onobond

Sure thing. In the long run, a more substantial meal on board will probably prove to be less costly.
But for a solidly Premium Airline...

ExpatExp

F afternoon tea on LHR-JFK was excellent last month. Will be flying the return shortly, daytime, and am hoping the afternoon tea is just as nice on the way back.

orbitmic

I think that's exactly what we used to have on the JFK-LHR day flights (in the other direction I only remember breakfast items?) and I thought that this actually worked very well and used to be praised by those of us who regularly pick those day flights. In fact, I remember writing to BA multiple times to suggest that they do the same on the early ex-LHR flights to the US (though they thankfully replaced the breakfast by lunch on the early MIA flight).

I think two breakfast and two lunch options in the first main meal is about perfect (say, full breakfast, two lunchy hot mains including one vegetarian, and a reasonably luxurious cold breakfast plate) and it would be easy to offer a breakfasty and a a lunchy starter options too.

Whiterose

There are threads on this but not recently. We flew the 178 in May and unfortunately are booked to fly the same flight in November

Has anyone more recent experience since May? Are BA still offering only breakfast, no main meal? Flight departs at 0805 so pax will have been at JFK for a couple of hours and passed the time I assume, as we did, with breakfast in the lounge. An hour or two after take-off, a meal appears. Breakfast. Then nothing till shortly before arrival when a ridiculous offering called "afternoon tea" appears, three miniature sandwiches and three equally miniature dolls house size cakes.

By the time you're through immigration and baggage claim if you've checked luggage, it's 8.00 or even 9.00, you've missed lunch by NYC time, and lunch and evening meal by UK time. In contrast, last month we flew Aegean Air, shorter flight, smaller airline but nevertheless we had a quite reasonable four-course meal on each flight.

Has BA178 CW changed? Please tell me it has!

mmxbreaks

In July it was breakfast I'm afraid!

chistery

I like this flight, but there is a lack of food. The pastries in the lounge feel like they've been made a few days before or frozen. I usually just grab some snacks from Fika (but it looks like that has shut?) and get to the club kitchen before it gets raided.

Flexible preferences

Although, of course, then you form part of said 'raiding'!

NWIFlyer

This is a really difficult flight to cater for. You have around 6 hours from pushback, so in reality the crew probably only has around 5 hours from being released after take-off to having to secure the cabin for landing to prepare two meals whilst also dealing with all the other service requirements of a cabin that's more likely to be awake. There's therefore much less 'dead' time when passengers are sleeping on the evening flights to prepare the meals for the following morning.

It seems, to me, perfectly logical to have breakfast as the first meal - for that morning flight there's going to be many people who arrive at the airport as late as possible and actually don't have time for breakfast in the lounge. At somewhere around 9.30am local time you're unlikely to want a full-blown three course midday or evening meal.

So when the next meal arrives 3 or so hours later, it's around lunchtime in NYC and early teatime in the UK - and therein lies the real problem. Some people will want something light to tide them over until they reach their hotels or home in the early evening. Others will have longer journeys and will want something more substantial. You'd hope BA would be able to concoct a menu that offered both a substantial meal and something lighter, but instead you get a fudge which is Afternoon Tea which probably suits hardly anyone.

I don't know the logistics of offering something different, and maybe serving more than one type of meal in CW is just too difficult for the CC in the time available - perhaps that's something CIHY could comment on.

mattyw

I was in J on the 178 a couple of weeks ago and struggle to reconcile myself with the claims of woe I'd read on here regarding famished business class passengers. The offering is roughly the same volume of food as the westbound flight but in a travel window that's often an hour or so shorter?

I arrived at T7 at about 06:45 so had time for a small bowl of porridge in the lounge and then enjoyed the usual breakfast on board. I wasn't even slightly peckish four hours later when the afternoon tea appeared but I grazed on it anyway. If I was leaving the airport and then going home to sleep shortly thereafter I wouldn't want a substantial meal in any case.

Rubecula

I have never taken this flight but have been on the day flight from Boston (BA238) several times in First, last occasion just over a month ago.On the Boston flight, as well as the breakfast items there was a starter of soup and one lunch main course. The second meal was canapes followed by antipasti.Food is not the strong point for taking this flight, it is avoiding a short overnight.

EDIT: Oops, just spotted the OP is talking about CW not F.

moral_low_ground

Why don't BA do what EK do and hand out a cold continental breakfast after take off and do a full meal around 2 hours before landing. Continental breakfast is quick to deliver, can top off anything you have in the lounge (or you could keep croissant etc for later) and you have a full meal before getting off.

Seems pretty logical and surprised it's never been tried.

Can I help you

cosmo74

maybe try one of the AA daytime flights next time, i'm pretty sure at least one of them has lunch rather than breakfast service - and personally i much prefer the AA seat as well. Have to say i'm not a fan of the BA cooked breakfasts on-board, they're usually lousy, so i understand where the OP is coming from - whilst there might be a decent amount of food, it's generally not pleasant to eat.

Dr Dave

Agreed, this is what EK do on the early morning flights out of DXB to the UK. My sense is it works really well - I have a light snack in the lounge, and then a little on board. The lunch before landing then feels natural, and it sets me up for the rest of the day on arrival in the UK. This is a very sensible way to approach the issue, and works well from my perspective.

clarkeysntfc

I've said it so many times before but you need to fly VS on this route if you are taking the daylight service.

They offer full sit down breakfast service in the club house at JFK, then a light breakfast / snack on board post take off, followed by a full 3 course dinner about 2 hours before landing.