5,000 Avios for no meal in CE?
 

Full cash J, My special meal had not been loaded, no alternatives, nothing at all.

Customer Relations offered 2,000 Avios first to which I replied it was an insult.

Accepted 5,000 Avios eventually but still not sure the compensation is adequate.

Any thoughts?

The J bucket isn't material here - the only loss of amenity is the meal because you got all other benefits of the ticket.

Sensibly used, £50 minimum value. I'd say that was fair personally given if I paid that much for a CE-standard meal in a restaurant I'll feel royally ripped off!

I'd feel like I'd been taken right up the shard. ;)

Obviously not having a meal loaded is inexcusable, and doesn't make for a pleasant flight, especially on a full J fare.

That being said, 5000 Avios will buy you quite a lot from the Buy on Board menu (should it happen again, and there is actually catering loaded), and is nearly enough for a o/w J ticket (off peak start at 7750 Avios o/w as far away as Milan or Prague), so a fairly decent settlement I think given that the catering cost of a meal is certainly no more than £5.

Out of interest how many avios did you think would be appropriate?

Thanks for your analysis ^

7,750...Avios needed for a o/w J ticket. 2,000 Avios was an insult.

Without meaning to be disrespectful, I think expecting 7750 avios (as required for o/w J ticket) is a bit unreasonable. I assume you also benefitted from lounge access, had an extra seat free and got complementary drinks from the bar? If so I think 5000 is more than enough (in my opinion).

I do get lounge access due to status anyway.

Had an extra free seat, fair enough...although no drinks (can't have a drink without eating).

I was offered a £10 voucher for use at LHR when the overnight catering from AMS went kaput for the morning flight. I would have gladly accept 5k avios.

What about 2,000?

A lack of food has never stopped me drinking, and presumably you were still able to consume non-alcoholic beverages which is an upgrade from Y in itself now.

If push had come to shove, you could have bought from the BoB menu and submitted the receipts to BA for reimbursement. They would most likely still have thrown some Avios your way as compensation for the service failure and effective meal downgrade, maybe still the 5k if you'd fought hard enough.

I do think your expectation is somewhat unrealistic here, and excessive compensation in the past caused by BA simply backing down to such requests has led to the unsatisfactory position we have now.

Not if your special meal is a kosher one....

Probably. Did email in and response was the usual 'sorry but go and do one!'

5000 Avios seems fair to me.