corporate-wage-slave

From Wednesday 11 January 2017, British Airways introduced a buy on board menu for most shorthaul services in UK and the rest of Europe, replacing food, snacks and refreshments services which had previously been free at the point of service.

This thread is an information based guide to this development, focusing specifically on information for what is available for purchase and how to buy items from the menu. Please feel free to ask questions which solicit information, or to highlight any corrections. This post and the information in this thread is likely to evolve over the next few days as more information becomes available. In due course this will form part of an update to the Short Haul Catering Guide.

This thread is not concerned with the rights or wrongs of the decision to introduce buy on board. There is, however a separate thread for experiences, anecdotes, reactions and related comments, which is to be found here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-services.html
If you have an opinion about buy on board, the right thread for your contribution is:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...s-concept.html


Services affected:

• All LHR and LGW services in domestic and EuroTraveller services will see theBuy on Board menu from 11 January 2017 onwards. This excludes Moscow - this is catered for World Traveller with free food and drinks; but includes the EuroTraveller route of St. Petersburg. Tel Aviv, despite some rumours to the contrary, is also fully catered for World Traveller and therefore isn't in scope for this thread.

Services not currently affected:

• LCY - the existing shorthaul menu will continue to be offered free of charge until the middle of the year (no specific date yet, rumoured 1 July 2017);
• SUN Air services - the BA franchise which operates services based in Billund, including services to LCY and MAN.
• Comair, the South Africa based franchise, is also not affected
• Longhaul services that have a World Traveller cabin are not buy on board, apart from DME.

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Menu
This is just a repeat of the information currently available via BA.com but it is repeated here as a record. The full menu is in post 43.

Food
Smoked British bacon roll - served hot £4.75 / 600 Avios - not served on short flights
Aberdeen Angus beef and red onion chutney bloomer £4.75 / 600 Avios
Harissa chicken and couscous salad £4.50 / 575 Avios
Farmhouse cheddar cheese ploughmans £3.00 / 375 Avios
Buffalo mozzarella and tomato focaccia - served hot £4.95 / 625 Avios - not served on short flights
Fruit salad £3.50 / 450 Avios
Yogurt with summer berry compote and crunchy granola £1.95 / 250 Avios

Snack items
Cashew nuts £1.60 / 200 Avios
Wasabi peas £1.60 / 200 Avios
Lightly sea salted hand cooked crisps £1.00 / 125 Avios
Sea salt and balsamic vinegar hand cooked crisps £1.00 / 125 Avios
Oat and barley porridge- served hot - £1.40 / 175 Avios - apparently served on all flights
Nut assortment £1.60 / 200 Avios
Oloves basil and garlic olive snack £1.20 / 150 Avios

Milk chocolate covered pretzels and popping candy popcorn £2.45 / 300 Avios
Soft apricots £1.95 / 250 Avios
The Whippy One - fluffy light mallow encased in creamy milk chocolate with caramelised walnut pieces £1.00 / 125 Avios
Mini oat biscuits £1.10 / 150 Avios
Brownie bar £1.45 / 175 Avios
Super nut, fruit and seed flapjack £1.45 / 175 Avios
Milk chocolate mountain bar £1.75 / 225 Avios
Percy Pig - soft gums made with fruit juice £1.85 / 225 Avios
Salted caramel hazelnut millionaire - gluten free biscuit £1.45 / 175 Avios
4 Finger KitKat £1.20 / 150 Avios
All butter shortbread - pack of two fingers £1.25 / 150 Avios

Drinks
Java Republic coffee - 12 oz - £2.30 / 300 Avios
Java Republic decaf. coffee - 12 oz - £2.30 / 300 Avios
Twinings English breakfast tea - 12 oz - £2.30 / 300 Avios
Twinings pure green tea - 12 oz - £2.30 / 300 Avios
Twinings pure peppermint tea - 12 oz - £2.30 / 300 Avios
Cadbury's hot chocolate - 12 oz - £2.70 / 350 Avios

Highland Spring - still and sparkling - 500 ml - £1.80 / 225 Avios
Vita Coco coconut water - 330 ml - £2.70 / 350 Avios
Coca Cola / Sprite / Diet coke / Fanta orange / Appletiser - all 330 ml
£1.80 / 225 Avios
Pip Organic orange juice / apple juice - 200 ml - £2.70 / 350 Avios
Folkington's Elderflower pressé - 250 ml - £2.20 / 275 Avios
Fruit shoot orange low sugar - 200 ml - £1.80 / 225 Avios
Fever Tree tonic, also slimline - 150 ml - £1.50 / 200 Avios
Folkington's ginger ale / club soda / bitter lemon - 150 ml - £1.50/ Avios.

Following spirits are all at £4.50 / 575 Avios for 50 ml
Bacardi Carta Blanca / Baileys Irish Cream / Bombay Sapphire gin / Jonnie Walker Red whisky / Jack Daniels bourbon / Smirnoff Red vodka / XO Brandy.

Wines
Dry River Shiraz - 187ml £4.50 / 575 Avios
Shorn Sauvignon Blanc - 187ml £4.50 / 575 Avios
Belle Vignes Sauvignon Blanc - 187ml £4.50 / 575 Avios
Belle Vignes Syrah Rose - 187ml £4.50 / 575 Avios
Belle Vignes Grenache Syrah Marselan - 187ml £4.50 / 575 Avios
Prosecco Bottega Gold - 200ml £6.00 / 750 Avios
Heidsieck & Co. Monopole, Blue Top, Brut - 375ml £16.00 / 2025 Avios

Beer and cider
Heineken - 330ml £4.00 / 500 Avios
Old Speckled Hen - 330ml can £4.00 / 500 Avios
Magners Original Cider - 330ml can £4.00 / 500 Av

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How to pay:
1) Credit card or debit card - Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
2) BAEC membership card
3) BA App / My Account Screen (there should be a barcode)
Note that cash or other payment methods are not accepted. Payment will be charged in pounds sterling, so be aware of any forex charges (etc) levied by your card issuer. You are not required to show your passport or ID, unlike for duty/tax free merchandise. Contactless is not currently offered, it is expected in April 2017. Pre-paid debit cards are also not accepted (since they require online authorization). Cards require PIN and/or a signature as part of the transaction. There is on the screen a "voucher" payment option which is used for Highlife Shop vouchers.



Is water still free of charge?
Yes, potable water from the main tank is provided free of charge. If you want hot water you will need to bring a suitable cup for it. Cabin crew have been directed to complete the buy on board service first, before handing out any cups of potable water. Bottled water is available for sale.

Can I bring food and drink on board with me?
Yes, including alcohol, however hot drinks can not be carried on bus transfers for safety reasons. Note the ongoing restrictions on liquids going through security at some airports, particularly if security is done at the departure gate (e.g. Vienna). Also it is an offence to be drunk on a UK registered aircraft and the captain has powers to prevent this from happening.

Do I get Avios for buying items?
No, unless you pay with a BA Amex card or other card which provides Avios as part of the card's functionality.

Which is better value, cash or Avios?
Probably cash since the Avios value is in the 0.75p to 0.8p per Avios range, which is on the low side. However if you have difficulty spending Avios then this is better than throwing them away or some other uses (e.g. part payment with Avios on BA fares, hotel and car hire bookings). If you are paying a hefty forex charge for sterling transactions by your credit or debit card, it may be better to pay with Avios for some purchases.

I booked well before the announcement - will BA refund / compensate me?
See the resources threads from FT below, some FTers have either had refunds of their tickets or some Avios compensation.

Can Club Europe passengers have items from this menu?
Yes, if they pay for them. However CE will continue to provide food and drink as part of the service.

I hear Club Europe is being introduced to domestic flights, is this confirmed?
Yes it has been confirmed, but the date is not confirmed. Some speculation for the end of March 2017. This cabin will have food and drink provided as part of the service.

Is the Club Europe food and drink service going to alter as a result of buy on board?
No, not as far as we know. CE passengers will continue to be offered foor and drink without additional charge or any known changes. There is a revamp of Club Europe (and Club World) catering coming up later in 2017 but there is very little specific information on this.

Can the buy on board items be used for customer remediation (e.g. long delays)?
No.

If I buy a spirit item, is the mixer included?
No, this has to be paid for on top.

I am a oneworld Emerald/Sapphire, is there a complementary offering for me?
Unlike some other airlines, there is no complementary offering available. However on most routes there is a lounge available.

How do I find out about lounge access on my route?
In the Dashboard there is a guide for Europe's lounges, which includes in the wiki a list of locations without lounges. Mostly these are very small airports with very limited facilities, but the two perhaps surprising locations without lounge access are KRK and OPO.

My onward connecting flight is in First / Club - do I still have to pay?
Yes, if seated in Eurotraveller or Domestic.

When was this announced?
29 September 2016.

Are cabin crew getting commission for sale?
Yes, 10% of sales goes to the cabin crew on that flight, split between all cabin crew members, including those working the Club Europe cabin. Normally there are between 3 and 5 crew members on the affected services.

What is the announcement at the start of service in respect of buy on board?
Source: CloudGazer This message is slightly abbreviated for those flights without Club Europe or not offering hot items.

Does Marks and Spencer supply the drinks?
No. The arrangement is that Tourvest Inflight Retail Services are the main contractor to BA for the service. M&S provide the food, but the food and drink are shipped to LHR by DHL. The Point of Sale system is from Tourvest Duty Free, a South African company that also supplies Vueling and Virgin Atlantic with onboard retail services, as well as handling BA's Highlife Shop operation.

Are all items available on all flights?
No, there are 2 items, the bacon roll and the mozzarella and tomato focaccia which need to be heated up, you can assume it will take up to 15 minutes to get these items. These two product s are not served on short flights, however the porridge, which is also served hot, is apparently available on all flights.

Which are the short flights without the hot sandwiches?
These are flights with an Available Service Time below 30 minutes, so flights both to and from NCL, LBA, MAN, JER, AMS, BRU, CDG, ORY and RTM (in due course).

How does the trolley work on A319/320/321? Does it run from the top of the cabin and/or are there multiple trolleys
From a limited set of observations: Domestic - one trolley stored in the front galley, and then runs from the front, another from the rear. If the flight is lightly loaded, and there are 3 cabin staff, then just one trolley from the front with the second trolley kept in the back. Cabins with Club Europe: trolleys are kept at the rear galley and start their run from the first row of EuroTraveller. If it's an A321 or a heavily loaded A320 then there could be two trolleys, each with 10 to 15 rows to cover. If lightly loaded, particularly A319s with just 3 staff, one trolley is kept in the rear, rolled to the front of the cabin, there may well be a second trolley kept in the rear which acts as a parked stock location.

Under what circumstances can refunds be granted by crew after payment?

• Foreign object in food
• Product was spilt / spoiled by crew
• Sell by date has passed
• Opened and is "found unsuitable for consumption".

The latter is somewhat open to interpretation by both sides, but cold tea would probably be a good example.

I've got a long shorthaul flight coming up, will there be enough stock?
BA management have acknowledged to cabin crew that stocks on some longer services are insufficient (ATH and LCA were mentioned) and will be increased. It is unlikely that all items will run out, but sandwiches seem to be the first to go. Note that some airports have few facilities for buying food/drink just before the gate, particularly if non Schengen flights run from a dedicated area with few flights.
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Questions that still need resolving:

If I pay by BA Amex, do I get 3 Avios per £1? Or just 1 Avios?
Currently unknown.

Are the menu options for ALG, IST, RAK and TIA different from other destinations?
Currently unknown.

How long does it take for Avios payment transactions to get posted
Dunno, but it's at least a week and counting.
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Resources:
BA.com online menu - food: http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...nomy-food-menu
BA.com online menu - drink: http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/...my-drinks-menu
Also see this forum's Dashboard for information on lounges and where to find drinking water airside.

Main FT threads started before the introduction of Buy on Board (the first gives experiences of Avios compensation given to existing bookings)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...hort-haul.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...an-t-wait.html