Britannia Inflight meals???
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Join Date: May 2002
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Britannia Inflight meals???
HI,
I am going to Majorca from Glasgow with Britannia Airways next Friday, in what is a package holiday. People have told me that i might have to pre-pay for meals. I hope not, but I just want to know what the case is.
Anyone able to answer this?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Stephen
I am going to Majorca from Glasgow with Britannia Airways next Friday, in what is a package holiday. People have told me that i might have to pre-pay for meals. I hope not, but I just want to know what the case is.
Anyone able to answer this?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Stephen
Join Date: Dec 2001
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Steve,
Britannia are to start charging for meals onboard, but as for whether they have started already, I could'nt say.
Try going to the Airlines Website, or give their Customer Services Department a call. Number on the Web!
Britannia are to start charging for meals onboard, but as for whether they have started already, I could'nt say.
Try going to the Airlines Website, or give their Customer Services Department a call. Number on the Web!
Join Date: Feb 2000
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As of 1st May 2003 In Flight meals will become an optional (and chargeable) extra item. Other items will also become chargeable at this time, including the coach/taxi transfer to your holiday accomodation. Trust me on this.
fiver will do
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current estimate of price for meal is £5 each way
Aren't some "last minute" deals, already charging for inflight meals?
I paid (£5 e/w) for in flight meals on Mytravel recently only to discover that everyone got a meal even if they didn't pay. I was told that, unless they can organise thosewho pay to sit together, it is easier to serve everyone.
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Marketing policy decisions about in-flight meals, seating and other matters are made by people who don't work on aircraft, and are safely tucked up in bed at 02:00 when it all goes wrong. Sadly, it was ever thus!
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Getting people to pay for a meal is going to be a means of generating cash or reducing costs – allegedly.
But once the systems costs and paper-work cost of tracking and flagging who is and isn’t entitled to a meal is taken into account.
Alongside the hassle factor – dealing with passengers who think they have paid for a meal but haven’t, dealing with the consequences that follow when passengers - especially within groups - don’t sit in precisely their allocated seats etc etc.
Is this actually going to be worth a candle?
I have had some OK meals on charter flights and I have been served food that was to say the least iffy. When they were ‘free’ the worst that would happen is that I wouldn’t eat and maybe make a joke about it. But if I have paid for a meal, what happens if I want to send it back and/or get a refund because it wasn’t the mouth-watering gourmet delight promised in the brochure?
Also, doesn’t all this de-packaging of individual elements (a) generate the impression that the operators are trying to rip people off (b) serve to remind people that they can book flights and accommodation on the web and don’t actually need a tour operator.
But other than that I think charging for meals is an excellent idea.
But once the systems costs and paper-work cost of tracking and flagging who is and isn’t entitled to a meal is taken into account.
Alongside the hassle factor – dealing with passengers who think they have paid for a meal but haven’t, dealing with the consequences that follow when passengers - especially within groups - don’t sit in precisely their allocated seats etc etc.
Is this actually going to be worth a candle?
I have had some OK meals on charter flights and I have been served food that was to say the least iffy. When they were ‘free’ the worst that would happen is that I wouldn’t eat and maybe make a joke about it. But if I have paid for a meal, what happens if I want to send it back and/or get a refund because it wasn’t the mouth-watering gourmet delight promised in the brochure?
Also, doesn’t all this de-packaging of individual elements (a) generate the impression that the operators are trying to rip people off (b) serve to remind people that they can book flights and accommodation on the web and don’t actually need a tour operator.
But other than that I think charging for meals is an excellent idea.
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paying pax - Good post, may I make the following observations.
This is true to a degree: It assumes internet access, time and "savoir-fair" are available to the potential customer. This is true for some, but by no means all.
For every "I booked the same package myself and saved shedloads of dosh" story, there is often another"it all went wrong" that you don't hear about. For example, the services of a rep abroad may be neither here nor there to many customers, they can be invaluable in helping with lost passports and tickets, stolen wallets, illnesses, muggings, moped accidents etc. - in short, you need them most when thing go wrong, not when things go right.
Sometimes, there are hidden costs to the do-it-yourself package plan that are forgotten. Six friends of mine (a family) arranged their own holiday, saving money, and on arrival realised that they were required to take 2 taxis (only 4 allowed in each) from the airport to their accomodation, and this made substantial inroads into the saving made. Although not everybody wants to go on an excursion whilst abroad, arranging them locally can also be more expensive that through the Tour Operator. These are all general issues, and may not be true for the majority, but they do exist for some.
Airline meals are a different matter. They have long been derided on quality grounds, and their removal is often greeted with apparent enthusiasm and amusement by customers, and also by airlines. After fuel and salaries, catering can often be one of the largest budget items for an airline. I suspect that the customer perception may change with time. Firstly, a meal is not just a meal, it is also therapy - it gives you something to do on a boring sector, and also something to anticipate. Take it away, and you take that aspect away as well. Secondly, on some flights, customers are hungry. The hot breakfast provided on an 06:00 departure, after you have woken @ 03:30, driven to the airport and run to the aircraft, can be very welcome, as is the Tea/Coffee that goes with it. The 2 - 3 hour coach drive through lunch time that precedes many return ski flights, before check-in at a busy terminal on a snowy day can generate hunger pangs. And so on. In short, on some flights, a hot meal is a desirable item, or some customers - a self bought supermarket ham roll and a glass of water just aren't the same, especially when you can smell the breakfast that others are enjoying!
Finally, unpackaging can also educate some customers as to the real cost of their holiday. Those who complain about the weeks package in Corfu costing £150 and not involving a string of deluxe facilities and compliant service staff may at last have some visibility of the way individual costs within their package are broken down. I personally believe that by and large, UK Tour Operators and their airlines offer substantial value for money to the customer, and have done so for years.
That's the strategic level response. As Cabin Crew, I will have to deal with all this next year. I have no problem with the concepts, but am frankly very worried about the issues that will be raised at a tactical and operational level. the success of this kind of service in the cabin is almost totally reliant on the relevant IT systems ability to deliver information to us at the sharp end. Historically, this has been a chafter airline weak area, prone to last-minute cost cutting and scope creep: Additionally, it is human nature for departments and managers within the airline to seek credit for initiatives that work, and to run for cover when they don't - given that this is taking place now (with meals for late-bookers) there will naturally be concern for next year.
As cabin Crew, I expect to have many more grey hairs by the time next Summer draws to a close.
serve to remind people that they can book flights and accommodation on the web and don’t actually need a tour operator
For every "I booked the same package myself and saved shedloads of dosh" story, there is often another"it all went wrong" that you don't hear about. For example, the services of a rep abroad may be neither here nor there to many customers, they can be invaluable in helping with lost passports and tickets, stolen wallets, illnesses, muggings, moped accidents etc. - in short, you need them most when thing go wrong, not when things go right.
Sometimes, there are hidden costs to the do-it-yourself package plan that are forgotten. Six friends of mine (a family) arranged their own holiday, saving money, and on arrival realised that they were required to take 2 taxis (only 4 allowed in each) from the airport to their accomodation, and this made substantial inroads into the saving made. Although not everybody wants to go on an excursion whilst abroad, arranging them locally can also be more expensive that through the Tour Operator. These are all general issues, and may not be true for the majority, but they do exist for some.
Airline meals are a different matter. They have long been derided on quality grounds, and their removal is often greeted with apparent enthusiasm and amusement by customers, and also by airlines. After fuel and salaries, catering can often be one of the largest budget items for an airline. I suspect that the customer perception may change with time. Firstly, a meal is not just a meal, it is also therapy - it gives you something to do on a boring sector, and also something to anticipate. Take it away, and you take that aspect away as well. Secondly, on some flights, customers are hungry. The hot breakfast provided on an 06:00 departure, after you have woken @ 03:30, driven to the airport and run to the aircraft, can be very welcome, as is the Tea/Coffee that goes with it. The 2 - 3 hour coach drive through lunch time that precedes many return ski flights, before check-in at a busy terminal on a snowy day can generate hunger pangs. And so on. In short, on some flights, a hot meal is a desirable item, or some customers - a self bought supermarket ham roll and a glass of water just aren't the same, especially when you can smell the breakfast that others are enjoying!
Finally, unpackaging can also educate some customers as to the real cost of their holiday. Those who complain about the weeks package in Corfu costing £150 and not involving a string of deluxe facilities and compliant service staff may at last have some visibility of the way individual costs within their package are broken down. I personally believe that by and large, UK Tour Operators and their airlines offer substantial value for money to the customer, and have done so for years.
That's the strategic level response. As Cabin Crew, I will have to deal with all this next year. I have no problem with the concepts, but am frankly very worried about the issues that will be raised at a tactical and operational level. the success of this kind of service in the cabin is almost totally reliant on the relevant IT systems ability to deliver information to us at the sharp end. Historically, this has been a chafter airline weak area, prone to last-minute cost cutting and scope creep: Additionally, it is human nature for departments and managers within the airline to seek credit for initiatives that work, and to run for cover when they don't - given that this is taking place now (with meals for late-bookers) there will naturally be concern for next year.
As cabin Crew, I expect to have many more grey hairs by the time next Summer draws to a close.
