Nightstop catering
Apr 19, 2024, 4:15 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 226
Nightstop catering
If a shorthaul aircaft leaves LHR late and nightstops somewhere in Europe, is the catering put on board at LHR or the next morning in the nightstop location?
For example, a late LHR-ATH that nightstops, is the return catered for in London or Athens? Seems a long time with food on board if London is the answer.
For example, a late LHR-ATH that nightstops, is the return catered for in London or Athens? Seems a long time with food on board if London is the answer.
Apr 19, 2024, 4:18 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2022
Posts: 783
If a shorthaul aircaft leaves LHR late and nightstops somewhere in Europe, is the catering put on board at LHR or the next morning in the nightstop location?
For example, a late LHR-ATH that nightstops, is the return catered for in London or Athens? Seems a long time with food on board if London is the answer.
For example, a late LHR-ATH that nightstops, is the return catered for in London or Athens? Seems a long time with food on board if London is the answer.
the only exception I can think of are the CityFlyer services which stop longer at the destination due to the limited hours of LCY over the weekend thus get locally catered at the destination before returning to LCY
Apr 19, 2024, 4:27 pm
#3
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 107
Yes. The "fresh" or chilled food items such as the entrees are loaded in a cool box within the trolley. They are very effective and have temperature check strips within them to ensure the chill chain.
However, these stowages require more galley space. This is why you will find the smaller half trays in Club Europe on inbound morning sectors back to London. You'll also find more ambient items on the tray, such as the muesli bar or nutri-grain bar. Its known by the crew as "build a breakfast" as theres often more elements they have to put together on the tray before serving.
Despite the extra weight of the cool boxes on the night stopping services, doing this has saved BA huge amounts of money in removing overseas catering contracts on the shorthaul network. They've been doing it for around 8 years so far and so clearly works well.
However, these stowages require more galley space. This is why you will find the smaller half trays in Club Europe on inbound morning sectors back to London. You'll also find more ambient items on the tray, such as the muesli bar or nutri-grain bar. Its known by the crew as "build a breakfast" as theres often more elements they have to put together on the tray before serving.
Despite the extra weight of the cool boxes on the night stopping services, doing this has saved BA huge amounts of money in removing overseas catering contracts on the shorthaul network. They've been doing it for around 8 years so far and so clearly works well.
Apr 19, 2024, 4:34 pm
#5
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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Apr 19, 2024, 5:00 pm
#6
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: London, UK
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To clarify, the cooling comes from blocks of dry ice packed inside the cool boxes. It's very effective and usually the breakfasts are still frozen solid when they're put in the oven. As mentioned by DXB2745 there are some Cityflyer services locally catered at weekends, usually Sunday lunchtime departures - in the summer these tend to be connected to charter rotations.
Apr 20, 2024, 3:30 am
#12
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club, Marriott Bonvoy
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Given the OPs appetite for asking such questions, it’s probably best to just to clarify further : are the breakfasts pre-frozen and kept frozen by the dry ice, or are they supplied chilled then accidentally frozen in the cool box by ‘too much’ dry ice ?