maestro1981

Hi All,

A lot of people say here, if you order from Book The Cook but find something you'd prefer on the standard onboard menu, you can forego the BTC option for the one on the menu.

My question is, has anyone tried this and been told they must keep their BTC option?

:P

fimo

when they don't have enough of the option interest on the menu, yes. sometimes a particular dish is really popular.

natbam

I've exchanged the BTC option I selected for the standard meal onboard. No fuss. They're very obliging.

landingpoint

I usually manage to have both the BTC and off-menu mains (so an exchange should be possible). Perhaps it is the economics of asking. I made my request while halfway through the BTC option and casually asked if there are other mains available.

QF Lad

I have seen a post from a passenger on a red eye Suites flight (possibly to Tokyo?).

He had BTC, and then was the only passenger in Suites.

As he was the only passenger in Suites and had BTCed, SQ had no loaded other menu options, so he was "forced" to have his BTC choice, which he did not like.

The ultimate first world problem.

dickson_g

Same thing happened to me 2-3 years ago on SIN-MNL flight (when they still have First class on the morning flight). Did BTC for lunch for Japanese meal and was the only pax in First. They did not load any other meals.

Then again, I do recall that on at least one other occasion on the same flight sector on First, they did load the other mains even though I BTC'ed. It could be that until the actual flight date, there was originally more than 1 pax in First and so they catered both BTC and main menu. But on the actual flight, the other pax did not show up.

My conclusion is that you do run the risk of not having the regular menu as your main selection if you BTC, if you're the only pax. Sometimes the main menu is loaded, sometimes its not.

leogeo

usually they will oblige; a crew prob has to forgo one of their meals and consume your BTC

carrotjuice

On a SIN-NRT red eye, once when I was particularly hungry, I wanted to keep my BTC meal for breakfast and order another main Japanese meal for dinner. They wouldn't - apparently they had loaded just enough meals for the passengers. In lieu, they offered a simplified Japanese breakfast for my dinner.

europeanflyer

Booked a breakfast & ask to change to one from the menu
Not a problem , the service on this flgt was excellent which made up for the old style seats !

anaidross

I have also changed BTCs to the standard offerings a few times and never had any trouble.

At times, the steward / stewardess will ask their supervisors before making the changes.

I think one just needs to ask nicely and they will try their best to meet the request.

ukiechris

I did BTC on SQ26 JFK-FRA in F. They were rather "assertive" about me having what I preordered. The cabin was half full. I didn't push the issue, but it felt that they were trained to nudge you to stick to what you ordered.

My next flight is LHR-SIN in Suites. I ordered lobster for lunch and pad thai for breakfast. There are currently 3 pax in the cabin. Just saw the menu and there seem to be good options for breakfast so may forego pad Thai.

My last two flights were daytime LHR-AUH and AUH-LHR in F on Etihad. Both times they ran out of food and that was pretty annoying. They were trying to make me a sandwich and all they had left was a roll, brie cheese and potato chips. That's all I had for the second meal. Seems unbelievable but true.

vbroucek

Well, to be brutally honest... If I was running an airline and was offering BTC, I would not load any extra food and would insist that those who ordered BTC eat BTC. After all, airline had to pay for the food to be prepared and if you do not eat it and insist on something else, the airline is at loss... And, I do not think class of your airfare should matter... I think people are being spoiled too much already anyway...

FlyerEC

These days SIA does not load extra meals . Because of my allergies , I cannot use BTC either but SIA does try to offer dishes which I can have . Except that some airport caterers they use , think that this means it is vegetarian or similar ..
Just a couple of examples , I often do not get butter but whatever alternative they use , and fruits instead of real desserts
The meals , mains , can be a hit & miss . So if it is something I do not care for , I skip it & the crew get really worried . But if they happen to have “ spares “ of the normal menu , they will offer to serve me from it if I can have it .

Crew meals. , it seems , are different from what is catered for passengers .

jjjohn

It is really depend on the flight.

SIN - HKG in F, only passenger, ask for extra dessert, no problem. Did ask them if the inflight meal loaded, answer was yes. So I ask was it a waste? They said no, cabin crew and capital would take any reminding.

PEK - SIN 2/4 in F, one of the inflight main was really nice, so asked if I could have swapped or both. They told me need to wait if any left after all passengers took their order. That option was so popular, no able to offer me as extra main and asked if I was interested in any other from the menu.

SIN - CDG in F, only 2 passengers, btc breakfast was not really enough for me, so asked for an item from menu. Only loaded 1set per option, it was taken by another passenger. They run upstair to get it for me (J has the same). This flight was one my best flight, excellent service from the gate to landing.

CDG - SIN, again only 2 passengers in F. Both of us have btc with the same main. The rice was half cooked, so I told the LS. She offered me to select another main from the inflight menu. Later she told me the other passenger also didn't eat much. They would write a report on that dish.

SIN - LHR, 6/12 in F. During middle of the flight, asked if I could have the dessert, sorry no, run out.

This was just some of my experience this year with SQ.

So it is really depend on what they have. They need to serve other passenger first. If there is any remind, they will delight to offer you.

Tomaus

My recent SQ experience - unlike middle eastern airlines in Business/First there is pretty much only enough to serve everybody on board.

But, as others have said if they have spares they will hand out at end.

Middle eastern carriers and their dine on demand resturant type service has in my experience meant you can have as much as whatever as you want!