flight, hanging my jacket in the forward wardrobe and generally being bubbly and nice. The crew can make or break a flight and either I’m really lucky or British Airways are just really good because I always have great crews.
What do you think of the new British Airways meals? Have you tried them? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image ©PA via Financial Times.
Well, where do I start? At LGW SOUTH, I suppose…. Everything smoothly handled at check in and through fast track security. Lounge really great with a fab selection of food and drink. Flight cabin immaculate and staff extremely professional and helpful. Chose the risotto this time….a glutinous lump of rice which was flavourless with burnt, hard pieces of vegetables…NOT GOOD AT ALL! The rest of the meal was just o.k. Noticeable and very annoying was the steady stream of people coming through from economy to use the forward toilet….practically all of them taking the time to view what we were… Read more »
Sounds like a real mixed bag there. That Tenerife lounge sounds pretty bad… there’s no excuse for food to have mould, that’s really disgusting. I hope you brought it to the attention of the lounge staff. At a lot of the smaller airports around the world, there is generally just one lounge that all airlines use. There’s not much that the contracting carriers can do but report back issues like this and expect they are corrected. Airline operated lounges such as those at LGW are usually a lot better, because the offering is a direct reflection on the airline itself.… Read more »
First, please marry me!
Second, any blog entry that begins with a reference to the musical Oliver! is a winner.
Third, I love Aer Lingus. Do you know if the Airbus aircraft to IAD is only a seasonal thing? I love my single throne type seat in the 757 and getting anxious that it may not be there on my next flight.
Fourth, please marry me!
Well, that’s made me smile this morning! Glad you enjoyed the Oliver! reference.
With regards to the Aer Lingus service to IAD, it is year round and isn’t going anywhere. The throne seat is really very nice, isn’t it? I’ve only tried it on their Airbus A330 but not the 757. The only thing changing is the 757s will switch over to Airbus A321neo aircraft starting next year.
Thanks for the comment! Proposal accepted 😉 haha!!!