paul4040

I like the afternoon tea, too. On shorter sectors who needs a full meal at 4pm?

layz

Well as an ex-bmier myself, I don't mind them too much either but I can see why those with longer legs than me might find them an issue.

The only time the reduced legroom bothered me was when I had flew PRG-LHR-AMS and LHR-AMS was ex-bmi and PRG-LHR had the spacesaver seats. Because I had something to compare it with, the reduced amount of space was more noticeable.

I do like the middle seat table and I'm glad BA have adopted it.

layz

My idea was to offer the band 3 economy flatbread plated, with the cake and scone as a way of making afternoon tea more substantial without breaking the bank and still keeping some unique features for CE.

If that was an option I wouldn't pre-order a special meal (usually a seafood salad).

Maybe if BA introduces pre-ordering they'd allow those who wanted something more substantial to reserve it (most people outside of flyertalk wouldn't look at the special meals if they didn't have any dietary requirements) but still keeping the afternoon tea as the default.

Although I will be honest, the last time I had afternoon tea (booked too close to departure for a special meal) although the sandwiches were the same size the filling was more substantial and was quite nice. Have they improved or did I just get lucky?

paulwuk

By earning 1500tp. If you fly long haul it's remarkably easy. 1 return a month in economy long haul, or 2 returns in discount economy.

My 3060 tp so far this year have had I believe just 180 from business (100 more than had I flown economy)

Betteronacamel

I'll take any alternative over Afternoon Tea so I'll ^ your suggestion.

dc2447

Lufty?

Come on raffles, you are better than this

dptraveller

+1. I have said it before, and I will say it again. There are some of you who want some sort of "substantial" meal at a time of day when (in my opinion) you should not be eating any "substantial" meal at all, and there are some of us who think three (in my opinion) generally tasty sandwiches, one (in my opinion) generally tasty cake and (as many as I want) scones is perfectly satisfactory for the time of day and "yes" I am one of the people who has said to BA he wants meals appropriate for the time of day (even though many people on this board think no such person exists). Can't we just all agree we all have different opinions and the world is better for variety!

layz

Appropriate for the time of day depends what timezone your body is in and also if you managed to get lunch before leaving for the airport. It's not unusual for me to have lunch at 3pm.

bafan

People who are hungry and expecting a full service on a business class flight costing hundreds of pounds ?

paul4040

It's not "appropriate to the time of day" really.... Afternoon tea is full service, it's just not a hot meal. Not everyone wants a hot meal all the time, and I certainly wouldn't eat dinner at 4pm.

If I'm on an afternoon tea service I'll either have eaten something warm in the lounge or be having a full dinner later.

cme17

Sorry - I meant if you don't fly business in Europe it will be extremely difficult to get Gold. You could get it flying Business in Europe but would be really difficult if you just flew in economy.

mario

Certainly is also not appropriate for the time of day to serve you a meal that consists exclusively on white starchy carbs. Sandwiches and scones? Really?

cme17

But we were talking about flying in Europe - no WT+ on European flights.

paul4040

Well, that's what you'll get if you order an afternoon tea in a British hotel or tea room, and that's what "afternoon tea" is.

Of course, many people here hate it - that's their personal preference, as I have mine.

J-Class

European business classes including CE have been in decline for years. One big reason not mentioned so far is the rise of the private jet set. The UK has Europe's second largest private jet/turboprop fleet (503 aircraft as of 2013) and 3 of the top 25 most-frequented private jet airports (Luton, Farnborough and Biggin Hill which collectively account for over 56,000 movements per annum). Add on the smaller NetJets airports such as Northholt and LCY and you're getting into real numbers.

Obviously many of these flights are between odd city pairs but quite a lot aren't - I've flown privately between London and Paris, Brussels and Copenhagen, for example.

I don't know how much of BA's premium customer base has been eroded by private jets - but certainly it was the part most willing to pay for a high service. These people are gone for good and it's no surprise the service is gone too.