corporate-wage-slave

New Club World Service 2017 - catering and bedding – experiences and reactions

Version 2 final – Apart from some minor typo corrections, I'll leave it as it is, it's quite a long post to parse for updates.

This thread covers experiences and reactions to the new catering and bedding options introduced on long haul Club World service, starting with London Heathrow to and from New York John F Kennedy airports. The new catering is a development of an existing partnership with Do&Co, and the bedding from a new relationship with the White Company. The new catering will be rolled out to all longhaul Club World services in stages from early 2018 onwards.
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Links
Previous threads on FT:
Media centre story: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...1-sep-jfk.html
Previous speculation: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...s-lhr-jfk.html
Investing4U event: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-5-2017-a.html

Note: This thread is primarily focused on the new CW Do&Co catering and (in due course) the new bedding and amenity bag for Club World – experiences and reactions. The wider issue of the new Club World seating and other CW product topics are beyond the scope of this thread, but feel free to comment on these in existing or new threads.
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Inaugural day – 1 September 2017, BA175
Scheduled LHR T5 at 09:40, arrive 12:25 JFK T7.
Actual departure 09:49, arrive 12:11
Aircraft 747-436 G-CIVZ – (86J / Super J)


On hearing that 1 September 2017 was to be the launch day for the new Club World catering service, I rearranged an existing trip to Washington DC so that I could be on the second flight of the day to New York. After many years of frequent Club World travels I was more than a little intrigued to see how the new partnership with Do&Co. British Airways offered me access to Jon, one of the project team who developed this implementation, so I was able to find out more about this new concept.

Boarding.
Boarding was from B37, with a 09:40 scheduled departure. I left CCR just after 09:00, walked down the passageway to the B terminal, and arrived about 09:15. Boarding looked to me to be about three quarters completed and I joined the Priority Boarding queue – there were just a few people in front of me and so I was in my Upper Deck seat within a minute or two. I was in 64A, Theoretical Seating had kept 64B (and 64J) empty, which is about as good as it gets.


There wasn’t much clue about the new service at this point, other than some Do&Co staff running around at the gate. However sharp eyed readers will notice the water bottle provided with the first drink – the first and very welcome change in the service, on day services the water bottle is normally supplied after the main meal. The water bottle will be particularly helpful on warm days if there is runway congestion. Unfortunately the bedding and amenity kit isn’t ready yet, that is expected mid October.

Menu distribution
Not long after take off the new menus were distributed, and here is the first big change – we’ve gone from a booklet to a folded card. It’s quite a high spec document in terms of card and print quality, and is quite eye catching too. There is a panel for each section of the catering, including the second meal. The cabin crew explained in more detail than before the different meal options, such as the use of the trolley for starters, which would particularly help a regular CW user unfamiliar with the service changes.










Drinks and nuts
Here the new service become very apparent: the new glassware is first rate and served on a tray with a separate bowl of mixed nuts, so very different from the Out of Africa packets. The cut glass is the water / soft drinks glass is very eye catching, and the smooth glass in the second picture is the wine glass. Both are branded on their base. Serving on a small tray handed to the customer reduces the number of hand passes.




Main course selection
The main course selection is taken off the menu description.

Tray with breads
Another big change, clearly showing the Do&Co influence. The side tray makes another appearance during the second meal. The bread is three-in-one, with different varieties within one roll.




Starters trolley
The starters are selected as a trolley comes through. The soup isn’t shown on the trolley, it is kept in the galley to keep it warm. It is OK to have a salad and another starters, indeed the ethos is largely about “have what you want” rather than “select one item only”. I had the butternut soup and the salad. The salad is much, much better than the previous token offer, and has two sauces, balsamic and French. Don’t stint on the French sauce, it is excellent! My soup was rich and velvety, and but for the need to keep space, I would have asked for seconds.







Main courses
Main courses are served by hand from the galley, based on the earlier selection. I went for the Dover Sole, though I must admit the beef looked and smelt rather good! The fish was nevertheless good, with a small piece of lemon butter melting in the lentils. The mash was also excellent. Do&Co has very strict timings on beef cooking, rather lower than those to which BA staff may be accustomed! The wine carrier made its appearance here, one white and one red wine. It can carry three bottles but they're starting with just two for the time being.





Desserts
This follows the pattern of the starters with a free selection from the trolley. I went for the Appel Strudel, based on the wonderful cinnamon smell wafting over the cabin. For once, I really could not accept a cheese plate, there simply wasn’t room.






Tea/coffee
Note the new mug here, served on the tray.


Second meal – sandwiches or tapas.
Served 90 minutes from landing. I’m not sure I’d call it tapas, it was basically a rare Yorkshire beef salad. Tasty and certainly an alternative to the sandwiches – which have also had a design uplift. Eating all of this was quite a fea(s)t. Admittedly the leisurely lunch and fast flight meant there was only a 90 minute gap between meals. I think it would be a better idea to put this on a trolley, along with the scones, to make it easier to see what the options are. And I can't believe everyone will want to eat all of this after a heavy lunch.




Club Kitchen
No change, though the quantity of existing items has been increased. Not sure it will be that popular on short routes!



Timings
I would not take this as anything definitive, the crew had been trained in the new service but inevitably it would be a bit slow on day 1. Because the aircraft was scheduled to leave at 09:40 I doubt many other passengers noticed, however.
09:00 - boarding started (approx.) gate B37, I leave CCR a few minutes after this.
09:15 – I got to the gate about three quarters through the boarding process.
09:40 – scheduled departure time
09:46 – “Boarding completed” (I think this delay was due to the extra swab tests at the gate on some passengers, I wasn’t included in this).
09: 49 – Pushback
10:12 – Take off from 27R, BA.com predicting an arrival at 12:24, the moving map 12:10
10:17 – CSD greeting
10:22 – seat belts off (they didn’t come on again until New York
10:24 – Hot towels
10:33 – Menus handed out
10:42 – Drinks and nuts
10:56 – Request for main course selection
11:32 – Tray with breads, hand delivered from galley.
11:55 – Starter trolley arrives, and the starter with it
12:08 – Starter trolley completes upper deck run
12:18 – Main course served, hand delivered from galley
12:48 - Main course dish removed
13:06 – Dessert trolley appears
13:19 – Meal service completed and tray removed, drinks offered.
14:00 – Drinks offered
15:05 – Snack basket pass (Club Kitchen items)
15:42 – Second meal served over Québec, served from galley (no trolley)
16:10 – Second meal tray removed
16:19 – “40 minutes to landing”
16:39 – “20 minutes to landing”
17:07 – landed in JFK, 12:07 Eastern
12:11 – at gate
12:16 – leave aircraft (door 1L)
12:24 – through CBP and out to landside.

Conclusions
I will write up something a bit longer on this later. But my first impression is that this is a huge transformation in the catering offering in Club World. A transformation in quality, quantity and presentation. The crew were genuinely delighted to serve it, and totally determined to make sure passenger made the most of this new service.

Thank you to the crew on BA175 for helping me with this, particularly the two ladies on the Upper Deck, also Jon and Louise from British Airways in Waterside.

Disclaimer: I paid for this revenue fare, it wasn’t a freebie. I did gratefully accept the offer of assistance from BA with photo logistics and a background briefing. The views here are my own.

corporate-wage-slave

Frequently Asked Questions

I put Jon, from the Service Proposition team under the spotlight for this, many thanks for his kind help with this. However I don't think you can regard this as officially coming from BA, more like how CWS thought it might sound like!

1) What is the ethos/logic behind this new CW offering?
From the menu itself "Our aim is to bring you a completely new dining experience in Club World, with the finest quality ingredients, focused on provenance and seasonality. We are proud to introduce a completely new menu alongside bespoke china and glassware, developed exclusively for British Airways, all brought to you in a new style that we hope will make your flight an unforgettable experience". Unusually, for marketing spin, I find it difficult to disagree with this. More broadly, this is a project which took 15 months from its launch to the first flight. It involved going to Do&Co, who had done some previously good work for BA, and asking them to come up with their idea of what this service could look like. They came back with the core products shown above, BA worked with Do&Co to come up with something which was realistic and yet stretching the boundary as far as possible from "yet another business class food product". For a lot of the challenges listed below, it felt BA's approach was "ok, how would a restaurant handle this?".

2) How does this new service work on the Sleeper service?
There won't be trolleys but there will be a new range of food. There is an acceptance that sleep remains a core part of the product, and is a unique part of the CW product, but equally for those who wish to stay up a bit, then there will be a single tray service available. I will be on a Sleeper flight in a few days with more precise details.

3) What does the JFK-LHR supper menu look like?
See new post in a few days.

4) What does the JFK-LHR breakfast look like?
See new post in a few days.

5) How long does it take to serve?
Well this flight did take a long time! This was also a short flight, 7 hours basically, with the result that the first meal almost felt it merged into the second meal to be one long meal with a flight thrown in. I rolled off the aircraft absolutely stuffed and there was plenty of dishes and options I had to turn down. However in designing the menu the meal is intended to actually not take too long in the galley to bring together, crew are expected to do a lot more talking to passengers. So clearly the idea of going to a restaurant and having some fine dining is part of this ethos, that is best not rushed. However I'm sure the staff will get faster than today. It's like asking someone to make a meal in a kitchen you've never been in before, so just finding the sugar is a major exercise. There has been quite a degree of both research and training involved here, including 5 test "flights" involving staff volunteers, but nothing beats experience in this area.

6) Any changes to staff numbers for this? [With reference to full 52J cabins]
Yes. On this flight there were additional crew to make sure it all worked, but generally more crew will be moved to CW from WT/WTP, so their service will get slower. Having said that, it was always an unspoken secret that service in WT/WTP is-was significantly quicker and slicker than CW, WTP service often being completed before the last row of CW got their starters.

7) What does the second meal look like?
See above. The alternative to sandwiches will be part of this new service on other routes, with an expectation that the longer routes (e.g. LAX/SFO) will have a hot second meal.

8) How practical are the trolleys?
Very. They've been tested in turbulence, and so far no problems. I noticed the crew were having to get the knack of the wheel-stop but I felt they were already quite proficient. While it is not noisy, it is quite deliberately intended to be eye catching. Both the trolleys and the mini trays (see tea/coffee cups above) have a texture surface to keep things stuck in place, and it's surprisingly effective.

9) Will the total meal numbers increase to prevent people not getting their first choice?
Yes, but it's more than that. BA are trying to break away from the starter/main course/dessert stereotype, "one of each" scenario. So they fully expect some people to not bother with the main course, and perhaps have 2 or even 3 starters. Someone may just have the salad, soup and cheese for example. Alternatively the soup and all the desserts (two of them are actually quite small).

10) Will the existing semi-formal prioritisation of meal selection for Golds continue?
BA think they've done the maths and that while there may be an occasional case, essentially everyone will get their first choice, gold card or not. As far as I could tell that was the case on this flight too. But there is a bit of cleverness here: by using the trolleys, moving the displays around and encouraging people to have (say) 2 starters, then the idea is that people will stop looking at the menu, look at the trolley, listen to the crew and perhaps choose things that catch their eye. Essentially this is how it works in restaurants, particularly the staff promoting certain dishes.

11) Is the new amenity bag available?
No, it was felt besy to bring the White Company in as one event rather than over two stages.

12) If the new amenity bag is available, what is in it?
See above

13) Any more news on the bedding?
Not really. Just wait until mid October. It was intended to be launched today, but the colour of the bedding was just too close to the floor carpet, and it's difficult to fault the "safety first" approach here. I know from leaving aircraft just how incredibly untidy some of BA's lovely passengers can be.

14) Champagne and wine confirmation
Menus are above. Champagne definitely no changes. The wines, however, have been paired, and though it isn't fully part of the Do&Co arrangement, the fact that certain dishes are present means there have been some subtle changes.

15) Any changes to apéritifs and digestifs?
No, except for the previous announced Warre's LBV Port 2009.

16) And spirits (gin/vodka)?
No changes.

17) How practical is the wine carrier?
It has been tested and checked. The crew had no complaints about it (and that in itself is remarkable).

18) Any changes to soft drinks?
No changes.

19) When can we look this this going to other services beyond LHR-JFK
Coyness there! The word is beginning of next year (2018), there are quite a lot of logistics involved here and they do want to get it right before placing a mega order for equipment.

20) What about BA1?
No changes yet, but at some point they will presumably be brought into this. They are already on the previous Do&Co food supply arrangement.

21) What about EWR?
No changes, until the rest of the network changes they will remain on the previous menu. Change your bookings now if you can!

22) What about those who prefer unfancy/comfort food?
Well, listening to Jon, my take on this is that BA are making no apologies for a hefty lurch towards upscale restaurant style food. Which is what they have done. Something has to give, and if that is the shepherd's pie so be it. However, a combination of starters, desserts and the monthly rotation may well make it works for some people in this category.

23) Is the cheese suitable for vegetarians?
No. See next answer.

24) What is the position for vegetarians on the main menu?
This isn't good. Whereas the menu indicated whether wine was vegan / vegetarian, the food sections did not!

25) Why has the fourth main meal option been removed?
The extra options on starters and desserts, and the ability to have multiple items means that this should have been overtaken by the flexibility of the new dining arrangements. The cold salad option was essentially the fourth item, and a combination of the new salad and another starter probably covers a very similar territory. Overall I really can't say you have less choice overall.

26) Is the salad "as well as" or "instead of"
As well, instead of, it doesn't matter! The salad is much, much better than the previous offering and stands up in its own right.

27) Is it dessert or cheese or can we have both?
Both. I doubt many people will have space, I struggled to finish the dessert, there was no space for cheese.

28) What can we say about healthy eating on longhaul?
It's there, again if the barriers between the courses is removed then something like soup/salad/strawberries would be there. Just like in a restaurant.

29) Are the calorific values available?
No.

30) Any more news of changes to First?
Ha, well, no. I have to say I prefer this CW menu to First. And by quite a margin. They are quite different concepts, First retains the more elegant portion sizes. And, um, comfort food.

31) Is it confirmed that there will be enough loadings for everyone to have one starter + salad or soup (or more?) If not, how will it be prioritised, will status be used again?
See above questions 9 and 10, but essentially BA thinks they have more-or-less got rid of this as an issue. Just like in a restaurant.

32) Any change to the day JFK-LHR flight offerings?
It will be a brunch style offering, but it has been revamped in line with the concepts rolled out on the other LHR-JFK services.

33) Any intention to improve coffee offering and notably offer an espresso machine?
Not immediately but there may be movement on the espresso issue at some point.

34) Any plans to improve the quality/variety of non-alcoholic drinks?
None, however BA remains open to initiatives from drinks suppliers in this area.

35) Are all the main courses now cooked separately and then plated?
The dishes are supplied pre-plated and the whole dish goes into the oven and then on to the passenger. This is partly done to ensure consistency of delivery, but also to take account of staff work load.

36) What changes will there be to WTP and WT offers? (direct, ie WTP food ex CW, indirect staffing level). For WTP food, how plated
No changes to the existing WTP and WT offering. WTP effectively continues on the previous CW items for the time being. Staff numbers, as mentioned above, are being reduced in some WTP/WT scenarios to prioritise CW.

37) What are the next 2 routes to get the service?
Jon wasn't saying, but my guess is ORD and IAD won't be far off.

38) Cabin temperature and the new bedding
Yes, they are very aware of this. The new bedding is intended to be snug, so after experiments the cabin is expected to be kept at 20c. Crew are being trained on this point, since it may feel a bit chilly for them under this régime, but passengers will find it the best temperature for the new bedding. Probably best if WTP passengers don't wear shorts mind!

39) How often will the menu rotate?
Full rotation every month, though I'd guess some aspects of the breakfast and brunch won't change much.

40) Club kitchen?
No change, quantities will be increased (goodness knows why. There is a further problem that after the genuinely high class meal, the fun sized Mars bars look so utterly out of place now. The popcorn and crisps probably still work).

41) Pre ordering out of JFK and not just LHR/LGW?
Being looked at quite seriously (for JFK I can't believe it would be difficult. Elsewhere, well kitchens do vary all over the planet).

42) Will special meals be plated to the new glass and china?
Yes, with the exception of Kosher due to the way that is prepared and sealed.

corporate-wage-slave

Sleeper and Good Night Services (JFK to LHR)

Now this didn't go quite to plan. I booked myself on to BA112, without much thought, and of course that isn't actually a Sleeper Service, it's known unofficially as a Good Night service. It leaves Kennedy at 18:30 hrs, arrives into LHR T5 at 06:25, and often rather sooner. The true sleeper services are all the later departures. I did look into transferring over to the next service, however as luck would have it that service was running 90 minutes late and would then cause a misconnect to my onward service to Luxembourg. And LUX only has 2 flights a day.

However it turns out that the Sleeper service menu is the same as the Good Night service, so the key differences would be:
- pre flight dining in the lounge on Sleeper (though there are lighter food options in the lounge for Good Night flights)
- different arrangements on the trays to speed up the service on sleeper, whereas Good Night has the full meal servicing
- longer proportion of the flight with the lighting dimmed on Sleeper.

On the other hand the following are the same:
- no trolley service at all, it's all hand delivered from the galley.
- same food and drink options
- both services have a drinks service before the meal
- breakfast card menu
- usually some flexibility from the crew to pace the service to the passenger's needs.

As luck would have it, I had exactly the same crew, and the same staff members, on my return to LHR as on the outbound, the difference being this was their fourth go at the new menu, as opposed to my second. The crew had read both my report here on Flyertalk and read the comments raised here - with considerable interest. So my best wishes to the lovely Grania and the lovely Linda, for once again looking after me, and I hope you continue to find this report of interest. I know we are sometimes curious about whether Flyertalk has much impact on BA's managers, well my view is that it goes far deeper than that! Being a night flight, and having imposed myself somewhat on the same crew outbound I decided not to try and get a full gamut of photos, so you will see just what I selected, and I would hope other FTers will send in their own photos of the other options.

So the menu comes in the same format:



And just taking the elements where are different from the menu in post 1, here is the dinner menu:



The wine menu in an easier to read format (champagne is the same):





The breakfast menu:



And finally, on a separate piece of paper here is the breakfast card that you are encouraged to fill in:



As if by magic, the photos show the switch from day to night. So the service started with pre flight drinks:



Then I went for the soup plus salad. The salad was very similar to the outbound, so more packed and tasty than the previous salad, but unfortunately no hand delivered dressing. The tomato soup certainly didn't come from a Heinz tin, it was very rich and filling. No 3in1 bread, unfortunately!



Then I went for the braised beef. Being braised means that we're not in the pink meats area, this beef was almost like butter in terms of consistency, very tasty and hearty. I suspect it could have done with a bit less gravy, but there again it was very pleasant in its own right.



Finally the dessert, the hazelnut pudding, which wasn't big but rich and filling nevertheless. I was also offered the cheese, but could not have coped with that:


Then fast forward a few hours and we get to breakfast, which was thankfully served about 55 minutes to landing. I think those still asleep and who were regulars got their breakfasts last, but there was actually plenty of time for this. Now you may notice that the panini seem to be getting everywhere on BA, but I have to say this was vastly better than the previous bacon roll efforts, not admittedly very difficult.



Overview
Taking this as a whole, there is a clear improvement in catering on the JFK-LHR overnight sectors, particularly the breakfast, where they may have found the perfect balance between timing, something sensible to serve and something actually worth eating. The presentation is also an excellent improvement However without the trolleys there is some loss to the wow factor compared to the daytime flights, and that I guess is a necessary trade off to preserve the valuable thing about BA's overnight services in Club World, namely the quality and length of the sleep. In terms of constructive suggestions, I think it would be worth investigating a non panini based hot breakfast alternative. And perhaps another starter option, though the superior salad option, not mentioned on the menu perhaps covers that. I would have like the 3in1 bread and salad dressings on this service too.

Timings

18:32 Pushback from gate 3 (there was a late running Qantas jumbo trying to get out of gate 4)
18:40 Breakfast menu taken
18:45 Pushback for runway trip
19:18 Take off - usual JFK congestion
19:25 Hot towels
19:28 Seat belt sign off, however this was a slight bumpy service so they did come on again a few times
19:41 Drinks
20:08 Soup served
20:29 Main meal served
20:48 Dessert
21:00 Tray removed, time for zzzzz
00:22 Breakfast served
00:27 "40 minutes to landing"
00:35 Extra tea service
00:41 "20 minutes to landing"
01:10 Landed
06:10 BST landing time
06:14 Back to gate B37, from whence I started.

Incidentally I don't think this was a 7700 case, but we did have a medical emergency on board, I don't know any details, but we were asked to remain seated until the passenger was removed and taken off by ambulance. But we did get the Wembley to Putney shortcut and therefore a shorter flight than normal. I got to the T3 Cathay lounge via the B gate bus service at 06:42, so that took just 28 minutes for the transfer and T3 security, despite 5 minutes of delay in disembarkation, due to the medical emergency.

Thank you to the crew who twice got lumbered with me, and thanks also to Jon for help with background material.

Tobias-UK

An excellent report, many thanks for taking the time and effort. It is greatly appreciated ^

williamn78

Looks really great! Shall look forward to this being rolled out to the YYZ route.

crazy8534

"assistance from BA with photo logistics"

Love it, CWS, looking forward to trying it soon but alas all my currently booked JFK flights are in F!
It's a hard life...

MPH1980

Great report. I'm actually impressed. Clearly it's taking longer to serve, but hopefully that'll speed up with time and practice on the crew's part.

I'm trying this myself on the 15th and I think that Beef does look rather good :-)

I'm also pleased about the improvements to the second meal - that looks great too.

*slightly* disappointed the club kitchen is still the same, but you can't have everything at once!

KARFA

Thanks for the report. Looks good, which I had an upcoming JFK flight to try it.

Why not find a J passenger and offer to swap seats?

crazy8534

Don't you have to be vegan to do that...??!

JALlover

Thanks for the report on the new service!! The product looks stunning!!

At least they are adding the shakers back on

I hope this standard can last

ds2016

Looks really good.. looking forward to trying it in October on this route.

jday

Great work CWS. Not that I ever fly CW but a promising step in the right direction. Hope this trickles down into WTP in some form

missdimeaner

The catering looks really nice, I am looking forward to trying it out next week.
Thank you c-w-s for the excellent report.

Geordie405

Thank you c-w-s for this report. My initial impression was, quite simply, wow. It really looks fantastic. The presentation is impressive and it oozes quality. From your report it seems as if the crew were as excited about the new service and menu as you were

Flexible preferences

Looks wonderful. I would echo the thanks of others for taking the time and effort to give us this record of the actual service. Loved the 3-in-1 roll. The mug and glassware too ^