Jan 22, 2021, 4:50 pm
Last edit by: Enigma368
Modified COVID-19 catering, effective 20 January 2021 until further notice.
Previous discussion: COVID Friendly Catering Revealed By British Airways
A reduced service has resumed in all cabins, including steel cutlery, glassware and chinaware in premium cabins. Choice may be limited in some cabins and on some routes. Some elements may be delivered covered for safety. All meals apart from First are served on single trays. Portion sizes, particularly in Club World, have been significantly reduced compared to pre-Covid.
On BA CityFlyer full service has resumed, with the exception of hot towels and warmed bread in Club Europe. See dedicated wiki thread for full details.
Details of the current service are available on BA.com
Changes from pre-COVID service:
Euro Traveller
Previous discussion: COVID Friendly Catering Revealed By British Airways
A reduced service has resumed in all cabins, including steel cutlery, glassware and chinaware in premium cabins. Choice may be limited in some cabins and on some routes. Some elements may be delivered covered for safety. All meals apart from First are served on single trays. Portion sizes, particularly in Club World, have been significantly reduced compared to pre-Covid.
On BA CityFlyer full service has resumed, with the exception of hot towels and warmed bread in Club Europe. See dedicated wiki thread for full details.
Details of the current service are available on BA.com
Changes from pre-COVID service:
Euro Traveller
- Buy-on-board M&S menu replaced with pre-order Tom Kerridge menu
- Complimentary bottle of water and packaged ambient snack offered to all passengers
- Band 1 now receives the same service as Express (light breakfast > brunch > lunch > afternoon tea > dinner)
- Band 2 now receives the same service as Bands 3 and 4 (breakfast > rest of the day)
- Band 3 should still have a drinks run before serving lunch and dinner
- No hot towels
- No menus on Band 3 / Band 4 services
- Dessert served in ceramic dish rather than plastic pot
- No starter for Express / Band 1 lunch and dinner services
- No cheese for Band 3 / Band 4 rest of the day services
- One fewer sandwich for afternoon tea services
- One type of (warm) bread roll available, wrapped in sealed plastic, served from a basket
- No roll/butter served with main meal, cheese and crackers also not provided
- Inflight snack (previously took the form of a Magnum ice cream) and tuck box suspended - replaced with Walkers shortbread o/r from galley.
- TBC
- No hot towels
- Meals served on one tray at the same time
- No choice of starter or dessert
- Portion sizes have been substantially reduced. Starters, cheese and dessert are all served in mini ramekins
- No hot towels
Modified COVID-19 catering, effective 20 January 2021
Jul 24, 2021, 2:54 pm
#526
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: A3*G,BA Silver
Posts: 2,012
.... Regarding the quantity of the main meal, it looks the same as it did pre-pandemic. I last flew CW in November 2019 and the quantity of the main meal is pretty much the same. Sure there are still some aspects of the Club World service still missing, but I'll take this over the box meals they were serving throughout last year.
Jul 24, 2021, 3:11 pm
#527
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 660
The main meal in that post is pretty much the same quantity as my meal, unless you are referring to the starter and dessert?
Jul 24, 2021, 3:32 pm
#528
Join Date: Sep 2015
Programs: A3*G,BA Silver
Posts: 2,012
Jul 24, 2021, 3:58 pm
#529
Join Date: Dec 2019
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 660
Well you should have been more specific, otherwise I would have agreed in that sense, but for me its not that big of a deal. Yes I did see the post, but you specifically said Main meal, not starters and desserts.
Jul 25, 2021, 1:20 am
#531
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
Programs: BA Blue, IC Spire Ambassador
Posts: 5,234
I guess the reduced options for now are whilst the loads / flights are still low and the kitchens presumably charge per ‘line’? So it’s easier to produce 750 braised beef entrees and 500 cod entrees per day (say) than 250 of each plus 250 prawn curries and so on. Hopefully the choices will increase.
Jul 25, 2021, 3:08 am
#533
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 43,068
Jul 25, 2021, 4:13 am
#535
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,939
Yes, that excuse is now firmly in the 'come on' bracket. If it is safe to serve a proper breakfast to FAO it must be safe to serve it to ABZ. Likewise with the 2-finger sandwiches served for the CE afternoon tea - surely 3-fingers are no more dangerous to public health than 2-fingers?!
I think it time BA gave two-fingers to that excuse!
I think it time BA gave two-fingers to that excuse!
Jul 25, 2021, 6:03 am
#536
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 848
Yes, that excuse is now firmly in the 'come on' bracket. If it is safe to serve a proper breakfast to FAO it must be safe to serve it to ABZ. Likewise with the 2-finger sandwiches served for the CE afternoon tea - surely 3-fingers are no more dangerous to public health than 2-fingers?!
I think it time BA gave two-fingers to that excuse!
I think it time BA gave two-fingers to that excuse!
Jul 25, 2021, 1:51 pm
#537
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: UK
Programs: BA Blue, IC Spire Ambassador
Posts: 5,234
Do you or one of the other oracles of knowledge on here know whether since the new crew agreements came in, all flights are ‘minimum’ crew? It used to be the case that (a) say a Jersey or a Manchester would get an extra crew member (so it would never be 3 crew to Jersey - which interestingly always had a full breakfast ex Gatwick unlike MAN and LBA) and then there would be triggers for supernumerary crew - ie there might be an extra CC member if Club went about [15]. Has this now stopped? IE could 3 crew in total (so effectively just the inflight lead) be expected to serve 10 rows of Club (and the flightdeck, I believe) on a 319 to a Short destination?
Jul 25, 2021, 2:29 pm
#538
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 347
Do you or one of the other oracles of knowledge on here know whether since the new crew agreements came in, all flights are ‘minimum’ crew? It used to be the case that (a) say a Jersey or a Manchester would get an extra crew member (so it would never be 3 crew to Jersey - which interestingly always had a full breakfast ex Gatwick unlike MAN and LBA) and then there would be triggers for supernumerary crew - ie there might be an extra CC member if Club went about [15]. Has this now stopped? IE could 3 crew in total (so effectively just the inflight lead) be expected to serve 10 rows of Club (and the flightdeck, I believe) on a 319 to a Short destination?
Jul 25, 2021, 4:05 pm
#539
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,939
Do you or one of the other oracles of knowledge on here know whether since the new crew agreements came in, all flights are ‘minimum’ crew? It used to be the case that (a) say a Jersey or a Manchester would get an extra crew member (so it would never be 3 crew to Jersey - which interestingly always had a full breakfast ex Gatwick unlike MAN and LBA) and then there would be triggers for supernumerary crew - ie there might be an extra CC member if Club went about [15]. Has this now stopped? IE could 3 crew in total (so effectively just the inflight lead) be expected to serve 10 rows of Club (and the flightdeck, I believe) on a 319 to a Short destination?
Jul 29, 2021, 10:20 am
#540
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 139
Having been unimpressed by the standard CE meals last month, I decided to try the KSML on yesterday's flight to ACE.
Standard offers were down to two: chicken pie, or stuffed pasta with peas which presumably doubled as the veggie option, both came with the usual mini salad and squidgy dessert.
The KSML was much more substantial: polenta salad, a large rye knot roll, chicken teriyaki with sautéed onions and egg fried rice, dessert was three mini profiteroles on top of a hefty portion of chocolate ganache with something crumbly at the bottom.
Overall far more to my taste than the standard offers, though I couldn't finish it - I'd had a full english in the lounge, then onboard a pre-meal jambon-beurre from Pret that I'd bought in case the KSML wasn't good. I felt no need for dinner last night.
Standard offers were down to two: chicken pie, or stuffed pasta with peas which presumably doubled as the veggie option, both came with the usual mini salad and squidgy dessert.
The KSML was much more substantial: polenta salad, a large rye knot roll, chicken teriyaki with sautéed onions and egg fried rice, dessert was three mini profiteroles on top of a hefty portion of chocolate ganache with something crumbly at the bottom.
Overall far more to my taste than the standard offers, though I couldn't finish it - I'd had a full english in the lounge, then onboard a pre-meal jambon-beurre from Pret that I'd bought in case the KSML wasn't good. I felt no need for dinner last night.