British Airways has decided to stop providing complementary snacks and drinks in economy class on domestic and short-haul international flights from next year.
A glass of water still will be free of charge, but passengers will have to pay for a soft drink, a cup of tea, a bag of chips or a sandwich if they are thirsty or hungry. The practice of charging for food is standard for low-cost carriers such as Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2.com and WizzAir, but more and more full-service airlines are now copying their no-frills competitors and have started to unbundle their service offering and fares.
Current food options on BA short-haul flights in the economy cabin vary depending on the length of the service and time of day. Examples include a choice of twin pack biscuits, crisps, roasted nuts, sesame sticks or raisins on flights of less than two hours, or small salads on flights over that.
The airline, a subsidiary of International Airlines Group (IAG), said it is making the changes to its short-haul economy food service after customer dissatisfaction with the current catering on offer.
“We know our customers expect a great experience with British Airways. They’ve told us we are experts in flying and service, but when it comes to catering on short-haul flights, they want to choose from a wider range of premium products,” BA chief executive Alex Cruz said. Cruz was CEO of IAG’s Barcelona-based budget Vueling till April.
But lots of passengers are not happy with the change and have been venting on Twitter.
The move however aligns BA’ s short-haul economy catering policy with all of IAG’s subsidiaries, including Aer Lingus and Iberia that scrapped free food and drinks in the economy cabin on short-haul flights years ago. This makes the on-board catering service on the group’s codeshare flights a lot more streamlined.
British Airways contracted Marks & Spencer as its new food supplier on short-haul flights and said products are selected for their flavour at altitude. “Like British Airways, Marks & Spencer is a well-known, premium British brand that is respected and trusted, so it’s an ideal partnership, providing our customers with a choice of products they recognise and value,” according to Cruz.
By partnering with M&S “I firmly believe what we are delivering breaks the mould and sets a new standard in short-haul catering,” he added.
Element of the new British Airways menu will change on a quarterly basis to reflect the seasons, the airline said, while touting it is the first airline to offer “leading brand sandwiches, all of which are fortified with added fibre and vitamin D.”
Menu choices include vegetarian, gluten free and healthy fresh options plus snacks and comfort foods such as a grab-bag sized milk chocolate covered popping popcorn and pretzels, packs of mini oat biscuits and the famous M&S Percy Pigs candies.
Prices will range from £1 for a bag of chips up to £4.95 for a spiced chicken with quinoa and rice salad. Soft drinks are priced from £1.50 and alcoholic drinks from £4.
Cash payments will not be accepted; purchases can only be paid for via debit or credit card, including contactless transactions. Customers will also be able to pay with points they have accumulated on Avios, the airline’s frequent flying program, via the BA app or with their Executive Club card.
The new catering policy is the latest in a tranche of changes to the airline’s short-haul services. Since 2014, 95 short-haul aircraft have been revamped with an updated interior and earlier this year, British Airways also simplified its short-haul fares to just three options: Basic, Plus and Plus Flex. Basic fares are the cheapest and passengers have to pay a fee for checked luggage.
The new catering policy – which does not apply to business class— comes into effect for short-haul flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick from January 11, 2017, and from London City and London Stansted by summer 2017.
The London-based airline last month already cut its food service on longer haul flights. Instead of two full meals per journey, BA now provides just one meal to passengers in economy class on flights under eight and a half hours and to premium economy passenger on flights of less than seven hours.
