Let's face it, who doesn't like to eat? It is one of the prime ways to pass the time when flying. Having something interesting and delicious presented to you elevates a flight from average to excellent pretty quickly.
British Airways recently changed their Club Europe catering, contracting DO&CO to do the new meals. No matter what time your flight is, you will receive a full meal. Here's a story about a typical lunch time service between London Heathrow and Dublin. One hour in the air means one hour of feasting!
BA836 – London Heathrow to Dublin (LHR-DUB)
28 October 2018
Airbus A319 – G-EUOD
Seat: Club Europe 1A
Departure: 13:45 Arrival: 15:10
Excitedly hoofing my way to the South Lounges in Heathrow Terminal 5, I was disappointed to find the Troika ‘Cloud’ artwork in non working order. After drowning my sorrows with Champagne in the lounge while admiring the view, it was time to board.
Before the flight I asked if the front row was free but was told it was booked by a family of four. To my delight, the crew announced boarding complete and nobody was seated there so I happily moved. Lounge Champagne was making its presence felt, so it was time to visit the forward toilet. These are a decent enough size and contain all you need in a clean enough environment.
New Airbus A320neo aircraft are usually being delivered with space saving toilets at the back of the cabin. I tried one when I flew SAS from Dublin to Stockholm and they are tiny – so I enjoy a spacious loo when I find one! London Heathrow is always a great airport to sit and watch the action. There are so many different airlines operating a variety of aircraft so it’s a feast for the eyes.
After the video safety demonstration, we headed out to the runway. Along the way, I did a spot of sightseeing, checking out all the planes. Soon enough it was our turn and we leapt into the sky on our way to Dublin. Since the new catering was announced, I had been looking forward to the roast beef option. Happily it was on the menu for my flight so that was clearly going to be my choice. Trays come with a glass, napkin and the cutlery all together and once delivered, the crew offer warm bread from the basket. I set about getting some pictures.
Featuring three courses, the food not only looks good, it tastes good too. The coleslaw starter is nice, the beef – well, I hoovered that up – and the dessert was scrumptious. Being pretty pleased with all of that, I asked the crew if they had any of the other option left. I figured that since a family of four had not turned up in Row 1, that there’d be leftovers. I was not wrong!
Another lovely meal with the goat’s cheese, quinoa and beetroot really going well together. This is definitely the healthier option for those wanting to be good. I of course ate all of this too, all in the name of research, you understand! Each one of those meals is a proper sized lunch and I had trouble stuffing in most of the second one, eventually leaving about a quarter of the salad. It feels like more food than what was offered previously.
I customarily keep some of my Champagne to sip in a plastic tumbler during landing. This marked the end of the flight and we deplaned into a late afternoon Dublin after a lovely flight. When it looks good, it usually is good and the new lunches for the short flights at British Airways are excellent. I’m pleasantly surprised at the quantity provided plus it is a nice mix of modern flavours.
Cabin crew were lovely on this flight, hanging my jacket in the forward wardrobe and generally being bubbly and nice. The crew can make or break a flight and either I’m really lucky or British Airways are just really good because I always have great crews.
What do you think of the new British Airways meals? Have you tried them? Remember, to see all the pictures, please click here. Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
