Prospero

Reported yesterday by PYOK

https://www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2...t-haul-routes/

FlightDetective

Well, that's a good thing!

Why anybody would have chosen to fly BA over Royal Jordanian (which offers a 787 plus an international style service) to Amman for example is beyond me.

Nice to see BA elevating the experience there, though it should never have been removed from Club World in the first place (not that it's gone back to it, but still).

lcylocal

This is notching back towards the pre-BoB service. Maybe it was a hot meal though? Am I right to think there wouldn�t be space for BoB on these services now?

I will be interesting to see if this goes any further, most of the other longest short hauls compete with EasyJet and co. rather than Royal Jordanian and Egyptair.

Ldnn1

I mean let�s not beat around the bush here. Not long ago these routes were long haul World Traveller services. So a full meal and bar in Y, plus IFE.

So this enhancement is rather a classic case of massively downgrading something, then ever so slightly improving it to still less than it was.

Still, positive news!

MFCC

BOB is being removed to make space for the new service. There is not enough galley space for both BOB and the new style service.

1Aturnleft

Given Amman and Cairo are in predominantly Muslim countries, it's not exactly going to be luring many local customers on board with a promise of a gin & tonic. I assume other soft options will be available in lieu of a G&T and that the small meal will conform to halal standards?

Jeedos

all plane meals conform to halal meals in some respect

londonba2014

Also mentioned in the article - a blanket for every passenger, presume these will be hold loaded for space.

joepatr

We had blankets (blue fleece for economy) and blankets and pillows (grey for Business) on my flight to Cairo two weeks ago, and the same again this morning. So this has already been reintroduced some time ago.

On both legs I would say fewer than half were using them, with the majority of those in economy using them as a pillow (including some customers who were using them still wrapped in the plastic which gave me some anxiety).

Door5L

This is very welcome news. Maybe the Cruz-Walsh product team have been replaced.

Tafflyer

I have made a point of complaining on every single CAI sector I have flown. Indeed, the crew encouraged me to do so. Fare prices did initially come down after CW was replaced by CE, but since then have crept up again, such that MS or RJ "real" business is hardly more expensive than CE. I hope that this is now affecting forward bookings and BA is reacting to this. I now only fly BA between LHR and CAI when part of a much longer haul ticket where the pricing from CAI is still good value. CAI-LHR-JFK-SFO can still be had for GBP 1,400 return including stopovers and flexible rebooking, so if you can combine trips to CAI with other TATL trips still good value. Not worth going to CAI for, but worth using if you need to go there anyway.

layz

Does this include pre-orders?

subject2load

Hmm …… that’s perhaps an understandable assumption, but I really wouldn’t dismiss the attraction of onboard alcohol quite so confidently !

Very soon after moving out to work and live in the Arabian Gulf for a number of years, I routinely came to observe just how many Saudi nationals would
a) make the short road trip across the border every Friday, to take advantage of Bahrain’s more liberal (ahem) ‘nightlife offerings’ and
b) studiously plan their air travel so as to connect to Gulf Air rather than fly direct with their own national - but of course dry - carrier, Saudia.

BAeuro

While welcome news, it needed to be done if BA were to attract any customers. They got away with it for this long because customers didn�t realise and booked anyway.

Now they�re probably seeing a reduction in interest, so are having to make a change.

The sad thing is I can�t see this coming to any other routes such as LCA/TFS as the BOB sales will be too lucrative. If there was space for both BOB and a free meal service, things would be different. IST may see this, to compete with TK, but we shall see.

uanj

You know, flying from the US to CAI and AMM I gave up on BA and LH, the business class product from the European hub to CAI/AMM was so poor and I was always so tired that I found TK much, much better. Better seat, better food, better lounge at hub and FA service- eh- more of a roll of the dice . But now UA is flying to AMM and their Polaris seats are very nice so I can really get some good sleep in.

A hard look at their on board service for these flights is very welcome.