Passengers planning to eat on board their next British Airways short-haul route will need to plan ahead. The carrier announced a revamped Speedbird Café menu program this week for Euro Traveler (short-haul, economy class) customers. The new offerings will only be available to passengers who order and pay at least 12 hours prior to departure.
British airways has a massive reputation and a very warm one recognized throughout the world for its great service, that the food is always good. We need that food to be really good. It may just be a sandwich, but it is actually a very special sandwich. It has had a lot of heart, soul, and thought put into it to make a cheese and ham sandwich that goes around the world.
– Tom Kerridge, Celebrity Chef and BA Catering Partner
The revised service takes effect from 20 January 2021 per the launch website. Or perhaps not. With the highly dynamic flight schedule challenges tied to UK flight policies the carrier says, “We hope to launch this as soon as possible, but at the moment we are only doing a very limited amount of flying, so we will continue to assess our schedules and roll it out when it is appropriate.”
The updated selections, designed in partnership with Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, include sandwiches and a meat pie, focused on the local flavors and produce of the UK. Priced between £4.10-£4.50, the cost is similar to the prior arrangement with M&S. That program launched in 2017 and terminated late last year.
But, critically, the new offerings will only be available to passengers that order in advance. This should help streamline service and reduce waste, though it also makes an impulse buy impossible.
On-board service will include a new IPA option from BrewDog. The JetSteam brew follows the popular Speedbird 100 that flew in 2019.
Our expert teams have worked closely with Tom to create delicious British staples for our short haul menu. We know how popular the menus that Tom designed for our centenary were with our customers, so we are delighted to be working with him again and can’t wait for our customers to experience his fantastic new food at 35,000ft.
– Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience
The pre-order only shift extends to the company’s inflight duty free shopping as well. The HighLife Shop is now an online experience. Shifting the in-flight shopping experience to the pre-flight web portal will, according to British Airways, make the experience “more convenient for customers to ensure they receive their chosen item at their seat on the journey and will also help the airline reduce onboard weight.”
Long-haul travelers will also see a shift in catering from the 20th, with real service settings replacing the boxes used in premium cabins over recent months.
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The Jetset Boyz says
This definitely a move in the right direction for BA to be able to distinguish itself from it’s LCC competitors.
Two issues jump to mind…
1: IRROPs – what happens when someone misses their connection and they’re put on, say, the next shuttle to Edinburgh. Quite sure they won’t be running around transferring that person’s pie over. As they won’t be selling anything on board the pie will go on the original flight and then presumably be binned. What about that person’s refund? Will they even get a refund?
2: You probably won’t be able to get a second G&T or an impromptu bag of Haribo. AirAsia delivers the pre-ordered first, then runs the cart down with a smaller selection and the drinks. Some version of this would be most sensible.