7 trolley dollies, one packet of crisps! [Archive]

Docfly

28th Dec 2005, 08:27

I've just flown BA Eurotraveller for the first time in a while. LHR-GVA and return. A321. I was gobsmacked to find that it needed 7 cabin crew to serve a packet of crisps and a drink (very nice crisps mind, well done Burts). When I asked, "is that it", I was told that if I travelled earlier in the day I'd have got a butty for breakfast!
I'm sure you are on to it Willie but you could save a shedload on CC if you're not going to give a proper service. By the way, why not try giving a service so you keep the distinction between you and low cost - just an idea!

BusyB

28th Dec 2005, 08:37

I've just flown British Midland LHR-CDG. It was pretty uncomfortable and the drinks/sandwich very expensive and very slow, I got mine served at top of descent. I'll fly BA next time, very little difference in cost.

Volmet South

28th Dec 2005, 09:01

I had a similar experience in the middle of the month returning BA from Basel. To be fair, the CSD and the team did also hand out a nice minature bottle of wine with the packet of salty greasy crisps. On a LoCo, at least I would have had the option of buying a sandwich but there would not be a CSD to oversee the exquisite culinary feast :*

BA are milking the Gate Gourmet situation, are avoiding picking up food downroute and are laughing all the way to the bank.

Rick Binson

28th Dec 2005, 09:05

This I think is the problem the mainline carriers face.

They don't want to look like a loco but they're happy to have a loco standard of service.

At least with a loco you know what you're going to get. Nothing for free but a service where you can buy food if you're hungry.

On mainline if you miss the chance to eat and are hoping to get something on the plane you can be severely disappointed as there is no trolley to buy from.....

Docfly

28th Dec 2005, 09:36

Yes Volmet, but what fooled me was that BA's website said that full catering and bar service was back on all flights from LHR. Full catering was one small packet of crisps and no provision to buy anything else.
Minimum cabin crew for the 321 is probably 3 or 4 (Idon't know how many seats BA have) so they have the opportunity to save at least 3 CC on these short flights.
I'd rather have nothing and know what the situation is than be insulted with what I did get.

Carnage Matey!

28th Dec 2005, 10:01

BA are milking the Gate Gourmet situation, are avoiding picking up food downroute and are laughing all the way to the bank

BA haven't picked up food downroute for about two years. I guess you haven't flown with them much recently.

Max Angle

28th Dec 2005, 10:01

Min. legal cabin crew on a A321 is 5 which is what we use now at bmi on flights with no biz. class section, in which case 6. Used to be 8 when we first got them and been whittled down ever since.

Genghis the Engineer

28th Dec 2005, 10:37

So far as I know, the main reason for having cabin crew there is to provide safety briefings and to assist you in the event of a problem or emergency - in between the (hopefully extremely large) interval between problems and emergencies, the airline often keeps them occupied by serving you food and drink.

If the airline doesn't give them very much food and drink to serve you, it doesn't actually negate their reason for being there.

G

gofer

28th Dec 2005, 10:46

Would have thought this would be a great opportunity for the Gourmet Sandwich companies like Prêt-à-Manger to step up to the tarmac and do a deal with you picking something from a rack as you board (Lufthansa style) - that way you get what you want, and can reduce the CC's to a safety minimum.

But why would airlines wake up - get a think-tank panel of a few long suffering PAX and get it right.

:suspect:

Volmet South

28th Dec 2005, 10:47

BA haven't picked up food downroute for about two years.

That is not the point Carnage, following the failure of BA to manage their catering supplier, they have intentionally made no effort to resolve the situation by picking up catering down-route. The BA brand is being damaged however the bean-counters are happy. What's the difference between Fly.BE and Fly.BA on shorthaul other than a free small bottle of wine and a packet of crisps:confused:

.I do fly BA regularly (6 times in the last two months including 2 x 12 hr sectors and will do twice more before the end of the year) however I am often forced to use other carriers where BA choose not to offer any competition but that's another thread altogether

G-CPTN

28th Dec 2005, 11:17

>So far as I know, the main reason for having cabin crew there is to provide safety briefings and to assist you in the event of a problem or emergency - in between the (hopefully extremely large) interval between problems and emergencies, the airline often keeps them occupied by serving you food and drink.

So if the CC are underoccupied, why don't they provide some SERVICE to passengers instead of hiding, chatting in the kitchens?
They could offer head (massage) or sit on my knee and tell me a story to calm my flying nerves. They could even put on a panty-mime (in place of those boring games of charades that precede the flight). I'm sure their talent needn't be wasted.

acbus1

28th Dec 2005, 11:43

Oh-h-h-h-h......no-o-o-o-o......i-i-i-i-i-it......wo-o-o-o-ouldn't.

;)

Carnage Matey!

28th Dec 2005, 11:56

following the failure of BA to manage their catering supplier, they have intentionally made no effort to resolve the situation by picking up catering down-route

BA moved away from catering downroute two years ago and have no plans to return to it. In order to cater effectively from abroad they'd need long term contracts for each outstation and they would rather not have any catering than pay to reverse the decision. What exactly is it that your complaining about? That BA can't solve their catering problem? That your bag of crisps wasn't loaded abroad? Or that you don't like the fact you only got a bag of crisps? If its the latter as I suspect then it has nothing to do with Gate Gourmet and everything to do with them deciding to downgrade the catering product on offer at that time of day. Next time you fly fill out a GPM and let the beancounters know what you think.

heebeegb

28th Dec 2005, 11:58

unbelievable! Can't believe the tosh i've just read.

Rananim

28th Dec 2005, 13:02

So far as I know, the main reason for having cabin crew there is to provide safety briefings and to assist you in the event of a problem or emergency

NUTS

brakedwell

28th Dec 2005, 13:47

Nuts are orf dear!

BEagle

28th Dec 2005, 14:02

7 cabin crew on a 321 seems excessive, surely? Perhaps some were positioning for other flights?

Since April 2004, Lufthansa has also cut back on cabin service. They now only carry the legal minimum cabin crew on European flights; their cabin crew are frankly embarrassed at the low standards they are now obliged to provide even in Business Class. And yes, nuts are now also orff....

Despite thousands of complaints and the rise in popularity of their lo-co competitors, European mainline airlines seem hell-bent on their downward slide in service standards.

Is this a rumour? No. Is it news? Perhaps because unless airline bean counters wake up to customer dissatisfaction, mainline pilot careers will ultimately be in jeopardy as the lo-co airlines offer similar service but at a fraction of the cost.

Jake Russell

28th Dec 2005, 14:16

I thought BA's in-flight meals service was back to normal. Am I mistaken?

Carnage Matey!

28th Dec 2005, 14:27

7 crew on a 321 seems a bit light for BA, we used to have 6 on a 319 to CDG! I bet they use 8 if they send the big bus to Paris!

Gonzo

28th Dec 2005, 15:05

I cannot understand why people would want to eat airline food anyway. LHR-GVA...can we not go without food for that long now?

BEagle

28th Dec 2005, 15:41

Gonzo, by the time you've driven to the LHR long term airport car park, waited for the bus to the terminal, queued up to check-in, queued up to get through airside secuirty, waited for the flight to be called, queued up for a further security check, waited for the flight to board and then flown half-way to Geneva, it could well have been quite a while since the last decent meal. Unless, that is, you're prepared to allow even more time to include a meal at the airports less-than-delightful restaurants.

Mainline airlines damn well should provide a reasonable quality of in-flight catering to all classes of passengers!

surely not

28th Dec 2005, 15:57

BEagle why??

The higher cost of a full fare standard ticket is for services such as interline acceptance should a flight be delayed or your business meeting finish early giving you the opportunity to travel on another carrier; change of date of travel and/or flight when needed; better options if delayed etc

The provision of food is not a high part of any ticket price be it sched or charter.

I happen to like the idea of the crew being in the cabin more to bring me drinks rather than stuck behind a food cart throwing poor quality food at me. I am old enough to have travelled back in the 70's and I don't remember the food being of a quality that was applauded by anyone, so what is it some are hankering after??

doubledolphins

28th Dec 2005, 15:58

Flew MAN LHR MAN (757s both ways) with BA a few days back. On the first sector got a hot ham and cheese panini and no bar. Panini was rather like the ones we give out on our ski flights and was ok. Purser explaned that this reduced service was a result of the Gate Gormet dispute. I had no idea that it was still causing problems but there you are. On the return all we got was a cup of tea and a biscuit. The sort of catering that Dan Air was handing out just prior to its demise. By way of compensation all passengers were offered the chance to enter a competition for a free holiday. (Second prize, two free holidays! etc.) This time I spoke to the Purser as I was a bit put out that we had not been warned and therefor had not got a sandwich in the terminal. She explained that the paninis were loaded at MAN and LHR was still unable to cater short haul flights. She understood that the staffing problem with Gate Gourmet was now due to the hold up of security/disclosure clearences for the new staff. When I asked why she needed a full crew to serve tea she replied that the unions insited on it. (There were 7 crew, my lot uses 5.)

Stall Inducer

28th Dec 2005, 16:01

I think the £5 voucher on Shorhaul while the GG strike was on was the best catering I've had on BA shorthaul in a long time -with that I bought a decent cup of coffee and sandwich and could enjoy it whist soaking up the 20 min boarding delay. The days of decent meals on shorthaul are gone and I see little point in pretending you are serving a 'quality' product with a couple of biscuits and a cup of tetley. Having said that I rate their longhaul product highly.

apaddyinuk

28th Dec 2005, 16:08

Is everyone forgetting the fact that ALCOHOL IS STILL FREE????? You could easily drink the cost of your ticket on BA if you wanted!

EI-CFC

28th Dec 2005, 16:27

I thought BA's in-flight meals service was back to normal. Am I mistaken?

Well, sort of. This is perhaps BA's new idea of "normal" ;)

Is everyone forgetting the fact that ALCOHOL IS STILL FREE????? You could easily drink the cost of your ticket on BA if you wanted!

Not everyone wants to arrive at their destination drunk as a lord though. In fact, I much prefer the cabin crew (of any airline) to show more restraint and not provide people with too much alcohol. Drunks on board tend to make me feel slightly uncomfortable!

I tend to like having something in my stomach considering the long hike to airport, through airport and the one facing from airport to final destination though. I can't understand this obsession with free alcohol - personally, I'd be happy with a free sandwich/snack, free soft drink and I'd quite happily pay for an alchoholic drink if I wanted one - especially in Y.

At least, as pointed out by others, some airlines make a point of not providing food for free, but offering you a range to buy. EI's buy-on-board is actually quite reasonable for example. BA, with their packet of crisp offering, falls short of either standard and does it badly while it's at it.

Globaliser

28th Dec 2005, 17:11

Gonzo: I cannot understand why people would want to eat airline food anyway. LHR-GVA...can we not go without food for that long now?Often, the food on a shorthaul flight will be the only food I have been able to get my hands on all day, and it may be too late to get anything sensible to eat by the time I get to my destination. Until the Tube and the HEX start selling food on board, that's not likely to change.

Docfly

28th Dec 2005, 17:28

Globaliser has the same point as me. I rush to the airport, no time to eat the rubbish they serve there. I want to eat the rubbish you used to serve BA! I want the 90 mins on board to be relaxing and provide some refreshment. I then get off the plane and rush to where I'm going. The price doesn't matter, often someone else is paying, you have to try and remain a full service airline.
Yes BEagle I can count up to 7, they all stood up and blocked the aisles with 4 trollies in Y and one in J. The crisps were rushed out and then they all sat down again curtain drawn.
And yes Genghis I did feel safe but that's not my point, you can't deny that much as some of them seem to hate it they are also there to provide cabin service. It is a large part of BA's image and that isn't good at the moment.

doubledolphins

28th Dec 2005, 18:13

BEagle

28th Dec 2005, 19:44

No, doubledolphins, unless it's some boring people-tube co-pilot hiring debate, a post won't last longer than 5 minutes on R&N these days, it seems.

How any union can dictate that 7 cabin crew should be the standard ba A321 crewing level is quite beyond me....

Jetdriver

28th Dec 2005, 20:05

Rumours & News is a forum for those issues and is in a group of "Flight Deck" forums. The main target audience (professional pilots) mainly derived from that group. A number of other forums are also provided to target people who are interested in topics that relate to those headings. Hence This one, and the relevance of your topic.

It is not about the size of the audience it is about the relative interest a topic has to the main target audience within a forum. This is an issue that will no doubt be of greater interest to the passengers it affects than the pilots it doesn't.

Docfly

28th Dec 2005, 20:32

Jetdriver, I wrote the initial post as a pilot and passenger surprised at how bad BA had become. If you think it doesn't affect pilots then you've had the flight deck door locked too long.
If BA pilots were at all concerned about their job security, and many are, then this thread may well be news to them.

Jetdriver

28th Dec 2005, 23:20

Yes, well that is unlikely, but in any event many BA pilots and others of us come to this forum to find those issues that affect passengers. That is why this forum exists and why your thread is in it. I may have had the door closed for too long during the last 25 years but my other half who works as cabin crew for BA would have clued me in by now, I am sure. ;)

wanderin_star

30th Dec 2005, 13:12

Full Emergency

2nd Jan 2006, 22:18

By the way, why not try giving a service so you keep the distinction between you and low cost - just an idea!

There is. You didn't have to pay for your crisps, but if you flew Ryanair or SleazyJet, they you would have had to fork out some more pennies.

That and the airfares aren't that much more in cost.

FE

Full Emergency

2nd Jan 2006, 22:22

That and the service that you get is FAR more professional with BA than the silly little "low-fares" airliners that dump you at some mickey-mouse airport in the middle of no-where.

I always used to laugh at the people who flew from Stanstead to Girona with Ryanair. They advertise it as Girona-Barcelona, when it is like an hour and a half drive away.....:E :E :E :E

The bus from the airport to Barcelona City Centre costs double the extra they would have paid for a BA ticket into the cities proper airport.

FE

keeperboy

2nd Jan 2006, 22:38

On short-haul, the number of Cabin Crew rostered per flight varies. This depends on the aircraft type, flight length, and Club class load. Basically the more passengers booked in Club (on one sector or both ways), the higher the complement of Cabin Crew.

Long-haul BA flights always have a standard number of cabin crew (with the exception of a couple 'demanding' routes) with the only varying factor being aircraft type and configuration.

Although there may appear to be few Club passengers on the sector you are flying, the returning sector may have a very high Club load.

Mind you though, this matrix was formulated 'pre crisp service'. So with the new 'service' perhaps you won't find 7 crew on your next flight!

As for the service itself: The 'crisp' service applies to all domestic, 'band 1' and 'band 2' short-haul flights - the shortest intra european sectors. These include Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Brussels, Zurich, Geneva etc. Morning departures still serve a hot breakfast panini. Mid-morning flights are complimentary soft/alcoholic/hot drinks and a slice of cake. And from then on the cake is substitued with a packet of crisps.

This service was of course adpoted to save money and also in reaction to our competitors. Bmi, Iberia, Swiss charge for food and drink. The other airlines give very little.

Wastage was also a massive issue, especially on the short paris/amsterdam/brussels/manchester/newcastle routes. Approx 47% of the sandwich boxes distributed were being collected in un-eaten and thrown in the bin.

A sandwich and dessert is still served in eurotraveller (economy) on mid length european flights (scandinavia, italy, spain, portugal etc) and a full 3 course hot meal continues to be served on longer european routes (Russia/CIS/Turkey/Greece and a few others).

Personally, I would have liked to see BA adopt a system similar to that of SAS.
- Club (as is current).

- An 'Economy Flex' section at the front of the economy cabin with free food/drinks/papers etc for frequent flyers and those on more expensive economy tickets.

- And 'Economy Basic' for those paying the lowest fares (which can be lower than £10 - plus tax - each way on some routes on ba.com).

Keeps :)

keeperboy

2nd Jan 2006, 22:44

I have just retruned from Geneva on a BA flight and was also amused at small bag of Burts chips. Also I noticed the drinks trolley was loaded on top with soft drinks and water giving the impression that it was only soft drinks and tea and coffee available. The steward seemed surprised when I asked for Gin and tonic. I am sure passengers new to flying were unaware that alcoholic drinks were available.

This is not the case. There has been no memo circulated within BA to try and disuade passengers from taking alcohol. It just makes sense to put the most asked for items on top of the trolley for easy access.

BEagle

2nd Jan 2006, 22:45

I still consider that the sadly-departed buzz was perhaps the best all-round airline I ever flew with..

A lo-co, but one which flew from STN-FRA which was perfect for my needs. And at just the right time of day as well. There was a buzz lounge you could pay a little extra for at STN, you had a numbered seat (I always got there early and asked for 1D on the 146), the cabin crew were delightfully friendly. In-flight catering didn't cost the earth - and a cafetiere of fresh coffee with a miniature Bailey's tipped in was delicious.

But then the wooden-footed wooden-headed idiots at KLM sold out to Ryanair just as the airline had announced extra routes. However, Ryanair (who couldn't believe their luck) wouldn't accept the FRA turn-round times and flew to where-the-hell-is-Hahn instead, far too far from FRA and thus totally unacceptable for my needs. So it was back to Lufthansa, initially from LHR, then later BHX. After a while, the company for whom I work started flying me in Biz class, so I had a splendid time right up until LH dumbed down its service in April 2004. Before then it was: refreshment towel pre-start, free magazine, aperitif with some nuts early in the flight, then a 3 course meal with hot entree, plenty of wine followed by coffee and "would you like a cognac?". And there were always 4 cabin crew on the 737.

After April 2004, they only put 3 cabin crew on the 737. No refreshment towel on boarding, no aperitif or nuts a 2 course cold meal (pretty awful on many occasions), 2 drink services if you're lucky and coffee offered whilst you're still eating.... A lot of cheap little changes, the cumulative effect of which is to annnoy previously loyal customers. They've had thousands of complaints, but have yet to make any changes back towards their previously high standards - but the tickets are still just as expensive.

Airlines which dumb down like LH have done are just driving customers away. But do they care? Clearly not - they don't give a stuff about European business travel but bend over backwards to attract super premium long haul passengers as their sole priority, it would seem.

keeperboy

2nd Jan 2006, 22:49

What free booze? There was no bar. There was only tea or coffee. (Note to the Mod. I would have thought that BA not catering on a "full service" flight was due a slightly larger audience than this forum. )

Double this was prior to the 'new' catering when only tea and coffee was served on board. All flights with the new service are loaded with the standard bar - alcoholic, and soft drinks. As well as tea and coffee.

Remember, this new catering affects only the shortest european flights - under 1:30 flight time. If you are flying to Rome, Barcelona, Athens etc etc etc you will still be served something substantial.

scotsflyingboy

2nd Jan 2006, 22:49

Seven CC's does seem a bit extreme...maybe they were going home for the New Yr!!!
However I vote you fly 'Hooters' next time!
I think you may find the lack of cabin crew for emergency briefings....much less...as well as what the' laaaadies':8 wear!!!

sixmilehighclub

3rd Jan 2006, 01:11

Minimum crew for BA on an A321 is 5. Either one per pair of doors (4 sets), or one per 50 passengers, then one extra to allow crew to move about whilst the aircraft is on the ground (as Cabin crew need to stay closeby to their designated doors). As Keeperboy has suggested, the crew compliment increases depending on the loads.

Other possibilities are that a new crew member was operating their first flight so has to fly as additional crew, or the next sector the aircraft was due to operate was busier in Club and club receives an ehnanced service. Also often some crew leave the aircraft to nightstop, and the crew who will fly it back may have arrived on a smaller aircraft the night before, so there may only be 4 crew (A319). Which would need an extra one or two for the A321 to fly home. Trust me when I say what doesn't look logical usually is, and is an absolute nightmare to plan!

Now, regarding the catering. Putting domestic flights aside, which are still waiting to be settled, the catering you see now in Eurotraveller is how it will stay.

Factors deciding this were many:

Feedback from extensive questioning of customers, through on-line surveys and paper questionnaires.

Saving costs (BA have increased what they pay GG so need to balance overheads somewhere and are still trying to keep ticket prices down).

Streamlining the catering production to allow less wastage (the new products are longer life).

Differentiating further between Club and Traveller classes.

The amounts of wastage on the previous product was astronomical which spoke volumes about how unpopular it was.

The product where the customer could select a sweet or savoury treat was branded as difficult to deliver by the crew, and unhealthy or their choice unavailable by the passenger.

The bars are still available, and if the crew place soft drinks on top, its to advertise something other than juice and water, or because the crisps take up room in the trolley (longer European flights have wine displayed on top of the trolleys!).

Depending on the time of day (known as peak or off peak - ie mealtime or not) you should receive either a Sandwich, Cereal Bar or packet of handmade crisps. Club Europe should receive a tray with either breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner or afternoon tea, depending on destination.

With feedback from customers, again this may change in the future, but technically the catering on anything with a short flighttime is classified more as a light refreshment than a meal, after all feedback suggested the majority of people didn't want airline food on short flights, just a drink.

BEagle

3rd Jan 2006, 06:52

"Now, regarding the catering. Putting domestic flights aside, which are still waiting to be settled, the catering you see now in Eurotraveller is how it will stay"

Well, thanks for the info - you've just lost another prospective passenger. Due to Lufthansa's timetable revisions, I was actually considering using ba for my next business trip as the mid-day LH BHX-FRA flight no longer connects properly with the FRA-FDH flight - whereas ba's does. But as the catering has obviously been dumbed down, I'll stay with the devil I know rather than switching.

Yes, we darn well do expect a proper service on European flights. Airlines which talk about 'products' rather than 'passenger service' are the ones to avoid.

Perhaps the best option from UK-FDH will turn out to be Ryanair from STN? Certainly it would be if it flew from BHX - and at least the flight would be quicker and wouldn't pretend to be anything other than a no-frills lo-co. Unlike ba.

marlowe

3rd Jan 2006, 07:51

Well you think the service is bad now wait until you see what BACX have up there sleeves!!!! should be announced V soon as cabin crew have been rostered training days in January to be taught new service rumour has it BACX are trialing the service before introduced at LGW

keeperboy

3rd Jan 2006, 11:19

Volmet South

3rd Jan 2006, 11:55

Just a quick question......

With airfares at the level they are these days, what do people really expect in the economy cabin of a flight with a duration of less than 60 minutes???

I am seriously interested.....

Certainly not six staff handing out packets of crisps under the direction of a CSD :rolleyes:

BEagle

3rd Jan 2006, 12:01

Personally I thought the pre-April 2004 "Kaese oder Schinken?" ham or cheese rolls plus any complimentary drink as offered in Lufthansa Economy Class were spot on.

But not the current rubbish they offer in Economy. Which is marginally less awful than the bread and water they offered when the dumbed-down caterig first started in April 2004. The cabin crew termed it 'prison food' and used to bring everyone a customer comment card to fill in. It soon changed, but it's still cr@p - hard bun with limp lettuce and hard moustrap cheese plus any non-alcoholic drink, wine or beer.

Globaliser

3rd Jan 2006, 18:32

Now, regarding the catering. Putting domestic flights aside, which are still waiting to be settled, the catering you see now in Eurotraveller is how it will stay.Well, if this is true then it's a bl**dy disgrace.

IMHO, the bottom of BA's market is usually choosing to pay more to fly BA than to fly the competition, as BA's cost base means that it cannot consistently deliver the low fares that other airlines do. BA's bottom-end pax are not people who will book away just because BA is £3 more than the nearest competitor's fare. They are people who will stick with BA even though it's £3 more, because they know that they will get a higher service level from BA. That's the strength of BA's appeal, and this stupid decision is throwing BA's USP down the drain.

There seems to me to be only one explanation for this desire to join the rush to the bottom, both in fares and service level. Unfortunately, that's a rush which will leave BA's short-haul in tatters. That explanation has little to do with any reasoned analysis of what BA's pax actually want and how they actually act, and much more to do with this being one step closer to the arbitrary 10% operating margin.

Come on, Waterworld: If you have a stickiness at the current margins but the business model is actually working well and delivering a distinctive product that people want to buy, give up the chimaeras!The amounts of wastage on the previous product was astronomical which spoke volumes about how unpopular it was.

The product where the customer could select a sweet or savoury treat was branded as difficult to deliver by the crew, and unhealthy or their choice unavailable by the passenger.That wastage was hardly surprising. The most accurate description of this snack that I have seen is "Something Insultingly Small". To apply the word "treat" to it is to adopt the language used by politicians and used car salesmen.With feedback from customers, again this may change in the future, but technically the catering on anything with a short flighttime is classified more as a light refreshment than a meal, after all feedback suggested the majority of people didn't want airline food on short flights, just a drink.So what we all need to do is to carry on complaining the way that we did during the catering dispute. This is the direct link to the website form (http://www.britishairways.com/travel/custrelform/public/en_gb) for complaints about "your travel experience". If you're a BA Executive Club member, log in first to pre-populate the form.

BEagle

3rd Jan 2006, 19:19

Eurotraveller:

"In-flight service:
Our responsive and highly trained crew will take care of you throughout your journey.

On all of our European flights you can enjoy breakfast with fresh coffee and tea. For the rest of the day complimentary snacks and drinks are served appropriate to the time of day and length of flight."

Club Europe:

"Service:
Our dedicated Club Europe staff will take care of you throughout your journey providing a warm, responsive service.

In-flight dining:
Club Europe menus have recently been refreshed to provide even greater choice and more appropriate food than before. Customers can enjoy a full English or Continental breakfast; hot or cold meals for lunch and dinner and High tea. All meals are served with freshly ground coffee, teas or a full bar plus a range of warmed breads."

Main ba 'On board - In-flight meals' statement:

"Signature Style
British Airways seeks to take the best of world cuisine, finding inspiration from culinary circles, trends, fashion and art and then adapting these for delivery and presentation in an aircraft environment.

The British Airways 'Signature Style' offers a clear directional message for our in-flight food strategy. It illustrates our commitment, passion and dedication to creating new standards in an exciting, challenging and continually progressive industry."

So where in all this does it mention 7 cabin crew being employed to hand out bags of crisps? Might I suggest that you wake up and smell your 'freshly ground' coffee?