BA May Charge for Food on Short Flights

[Comet]

It was in the newspaper a couple of days ago that BA could drop the free food service in economy on short flights.

What a pity that yet another national carrier is considering going along that route. People choose to fly with these carriers because they want that little bit extra service you do not find on the low cost operators.

[Buzz]

People choose to fly with these carriers because they want that little bit extra service you do not find on the low cost operators.

Indeed, some people do fly with them for that reason.
Most people just fly with them because they offer competitive prices, I presume. They are making sure they can offer those competitive prices...

Not to say I think it's a wise move, but I'm sure if they implement it, they have researched the effect of it on new costumers, and it came out good...

[sn26567]

SWISS also tried to get rid of food service in economy on short flights. It did not fit with their image of a quality airline, and now they serve food again.

I hope I will still get food on my BA flight to MAN this Wednesday (yes, my secretary made a mistake and booked me on BA instead of SN )

[Sabena_690]

It was in the newspaper a couple of days ago

I think it's old news unless new decisions have been made during the past days.

It was rumoured already a few weeks ago that BA is considering a no-frills concept from LGW (not really from LHR).

Information is still vague, so I'd suggest to wait and see... I really like their service so it would be sad to see it go. Anyway: I would be very surprised if they get rid of their full-service concept on their LHR-based shorthaul destinations.

PS: the new CEO of BA (the replacement of Rod Eddington) is the one who changed EI into a low-cost airline with no-frills on board!

[Comet]

From what I read of Aer Lingus, going totally low cost was not good for passengers. If you want to fly from Dublin now, unless you get on a foreign carrier, you have the choice between Aer Lingus and Ryanair with an almost identical product (a major difference being that EI fly to mainstream airports and FR fly to secondary - if that is the right term - airports). When I read reports about EI's new image in the Irish media, many Irish people were not happy that they had chosen to fly with their national carrier and had ended up with a low cost style flight. They had chosen EI because they wanted something extra that FR did not provide.

Maybe a service like this on a separate section of an airline is better, then people can choose what style service they get whilst still flying with the same carrier - something like a tourist airline like the old British Airtours which was the charter wing of BA and flew from LGW and MAN. I think it is bad to just introduce this across the board and people are left with no choice but to go low cost. I can accept that low cost appeals to many people, and they will find the carriers that they like to fly with, but some people prefer that bit extra, and they should have the opportunity to enjoy the service they prefer.

Frederic - I wish I still had the newspaper with the article in, but it said that BA were considering introducing this as a general thing on short flights, and not just those out of LGW.

[Atlantis]

I hope this is not true. Could such an airline make it to not serve a snack or something else for short flights? In that case the economy passenger is again victim. Passengers choose such an airline for a little bit comfort. If not, they can even bought a ticket by an low cost carrier. And then they loose some more clients to Ryanair.

[luchtzak]

Iberia is member of Oneworld just like British Airways.

Iberia offers paying food so why will BA not investigate the matter?

[vflies]

Didn't I read somewhere on these forums that both Swiss and Iberia were going back to offering light snacks for free?
Same thing is happening in the US were more and more airlines stop charging for food as sales didn't meet targets...

VFlies

[B744skipper]

This is bad, service standards are the only thing in which airlines can make themselves standing out above the low-cost carriers. So when they even cut down on those, there will be no difference anymore between them and the low-cost carriers. There must be some acceptable solution, I've been thinking of two:

- Devide the economy cabin in two parts, in one part you receive full-service and in the other one you receive no service;
- Or add 2 or 3 Euro to the ticket price to cover the expense of providing some service;

This at least would mean that the client can choose if he wants to receive service or not (yes, he will use a main-line carrier; no, then he can fly a Low-cost carrier).
But I'm not sure if paying for something to eat work, because on me it would make too much of a low-cost impression to me, I prefer to pay more for my ticket and then receive some descent service. Like Comet says with the Aer Lingus example, there are also customers who prefer some descent service on-board.
Well, I have still not figured out what is better, but I think that main-line carriers should not cut back on service but have to find other creative solutions to lure customers back (and cutting down costs).

Hell, thinking it over, I have come up with some idea to lure customers back to BA. Maybe they should style (part of) their short-haul product after Jetblue-style. That airline offers good service (I don't know if its for free), but has low prices. So use comfertable leather seats, maybe BA should get live television onboard (passengers would love that, espacially business passengers I think). And if that can be done at descent pricing they sure would be able to make money out of it (again, look at Jetblue).

@vflies, I also read that Swiss would bring back service on their European routes, not sure though if Iberia will.

[Sabena_690]

If you want to fly from Dublin now, unless you get on a foreign carrier, you have the choice between Aer Lingus and Ryanair with an almost identical product

I disagree: EI offer you more comfort on board, better service on the ground, more flexible check-in etc etc

Also their buy-on-board product isn't bad: 8 EUR for a full breakfast inclusive newspaper and a drink for example.

BTW: don't forget that EI has changed from a loss-making airline into a profitable airline. With Ryanair also operating from Dublin, it was the only choice of Aer Lingus to reduce costs as well in my opinion. Well done, EI!

I can accept that low cost appeals to many people, and they will find the carriers that they like to fly with, but some people prefer that bit extra, and they should have the opportunity to enjoy the service they prefer.

Are you also prepared to pay for additional comfort? I don't think that SN earns a lot on a 100 GBP return ticket MAN-BRU, just like BMI don't earn one single EUR or GBP on a W-class ticket BRU-LHR-BRU.

If I want a meal, I simply buy one. EI is not comparable to a Ryanair-style low-cost airline in my opinion.

it said that BA were considering introducing this as a general thing on short flights, and not just those out of LGW.

Let's hope that it isn't true. I perfectly agree with the decision made by EI to change their inflight concept, but BA is a totally different situation. Getting rid of free meals and drinks would be stupid in my opinion. I'd still be surprised when this would happen though.

In that case the economy passenger is again victim.

'again'? Looking at the evolution of the airfares, I wouldn't say that the passengers became a 'victim' during the past decade.

passengers choose such an airline for a little bit comfort.

Passengers merely chose an airline for the price these days... Not only tourists but a lot of business travellers care about the price these days.

If not, they can even bought a ticket by an low cost carrier. And then they loose some more clients to Ryanair.

Even when BA would introduce a buy-on-board concept, I'd still pick them anyday and not Ryanair. The difference is just too big. A 'meal' is not the only thing that matters when you book a flight.

Didn't I read somewhere on these forums that both Swiss and Iberia were going back to offering light snacks for free?

Swiss: yes
Iberia: no

Same thing is happening in the US were more and more airlines stop charging for food as sales didn't meet targets...

My impression was actually the opposite: buy-on-board is becoming more and more popular in the US. I'd take a Song flight over an AA flight every day (Song allows me to purchase a meal, you get a comfortable seat (34 inch if I'm not mistaken) and all seats are equiped with PVT's (not that I care about PVT's). AA will serve you... a free coke and pretzels on a simillar 3h flight, and if you are lucky that you are flying on a route where buy-on-board is available, you'll be able to buy a small bag for 3 or 5 USD with a few small things to eat.