The Achilles' Heel of the New CW: Beverages
May 27, 2019, 2:07 pm
#91
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
Just on a CW flight
The drinks service just doesnt work on CW any more
Without a trolly they cant offer wine with the starter (i noted some canny passengers pre ordered; I was only asked what type of water I wanted)
They almost need a 5th member if staff to manage drinks orders
This really is a downgrade to the service
UPDATE; Just bringing mains around still with no drinks , said to the stewardess can we have some drinks please! I said with this new service there doesnt seem to be any drinks anymore
She was very nice ; she said the new service is confusing for them as well!
The drinks service just doesnt work on CW any more
Without a trolly they cant offer wine with the starter (i noted some canny passengers pre ordered; I was only asked what type of water I wanted)
They almost need a 5th member if staff to manage drinks orders
This really is a downgrade to the service
UPDATE; Just bringing mains around still with no drinks , said to the stewardess can we have some drinks please! I said with this new service there doesnt seem to be any drinks anymore
She was very nice ; she said the new service is confusing for them as well!
So ultimately boiling down to training and experience . No substitutes for either.
We need some top managers to travel incognito to sample what is being dished out to pax.
May 27, 2019, 2:08 pm
#92
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 5,380
Just on a CW flight
The drinks service just doesnt work on CW any more
Without a trolly they cant offer wine with the starter (i noted some canny passengers pre ordered; I was only asked what type of water I wanted)
They almost need a 5th member if staff to manage drinks orders
This really is a downgrade to the service
UPDATE; Just bringing mains around still with no drinks , said to the stewardess can we have some drinks please! I said with this new service there doesnt seem to be any drinks anymore
She was very nice ; she said the new service is confusing for them as well!
The drinks service just doesnt work on CW any more
Without a trolly they cant offer wine with the starter (i noted some canny passengers pre ordered; I was only asked what type of water I wanted)
They almost need a 5th member if staff to manage drinks orders
This really is a downgrade to the service
UPDATE; Just bringing mains around still with no drinks , said to the stewardess can we have some drinks please! I said with this new service there doesnt seem to be any drinks anymore
She was very nice ; she said the new service is confusing for them as well!
May 27, 2019, 2:13 pm
#93
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Programs: Mucci des Hommes Magiques et Magnifiques
Posts: 19,092
Just on a CW flight
The drinks service just doesnt work on CW any more
Without a trolly they cant offer wine with the starter (i noted some canny passengers pre ordered; I was only asked what type of water I wanted)
They almost need a 5th member if staff to manage drinks orders
This really is a downgrade to the service
UPDATE; Just bringing mains around still with no drinks , said to the stewardess can we have some drinks please! I said with this new service there doesnt seem to be any drinks anymore
She was very nice ; she said the new service is confusing for them as well!
The drinks service just doesnt work on CW any more
Without a trolly they cant offer wine with the starter (i noted some canny passengers pre ordered; I was only asked what type of water I wanted)
They almost need a 5th member if staff to manage drinks orders
This really is a downgrade to the service
UPDATE; Just bringing mains around still with no drinks , said to the stewardess can we have some drinks please! I said with this new service there doesnt seem to be any drinks anymore
She was very nice ; she said the new service is confusing for them as well!
May 27, 2019, 3:02 pm
#94
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci.
Posts: 2,047
I had to be proactive
Used my non drinking partner as a decoy for top ups
The whole service was so slow; it took most of the 41/2 hours from TLV to LHR
Going back to the galley between each customer is so inefficient
Used my non drinking partner as a decoy for top ups
The whole service was so slow; it took most of the 41/2 hours from TLV to LHR
Going back to the galley between each customer is so inefficient
May 27, 2019, 6:44 pm
#97
Join Date: Jan 2019
Posts: 89
This thread really speaks to me. In addition to the observations above, I’ve also been noticing that soft drinks are now often served without ice and lemon (crew is normally supposed to offer but seems to not bother anymore) and no choice of sparking and still water is offered. However this is really minor relative to the fact that most crews go AWOL after the meal service and don’t respond to calls (and leave the Club Kitchen unstocked). This is of course easily solved on SH aircraft - fly ET and BOB as much as you like.
May 27, 2019, 9:07 pm
#98
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 489
I have found that a polite "please may I have a top up of X" usually works.
I'm confused as to why the CC don't return unless you are only having one course? In which case there are usually CC walking around serving other passengers whom you could request a top up from or ask them to remove your tray.
Failing that there is the dreaded call button of course..
I'm confused as to why the CC don't return unless you are only having one course? In which case there are usually CC walking around serving other passengers whom you could request a top up from or ask them to remove your tray.
Failing that there is the dreaded call button of course..
May 27, 2019, 9:58 pm
#99
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,399
Personally I’d be inclined to associate “old school” with that quirky arrangement operated by any half-decent restaurant, whereby staff actually look after their paying customers ; and with no necessity for the latter to get up from their seat, and go wandering into the kitchen in order to get a drink.
Our good friend and ever-helpful BA insider CIHY is (as usual) spot on in saying :
And on the subject of CW cabin service / expectations overall, it seems to me very difficult to disagree with any of OP Buzzz’s words in this no-nonsense, straightforward summary of how things should be :
I think there will always be a divide on FT in the interpretation of what should be considered fundamental, basic, or minimum in a business class cabin. My opinion may not be shared by all, but I am of the thought that it shouldn't be necessary to have to flag down a passing FA to have my glass refilled in business class. They should check back with me. Nor should I have to ring the bell to have my tray cleared away after I am finished dining. We had this with the old CW; it is gone now.
Would we accept this sort of service in a nice restaurant? Nobody ever returns to your table after serving your food?
Would we accept this sort of service in a nice restaurant? Nobody ever returns to your table after serving your food?
May 27, 2019, 10:29 pm
#100
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,399
Just off a flight to Beijing in CW on the 789. In the past year I have either flown F or 744 Upper Deck so had not really noticed this drinks problem before but it is definitely there and my colleague who usually flies AF thought it odd that there was no crew member doing the rounds with wine and water during meal service.
DL has a dedicated FA (sometimes the purser and sometimes a different FA) serving bread and wine during dinner service, in addition to the more personal FAs serving food in their assigned zones. At this point, DL has compromised and uses carts (with fancy linens so that one doesn't see an unsightly metal cart) for the first drink service (supposedly so that they can easily show all of the wine choices), for the cheese and dessert course (of course with after dinner drinks such as Port) and usually for the appetizer/salad/soup course with a choice of salad dressings offered and soup poured at the seat from a thermos container. The main course is served individually without a cart and similarly "used" dishes are generally removed individually without use of a cart.
Last edited by MSPeconomist; May 27, 2019 at 10:50 pm Reason: typo
May 27, 2019, 11:12 pm
#102
Join Date: Sep 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, EK Skywards (enhanced Blue !), Oman Air Sindbad Gold
Posts: 6,399
Very fair point. Although crew v pax ratio has also been highlighted by some as an issue.
There’s a lot riding on the much-awaited 350, with its all-new config ......
May 28, 2019, 1:29 am
#103
Join Date: Dec 2013
Posts: 373
Most airlines will have service routine guidelines and if offering extra wine and water is not within that product guideline, the crews don’t have to do it. You can also argue that the style and pace of a routine is set by the person in charge. The reality is crews doing more for less. And offering more wine and drinks comes with an assumption that BA has loaded the right amount of food and drink to manage demand. I suspect “drinks on demand” is the standard crews have to adhere to.
May 28, 2019, 1:55 am
#104
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Tampere
Programs: BA EC Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,237
Originally Posted by HMPS
We need some top managers to travel incognito to sample what is being dished out to pax.
I worked for many years in a field with a strictly hierarchical management structure. Many times my colleagues and I in the trenches had to put up with a work experience that could / should have been much more efficient and effective, providing better results for the company. We all felt that our immediate boss must have known about the myriad problems but he had to act as if nothing was wrong. We suspected that his boss also knew. We liked to speculate how far up the chain of command you'd have to go to find the first manager who genuinely believed that everything was fine.
May 28, 2019, 3:03 am
#105
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
Posts: 32,145
The 'drinks with meal' service doesn't seem to work very well on l/h, as has been well covered up-thread.
And the CC seem completely floored by the concept of having 2 different wines [i.e. white and red] with a multi-course meal. Whenever I ask for both I get the feeling I'm being regarded as an alcoholic.
And the CC seem completely floored by the concept of having 2 different wines [i.e. white and red] with a multi-course meal. Whenever I ask for both I get the feeling I'm being regarded as an alcoholic.