British Airways Backpedals On Meal Service Cutbacks

a woman holding a plate of food

British Airways will complete its rollback of two unpopular meal service experiments in its business and first class cabins next month that left its premium passengers angry and upset.

British Airways Ends Unpopular Meal Service Experiments In Business + First Class

Last October, I wrote about two changes to onboard catering in business (Club World) and first class, which included:

Brunch service for flights that depart between 8:30 am and 11:29 am (breakfast dish[es] replace lunch more lunch items)
Reduced menu on longhaul flights that depart after 9:00 pm (Asia flights exempted) with no appetizers, no dessert choice, and main courses reduced to paninis, soup, and salads

Almost immediately, the changes prompted so much outrage that British Airways even sent a memo to flight attendants telling them to stop saying “sorry” for catering cuts.

In December 2024, British Airways pulled the brunch service in favor of “Christmas meals” onboard and starting in February 2025, the carrier will return to full meal service (with an appetizer, main course, and dessert) on all intercontinental flights that depart after 9:00 pm. Per PYOK, the carrier began that process this month but it will expand to all flights, including flights from the East Coast of the USA to London, starting next month.

I applaud British Airways for correcting this foolish error, though it’s a shame that British Airways could not spend just a little bit more to offer even more options onboard. The brunch service may well have appealed to some travelers. Why not offer a breakfast choice along with the four lunch choices on late-morning departures?

The “goodnight” service of a panini, soup, or salad may appeal to those looking for a quick bite and longer rest on shorter transatlantic flights. Why not offer the expedited meal service along with the full service to those who want it?

Yes, that costs money, but if British Airways introduced a comprehensive pre-order system like so many airlines have now managed to offer, it could reduce food waste and make its bread-and-butter premium passengers happy.

CONCLUSION

I’m pleased to see British Airways rescind its late 2024 cutbacks to catering in premium cabins, though it is a shame the British carrier did not use this opportunity to actually innovate and offer a wider menu made possible without increasing waste via pre-ordering.

Maybe BA will get there one day, but for now the problem will once again no longer be the meals themselves, but how long it takes to serve them. That’s a tradeoff I prefer to going hungry on a longhaul flight or eating breakfast at 1:00 pm after I already had breakfast four hours earlier.

image: British Airways