The bulk of my flights are around Europe. Because I collect so many Avios, I mainly choose to fly British Airways. Although the European fleet is old, I trust that British Airways pilots are well trained (many were previously RAF pilots), they are charismatic, and the staff, particularly in Club Europe, are ever so nice.
It has however become obvious in recent months, that the BA food offering in Euro Traveller (or economy) has gone downhill. On a recent trip back from Zurich to Heathrow, I had a bag of peanuts or crisps thrown at me along with a rushed drink offering. On my most recent trip back from Nice to London, my dry bun had such a small sliver of chicken in it that they should have called it a bread and butter bun. I remember the days when you got nuts and a pret style sandwich.
With the downward trend in British Airways Euro Traveller food and drink offerings, many feel that it looks likely that British Airways will stop their free food and drink offering altogether which will sadly bring it in line with low-cost airlines like Easyjet.
In a recent article in Business Traveller magazine, Alex Cruz who is the new Chief Executive of British Airways, says he is “looking at every single part of the experience” to make the airline more competitive. “We haven’t concluded yet what we are going to do… if we do decide to move to a buy-on-board set-up for European short-haul flights, it will be by far the best proposition of any airline that does it”. Cruz highlights that the “overwhelming (and) largest criteria for selecting an airline for a short-haul experience say two hours or less, is the price”. For me, this says it all. How can British Airways compete on price while supplying free food and drink when it’s competitors don’t? They can’t. So in my humble opinion, the removal of a food offering in Euro Traveller is inevitable
The current downgrade of the Euro Traveller service has meant that I have started to gobble up my Avios on Club Europe which is a less stressful experience with a pleasant meal which helps to pass the time on the flight (my Club Europe Afternoon Tea is pictured above). The potential lack of even a can of coke in Euro Traveller will break my loyalty to British Airways. I will of course enjoy Club Europe but if my only option is Euro Traveller I will price compare all the airline options before booking.
British Airways have now stopped serving free food and drink in Euro traveller. See the British Airways Buy On Board M&S food menu with prices.
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