Apr 16, 2017, 1:12 pm
Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
Club Europe Catering Guide 2017.
This thread outlines the new arrangements for Club Europe catering, introduced on Sunday 26 March 2017 and due to end on Tuesday 11 September 2018, based on 3 zones. A new Club Europe catering product is due to be launch on Wednesday 12 September 2018, and this is based on 4 bands. The main information piece - in terms of timings and the distance zones for the meals can be found in post 1. The following cross references the photos below against the matrix of options. In addition to the photos, some FTers have written extensively on their experiences so there is more to this thread than the pictures. Also note that there was an increase in food offered on some combinations shortly after the start-up, so the more recent photos may be the best place to start.The previous shorthaul catering guide, now locked but which had the previous 4 band system, is to be found here.
Numbers relate to the post number. Vegetarian means the alternative option provided as standard rather than the pre-ordered versions - which are VLML (Lacto-ovo), AVML (Asia) and VGML (Vegan) . There are differences between the offering in/out of LHR, LGW, LCY+STN. Last update: 833
-------------------------
Note posts before 1-832 are typically the April 2017 menu. 833 and above is from the menu for May 2017.
----
Chef's Chat sheets for:
CE LHR Summer 2017 - Rotation A
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28338151-post954.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28339641-post958.html
-----.
Short Band (UK, France, Ireland, BeNeLux, Germany)
Breakfast: 279, 570 (vegetarian), 629, 674, 821 (Express breakfast for MAN and LBA), 1343 (Vegan), 2285 (Express for LBA and MAN), 2445
Brunch: 180, 289, 469, 563, 685, 716, 2625 (AVML)
Lunch: 207, 545 (diabetic), 644 (first photo), 680 (VLML), 802, 928, 1322 (Kosher), 2284
Afternoon tea: 339, 404 (vegetarian), 480, 600 (VLML), 710 (including low lactose), 800, 882 (gluten free), 1281, 1322 (Kosher), 1673, 2679 (Kosher), 2792
Dinner: 563, 630 (VGML), 669 (Kosher Passover), 771 (VGML LCY) 799, 819 (AVML), 833 (May 2017 menu), 1283, 1287, 1674, 2446, 2616 (Kosher), 2793
Comments on difference between AVML and VLML here.
-----
Medium Band (e.g. Madrid, Nice, Prague, Copenhagen)
Breakfast: 645 (vegetarian), 724 (vegetarian), 1003
Brunch: 199 (VLML), 600 (VLML), 659 (Kosher Passover)
Lunch: 239 (child), 251, 425, 641, 733
Afternoon tea: 332 (also includes vegetarian), 426 (GFML), 813 (Muslim)
Dinner: 456, 551 (also includes VLML), 666, 1004,
1278
-----
Long Band (e.g. Lisbon, Rome, Warsaw, Stockholm).
Breakfast: 195 (vegetarian)
Rest of the day: 306 (LFML), 345, 427, 443, 468, 597, 676, 687, 695, 783 (VLML)
======
NOT MAINTAINED AND OUT OF DATE: The complete Short Haul meal structure for the longer flights as of October 2017 is:
LHR
Meal 1: Chicken / red pepper risotto
Meal 2: Beef cheek
Meal 3: Chicken supreme / gnocchi
Meal 4: Miso glazed cod
Meal 5: Chicken khao soi
Meal 6: Hot smoked salmon linguine
LGW
Meal 1: Thyme roasted chicken
Meal 2: Spicy corn and paneer masala
Meal 3: Thai Penang chicken curry
Meal 4: Roasted red pepper tortellini
Meal 5: Beef and mushroom caserole
Meal 6: Tomato and four cheeses tortellini
Structured into:
Rotation A
LHR outbound
Meal 3
Meal 4
inbound to LHR
Meal 5
Meal 6
Rotation B
LHR outbound
Meal 5
Meal 6
inbound to LHR
Meal 1
Meal 2
Rotation C
LHR outbound
Meal 1
Meal 2
inbound to LHR
Meal 3
Meal 4
===
October 2017 = Rotation C
November 2017 = Rotation A
December 2017 = Rotation B
January 2018 = Rotation C
etc
This thread outlines the new arrangements for Club Europe catering, introduced on Sunday 26 March 2017 and due to end on Tuesday 11 September 2018, based on 3 zones. A new Club Europe catering product is due to be launch on Wednesday 12 September 2018, and this is based on 4 bands. The main information piece - in terms of timings and the distance zones for the meals can be found in post 1. The following cross references the photos below against the matrix of options. In addition to the photos, some FTers have written extensively on their experiences so there is more to this thread than the pictures. Also note that there was an increase in food offered on some combinations shortly after the start-up, so the more recent photos may be the best place to start.The previous shorthaul catering guide, now locked but which had the previous 4 band system, is to be found here.
Numbers relate to the post number. Vegetarian means the alternative option provided as standard rather than the pre-ordered versions - which are VLML (Lacto-ovo), AVML (Asia) and VGML (Vegan) . There are differences between the offering in/out of LHR, LGW, LCY+STN. Last update: 833
-------------------------
Note posts before 1-832 are typically the April 2017 menu. 833 and above is from the menu for May 2017.
----
Chef's Chat sheets for:
CE LHR Summer 2017 - Rotation A
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28338151-post954.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28339641-post958.html
-----.
Short Band (UK, France, Ireland, BeNeLux, Germany)
Breakfast: 279, 570 (vegetarian), 629, 674, 821 (Express breakfast for MAN and LBA), 1343 (Vegan), 2285 (Express for LBA and MAN), 2445
Brunch: 180, 289, 469, 563, 685, 716, 2625 (AVML)
Lunch: 207, 545 (diabetic), 644 (first photo), 680 (VLML), 802, 928, 1322 (Kosher), 2284
Afternoon tea: 339, 404 (vegetarian), 480, 600 (VLML), 710 (including low lactose), 800, 882 (gluten free), 1281, 1322 (Kosher), 1673, 2679 (Kosher), 2792
Dinner: 563, 630 (VGML), 669 (Kosher Passover), 771 (VGML LCY) 799, 819 (AVML), 833 (May 2017 menu), 1283, 1287, 1674, 2446, 2616 (Kosher), 2793
Comments on difference between AVML and VLML here.
-----
Medium Band (e.g. Madrid, Nice, Prague, Copenhagen)
Breakfast: 645 (vegetarian), 724 (vegetarian), 1003
Brunch: 199 (VLML), 600 (VLML), 659 (Kosher Passover)
Lunch: 239 (child), 251, 425, 641, 733
Afternoon tea: 332 (also includes vegetarian), 426 (GFML), 813 (Muslim)
Dinner: 456, 551 (also includes VLML), 666, 1004,
1278
-----
Long Band (e.g. Lisbon, Rome, Warsaw, Stockholm).
Breakfast: 195 (vegetarian)
Rest of the day: 306 (LFML), 345, 427, 443, 468, 597, 676, 687, 695, 783 (VLML)
======
NOT MAINTAINED AND OUT OF DATE: The complete Short Haul meal structure for the longer flights as of October 2017 is:
LHR
Meal 1: Chicken / red pepper risotto
Meal 2: Beef cheek
Meal 3: Chicken supreme / gnocchi
Meal 4: Miso glazed cod
Meal 5: Chicken khao soi
Meal 6: Hot smoked salmon linguine
LGW
Meal 1: Thyme roasted chicken
Meal 2: Spicy corn and paneer masala
Meal 3: Thai Penang chicken curry
Meal 4: Roasted red pepper tortellini
Meal 5: Beef and mushroom caserole
Meal 6: Tomato and four cheeses tortellini
Structured into:
Rotation A
LHR outbound
Meal 3
Meal 4
inbound to LHR
Meal 5
Meal 6
Rotation B
LHR outbound
Meal 5
Meal 6
inbound to LHR
Meal 1
Meal 2
Rotation C
LHR outbound
Meal 1
Meal 2
inbound to LHR
Meal 3
Meal 4
===
October 2017 = Rotation C
November 2017 = Rotation A
December 2017 = Rotation B
January 2018 = Rotation C
etc
Club Europe catering guide
May 22, 2018, 12:01 am
#2356
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SFO, LON
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Bonvoy Tit, Hilton Dia etc etc
Posts: 2,354
It's only the MAD that has been upgraded "due to commercial reasons". Make of that what you will, maybe it's because IB offer a full meal service, or maybe it has something to do with the route being the IAG staff shuttle (many of the flights, especially Mon and Fri early morning and late evening will see large Club cabins with often 75% of passengers on duty travel).
May 22, 2018, 12:31 am
#2357
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,541
Of all the borderline flights I would expect flights to capitals to get an upgraded service before others might, or before they change the service. I would perhaps throw OSL into the pot, myself, eventually, though MAD gets it first for the reasons you list, I would assume; certainly expect holiday heavy destinations like the Balearic Islands or central Italy won't be anywhere near as high on the list. It's teh same logic AA uses to decide which shorter flights get a meal service (eg ORD-NYC routes) as exceptions to its distance based meal rules: cherry pick the routes based on commercial reasons.
One thing that could make a difference in my view would be competition, but that would basically suggest that after MAD, the only possible adjustment would likely be VIE. It's not as though SK European service offered much for BA to want to emulate on OSL and while AZ food in long haul J is great, short haul C is not exactly stellar.
My reaction to MAD being upgraded is mixed. On the one hand, I am always happy to see an improvement anywhere even if it is very specific. On the other hand, it in fact suggests to me that the pathetic excuse for medium routes catering is likely here to stay. As bwaflyer rightly says, LHR-MAD is a huge staff route and we needed those people to keep complaining as they are, quite frankly, the only ones BA listens to. Now that we've lost their support on the medium catering shambles, I doubt anything will happen any time soon though I'd love to be wrong.
Last edited by orbitmic; May 22, 2018 at 9:54 am
May 22, 2018, 1:27 am
#2358
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SFO, LON
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Bonvoy Tit, Hilton Dia etc etc
Posts: 2,354
If it's low yield, I am sure they won't get it. Wasn't trying to be too clever, don't read too much into this, just pointing out that cherry picking exceptions has a track record, for whatever reason they decide to do it. Seemed to me more likely OSL would get it than PMI, but if the route is under different types of competitive pressure, it probably won't. Whatever.
I fly a number of these borderline routes, especially the ones in Italy; if I didn't have a CCR card, I wouldn't bother for sure. This is the end of the road of a project to transform BA short haul products which most likely started like all such projects, with a projected benefit based on local costs and revenues, then snowballed into a mess which has left CE as a laughable product for most of the day on anything except domestics and long routes, which covers a significant chunk of the network including all of Germany, France, northern Italy. Small potatoes, in other words. Likely as not, any changes are going to have to be bottom-line neutral, lest they compromise the business case for the showpiece transformation project, Buy On Board. I hope it's not so, but I'll bet it's SSDD
I fly a number of these borderline routes, especially the ones in Italy; if I didn't have a CCR card, I wouldn't bother for sure. This is the end of the road of a project to transform BA short haul products which most likely started like all such projects, with a projected benefit based on local costs and revenues, then snowballed into a mess which has left CE as a laughable product for most of the day on anything except domestics and long routes, which covers a significant chunk of the network including all of Germany, France, northern Italy. Small potatoes, in other words. Likely as not, any changes are going to have to be bottom-line neutral, lest they compromise the business case for the showpiece transformation project, Buy On Board. I hope it's not so, but I'll bet it's SSDD
May 22, 2018, 1:50 am
#2359
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 847
...it in fact suggests to me that the pathetic excuse for medium routes catering is likely here to stay. As bwaflyer rightly says, LHR-MAD is a huge crew route and we needed those people to keep complaining as they are, quite frankly, the only ones BA listens to. Now that we've lost their support on the medium catering shambles, I doubt anything will happen any time soon though I'd love to be wrong.
May 22, 2018, 2:18 am
#2360
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland
Programs: AY+ Platinum, SK Gold, BAEC Silver, airbaltic VIP, Radisson VIP
Posts: 6,531
It was indeed mentioned. I am very curious to see when/what will change.
May 22, 2018, 2:35 am
#2361
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,928
Could you give us more info on why/if you have a particular reason to think so? Is it what the crew actually said? I'd like it to be true (I don't like Castelnau but like Monopole even less!) but many flights seem to have both served which strikes me as unlikely in the case of a supply issue where you'd expect the regular supply to run out first then the alternative used as back up or so I'd think?
Crew member mentioned that they think there could be a change of supplier.
The first bottle offered was Monopole, followed by Castelnau. After the Monopole, I found the Castelnau had a strange and slightly jarring aftertaste.
PS - offered three choices of main course this evening, BHD-LHR.
The first bottle offered was Monopole, followed by Castelnau. After the Monopole, I found the Castelnau had a strange and slightly jarring aftertaste.
PS - offered three choices of main course this evening, BHD-LHR.
I have no insider knowledge on the reason for the appearance of Monopole. I suspect it may only be a supply issue, when BA makes these sorts of changes there is often a press release or a staffer will post on here. There were insolvency issues surrounding one of BA's wine suppliers a few weeks ago resulting in some supply issues. You will recall the outrage when the LPGS bottles ran dry in the CCR and on board some flights; there were several reports of the wines offered on board were different to those listed on the menu.
Galley FM was that they thought it a supply issue rather than a permanent change. Time will tell.
May 22, 2018, 4:34 am
#2363
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 614
I'm not sure I follow the logic. Is there something particular about capital cities? OSL is apparently one of the lowest yield routes for BA and many other airlines especially in C. BA makes a lot more money in C on routes like NCE, LIN, VCE, VIE or probably BCN.
One thing that could make a difference in my view would be competition, but that would basically suggest that after MAD, the only possible adjustment would likely be VIE. It's not as though SK European service offered much for BA to want to emulate on OSL and while AZ food in long haul J is great, short haul C is not exactly stellar.
My reaction to MAD being upgraded is mixed. On the one hand, I am always happy to see an improvement anywhere even if it is very specific. On the other hand, it in fact suggests to me that the pathetic excuse for medium routes catering is likely here to stay. As bwaflyer rightly says, LHR-MAD is a huge crew route and we needed those people to keep complaining as they are, quite frankly, the only ones BA listens to. Now that we've lost their support on the medium catering shambles, I doubt anything will happen any time soon though I'd love to be wrong.
One thing that could make a difference in my view would be competition, but that would basically suggest that after MAD, the only possible adjustment would likely be VIE. It's not as though SK European service offered much for BA to want to emulate on OSL and while AZ food in long haul J is great, short haul C is not exactly stellar.
My reaction to MAD being upgraded is mixed. On the one hand, I am always happy to see an improvement anywhere even if it is very specific. On the other hand, it in fact suggests to me that the pathetic excuse for medium routes catering is likely here to stay. As bwaflyer rightly says, LHR-MAD is a huge crew route and we needed those people to keep complaining as they are, quite frankly, the only ones BA listens to. Now that we've lost their support on the medium catering shambles, I doubt anything will happen any time soon though I'd love to be wrong.
May 22, 2018, 6:39 am
#2364
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,399
May 22, 2018, 7:58 am
#2366
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,364
There are departures from the norm in the catering band allocation. MAD might be a positive one (long instead of medium) in the same way as GOA is a negative one (short instead of medium).
May 22, 2018, 9:53 am
#2367
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,541
May 22, 2018, 10:06 am
#2368
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,541
I guess that, as a very rough rule of thumb, capital cities tend, on the whole, to be larger cities where the balance with more business traffic than secondary cities in the same state and typically higher yields but you are right that there is no absolute link and there are counter-examples.
There are departures from the norm in the catering band allocation. MAD might be a positive one (long instead of medium) in the same way as GOA is a negative one (short instead of medium).
There are departures from the norm in the catering band allocation. MAD might be a positive one (long instead of medium) in the same way as GOA is a negative one (short instead of medium).
May 23, 2018, 9:55 am
#2369
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: BAEC Gold/GGL, IHG Diamond AMB
Posts: 1,074
Most delicious Kosher meal on MAN-LHR yesterday evening - lovely chicken with a chilli sauce, big bread roll and a kind of rhubarb trifle. Many jealous looks from the other PAX in the cabin!