Once upon a time, I disparagingly referred to British Airways flights as the chilled chicken express. Invariably there would be a chicken dinner offered in business class between London and Dublin. Fine, you might think, but chicken at fridge temperature does not make for a great dining experience.

I’m so conditioned to avoiding this on BA that I chose the delicious roast pumpkin on my connecting flight over the chicken. After some time spent in the first class lounge at Heathrow, it was time to go to the gate for the flight to Dublin.

BA838 – London Heathrow to Dublin (LHR-DUB)
25 October 2021
Airbus A320 – G-EUYR
Seat: Club Europe 1A
Departure: 18:25 Arrival: 20:00

We were delayed at the gate a little bit, which the staff were a bit flustered by. In the end we started boarding a little late, but nothing crazy.

Chicken Dinner

After the safety demonstration, we took to the air. In short order, we were provided with the choice of meal, which was the same as my previous flight – chicken or roast pumpkin. Not wanting to have the same meal again, I decided to risk the chook.


Thankfully the coronation chicken was utterly fabulous! While a cold meal, it was a room temperature rather than fridge temperature so it was a pleasure to eat. The dessert was nice too! All of this was washed down by some Champagne interspersed with green tea.

Toilets and Landing

With the front toilet being only steps from my seat, I popped in during the flight. It was a standard BA lavatory, with no special bling or any unusual shocks.


After some more Champagne it was time to land. Since I’m writing these words, that clearly went well, and I deplaned and headed off for my bus home.

Overall Thoughts

My chicken dinner fear when flying between Dublin and London on British Airways is well and truly busted. I’ll be happy to have the chicken from now on. I do know they have a different caterer compared to the chilled chicken days and it makes all the difference.

I’m very glad British Airways serve meals on all flights, because that really makes the whole proposition for me. Luckily it’s usually very good quality and tasty, so that makes me happy.

Have you had the chicken dinner on British Airways in Club Europe before? Do you have a favourite BA meal? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.

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Featured image by Anna Zvereva via Wikimedia Commons.