When British Airways announced a change for their in-flight meal service, it was expected that a shift in caterers would be among the most noticeable improvements. Now, a British Airways crewmember is speaking out about the food options from behind the scenes, calling it the “same food arranged differently on new China.”
Has the emperor truly received new clothes, or has British Airways announced a new shift on the same old food items? Discovered in a thread on the FlyerTalk forums, a crew member for the flag carrier claims the airline is simply shuffling plates around on customers.
In November 2017, British Airways announced a $5.9 billion fleet overhaul, including 72 new airframes and upgraded catering provided by Austria’s Do&Co. Three months later, a FlyerTalker who claims to work for the airline says that what was promised is far from the truth.
“Do&Co. will only be supplying the food for the LHR-JFK route plus from a few outstations and this will be of a much higher quality,” FlyerTalker “Can I help you” wrote on the forums. “This wasn’t what we were told during training and speaking as crew I feel let down.
“Now that we have seen what [Gate Gourmet] are supplying we can see that it’s the same food arranged differently on new china.”
In addition to the improved catering options limited to the flights between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York, the crew member also claims that food choices will also get new limitations. Starters will allegedly be limited to cabin capacity, while salads will be swapped out for soup options. Meanwhile, main course salads may also get dropped in favor of other products.
“Main course salads have been removed and replaced but extra hot meals, no increase,” the FlyerTalker wrote. “I have not been able to work out if we have more desserts and cheese but I’m guessing that we have.”
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson from British Airways told FlyerTalk: “The new Club World catering launched on our London to New York services and is now being rolled out on our longhaul services.” The spokesperson did not provide additional details or a timeline on the roll out plans.
This isn’t the first time British Airways has received scorn from flight attendants this year. In January, cabin crews accused the airline of flying bedbugs alongside passengers aboard long-haul flights.
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