Killian_S

Hello - somewhat of an unusual question, but do any of you bring your own food on board the aircraft (especially for CW and F) instead of having the lunch (or dinner) offered?

I brought a Pret sandwich + one of their banana smoothies on board my flight yesterday and got a bit of a weird look + sarcastic comments from one of the cabin crew. I was also ignored for the drinks service and tapas towards the end of the flight (I could overhear the guy say to his colleague that there was no need to come to me as I had brought my own food). No big deal of course, but just thought whether mine was an isolated experience or have others experienced this. I would have thought at the very least that I should have been offered, even if I had declined.

ringingup

Of course you should've been offered and you shouldn't have received any weird looks. I would, however, pre-emptively inform the crew about what I wanted, even if they really should ask.

Bringing food on board in CW or F is not something I would. Even if plane food is not exactly gourmet, I would still prefer it to some Pret sandwiches. But that is my choice. There is no right or wrong.

arkellvspressdram

If the flight is 8 hours or more I'll always take something in case I don't like a meal option regardless of cabin, though I wouldn't expect that to convince CC to ignore one for the usual level of service.

VSLover

once on a F LHR-DEN flight, i brought my own caviar just because i felt like it, haha. i asked the crew to help me plate everything and they were more than happy to help!

BA6948

Schultzois

I have often brought food onboard, but not purchased food. In my case it's that often I prefer to prepare my own food, particularly when I'm not sure what's onboard will be suitable to me. Crew has usually been very willing to accommodate me when I do this, at the minimum bringing service items so that I can eat off of a CE/CW tray whilst serving my own food onto plates they provide, and at a maximum having been happy to warm my stainless steel containers in the onboard warmers, and plate everything for me (that's happened a number of times or me in F, both on BA and AA).

Of course most of my travel for the last quarter century has been in F or J, but in my younger days (and also before so many different sorts of security bans) I took pleasure in self-catering my cheap Y flights with an assortment of foods that required no onboard preparation (smoked salmon over a salad, selection of excellent cheeses, etc.) To keep things civilised I always brought my own dishes and cutlery (latter now often not possible...). More than once on the long haul routes the crew were impressed with the spread I had served up and offered me a glass of wine from up in the front to accompany my cheeses. This was on UA but on a UA that hasn't existed in almost 20 years. If I brought some of those cheeses into economy now, I'd almost expect to be offloaded as a security risk.

BlueHorizonUK

If they had a better selection of sandwiches then one wouldn't need to bring their own. On the May-August menu they have something like 3 sandwiches containing Ham and 3 'veggie' ones that are mainly cheese. Hardly a wide ranging section. Not sure why t would be difficult to have 1 each of Ham, Chicken, Beef, Veggie and Cheese.

Andriyko

Yes, I often bring my own food when flying CE. I have never gotten weird looks from cabin crew and have always been offered standard meals which I decline. You should not have been overlooked for service,

notakeenflyer

You could probably fund your flights by clearing WHSmith of meal deals, and selling them from the back of the plane (for cash). £5 makes a decent margin, and keeps the maths and change simple.

corporate-wage-slave

This bit is the strange aspect for me: a significant proportion of passengers bring food on to longhaul services, in all cabins. The most notable being TLV and India sectors for obvious reasons, but taking food on board into CW is scarcely rare, it must happen on every flight to at least one passenger. Think of those with very specialised diets, for example. Merely a gluten free diet would probably prompt a traveller to take something on board just in case. So quite why the crew reacted that way - as if it was something deserving of no service - is a bit of a mystery and certainly not normal.

bisonrav

Or just open a Pret franchise on-board?

Bar Operator

Schwann

Quite frankly it would be very sad if I felt I had to bring my own food onto a business or first class flight I had spent a lot of money on.

Barnaby100

I usually take some food in case I cant eat what is on board, flying with AA in CW from Manchester I had half of Pret, but it wasn't needed.

Often1

What is a weird look?

Not sure I would read anything into it, particularly in light of OP's underlying question.

Nothing wrong or odd about bringing one's own food into any class of service and no need to have a particular reason for it. If a specific sandwich catches your fancy, why not?

Similarly, the entire issue of being "offered" rather than asking is exactly what the call button is for.