THR

Eek. I'm flying F SYD-LHR on BA in a few days time. Hopefully that experience isn't what we receive, albeit I suspect it to be the case given what has been said. Will just have to ensure we dine well at the lounges on the way!

First ever F experience too.

Dave Noble

There is still time to change to another airline if it looks poor

orbitmic

actually the bacon sandwich is a regular on all routes where breakfast is the main meal (so it was there every time on the 9am departure LHR-MIA which has thankfully reverted to lunch main meal now instead) although it's typically offered as an alternative to other hot options. I've also seen it offered as a second meal breakfast option on many of the shorter (7-8 hour) flights.

either way, those photos simply are embarrassing, and in my view, the fact that they pertain to the second meal does not really affect that as 7-8 hours is long enough to deserve two meals.

Tobias-UK

The discussion was in respect to breakfast as a second meal. I have certainly seen a bacon sandwich offered as one alternative to the Full English on most flights, but I don't recall seeing the bacon sandwich being the only hot breakfast item save for the SIN-SYD sector.

I rarely have breakfast on long haul except as the second meal on LHR-SIN/HKG etc.

THR

Not a chance as it's a work trip and I didn't have a choice. Anyway, I'm not super fussy, and the lounge food beforehand and during connections should be sufficient.

Tobias-UK

Don't be distracted about the afternoon tea, it is just a snack served before arrival. If you eat in the lounge before departure you can ask for your main meal on board to be served closer to arrival and miss the afternoon tea altogether. I cannot recall the last time I had an afternoon tea on board any long haul flight, I really wish they'd replace it.

orbitmic

That's what I was indeed pointing out: it's frequently there (both as first and second meal breakkie option), but usually as an alternative to other hot options, not as the only one.

I would add that I have no clue why SIN-SYD-SIN seems to get poor food. No doubt BA will refer to catering issues, but as it happens, both SIN and SYD have a plethora of excellent catering offer which everyone else seems able to use, and SIN-SYD is a highly competitive route in both price and quality.

I would add that like you and LTNPhobia, I tend to develop coping strategies on BA F, like skipping the afternoon tea (which I quite universally dislike) and breakfast, eating in 'good' lounges before where possible (SYD, SIN, HKG, LHRT5, etc). However, while this is a good way to make do with the existing offer, in fairness, one should not really have to think that way when flying F and those second meals are, in my view, a consistently disappointing experience since the discontinuation of the bistro menu, bar second lunch/dinner on a handful of US West coast and Latin American daylight flights. The coping strategies are also context-specific, and frequently, when connecting at either end of the trip I find myself with little time to visit the lounge let alone dine there.

I do think that if BA brought back the bistro menu, a lot of those complaints would instantly recede.

JAXBA

True, if money is no object, or someone is mileage rich and availability is open. Otherwise, probably not a realistic solution... I know I wouldn't be able to rebook an F booking to another airline with only a few days notice, and I definitely wouldn't do it just because the meals looked poor. It'd mean I was pretty well locked in, not that I was accepting the standard of food.

JAXBA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tobias-UK

I cannot recall the last time I had an afternoon tea on board any long haul flight, I really wish they'd replace it.

Please don't give BA ideas. I've had the afternoon tea in CE, CW, and F, and enjoyed it (even if on occasions I wished there was more of it). It's a nice concept, when done properly.

Perhaps if there were another option for those who don't like or, are tired of, the afternoon tea, but personally I look forward to it, and my wife loved it on our last F flight.

It doesn't work for you, and of course that's okay, but please don't wish for its demise.

mikeyfly

I think it's bonkers that people need to work strategies to avoid a meal service on board including lounge first and only having one of the two meal services. There's no getting away from the fact this is embarrassing and needs addressing. Customer avoidance is not the answer

DFB_london

just says it all when frequent customers have to work around product failings.

Dave Noble

Not really - I have found that 1st class fares are not overly impacted with requirements for advance purchase . As long as there is not a large cancellation penalty, can be very easy to change

I would be doing it if I had been mad enough to pay for 1st class on BA

And if people are doing this rather than just booking other carriers, then no reason for the airline to improve

TravellerFrequently

From many F flights and based on the above photos, my plan of action for your trip would be:

1. Arrive at SYD BA check in as soon as it opens.
2. Get to the excellent QF F lounge and ask at reception for a spa treatment if that interests you.
3. Have a good three course meal.
4. Board the BA 777 and enjoy some Laurent Perrier Grande Siècle champagne (LPGS).
5. When asked when you would like to dine and what you would like to eat, choose the tems from the menu that you like and ask the crew to serve them to you X hours into the flight.
6. Back to enjoying more LPGS or other.
7. Enjoy (hopefully) your meal choices mid flight.
8. Arrive at SIN and get off quickly to head to the QF or BA lounges to have a shower if that interests you or have a snack - I think QF has the better food from memory and reports if you are starving, although you will get food from SIN.

Lastly, and most importantly, enjoy and have a great first First flight!!

TravellerFrequently

There was - it was called the Bistro menu.

Tobias-UK

Mine isn't a strategy to avoid a meal, it's a time management and jetlag avoidance strategy. I'm often stopping in SIN after this flight and so it makes sense to dine at lunchtime in the SYD lounge and then have dinner on board at c.18:00 before arrival in SIN at c.20:00. I head off to the hotel, shower, bed and fresh the next morning for a full day's work.

If I'm connecting on to LHR, I try to stay awake for as long as possible so will eat on the SIN-LHR sector about 4+ hours in before getting some sleep. To maximise sleep I skip breakfast on board and take it in the CCR before my connection to MAN.