AWFUL FOOD ON BA HEATHROW TO LARNACA FLIGHT – UPDATE

WotNoDeeds · Post by **WotNoDeeds** » Tue 19 May 2015 8:59 pm

E-mailed BA customer services asking if it was their intention to serve only a sandwich and crunchy bar snack on the five hour flight in future. They replied: “we are unable to provide the information you need”. So still have no idea if the snack is permanent, but suspect it is.

Also e-mailed BA and said how underwhelmed we were with the anaemic croissant (complete with E250, E451 and E301 additives). Their response was as follows:

“We choose our catering partners carefully and we set very high standards for food preparation. Our suppliers must have strict processes in place to ensure these standards are met. Our menus are also refreshed every month and we include dishes that our customers tell us they enjoy. We use Umami rich ingredients in our meals, as this improves the flavour of our food when in the air. All our meals are freshly prepared using locally sourced and seasonal ingredients wherever possible. We normally get very good feedback about our catering, so I’m disappointed to hear we didn’t meet your expectations. I’m sorry you feel let down”.

So that’s alright - my croissant was full of “umami rich” ingredients, not additives. ( No, I'd never heard of "umami" either!)

Since Cyprus Airways have gone, BA have added extra flights on the Larnaca route and their fares are competitively priced but it looks as if these reductions have been achieved by cutting down on the quality and quantity of the food.

jofra · Post by **jofra** » Tue 19 May 2015 9:56 pm

Out of curiosity, is this "snack" included in your fare with BA?
We fly from Manchester with Monarch (soon to end) and snacks/meals are all extra. Partly because of this, we make and take our own "butties", but mainly, we know exactly what's in these, and have exactly what we want - these are a lot cheaper and, together with a bottled drink from the airport and/or a tea/coffee bought inflight, "fill the bill" for us.

surfmeetseast · Post by **surfmeetseast** » Tue 19 May 2015 10:28 pm

Oh, sorry for you! It's horrible to get rubbish food on a boring flight. I actually take my own food because I am a boring vegan who hates being confronted about being on,e so please don't tell anyone z
Seriously, it is a better idea ?s

Kavenkoy · Post by **Kavenkoy** » Wed 20 May 2015 4:08 am

Wotnodeeds .

Sorry to say you must not have a lot going on in your life when your moan is about such a small issue .
I remember having a cheese sandwich I didn't like once on a train to Scarborough ,I got over it .

Seriously get a hobby or take your own sandwich FFs it's not major news is it .

Try the other moan on here is measured on where to get Sunday lunch from

Chin up

Kav

surfmeetseast · Post by **surfmeetseast** » Wed 20 May 2015 5:09 am

.....to take your own, and yes agree with previous poster that there are worse things that could have happened!

Groucho · Post by **Groucho** » Wed 20 May 2015 5:44 am

Kavenkoy wrote:I remember having a cheese sandwich I didn't like once on a train to Scarborough ,I got over it .

Seriously get a hobby or take your own sandwich FFs it's not major news is it .

Kav

I don't think your miserable cheese sandwich was included in the cost of your train journey though was it? If it had been I bet you'd have felt let-down. So it hardly compares with the disappointment of getting a piss-poor meal on a BA flight that is included in the cost. Given that it was a five hour flight I think it's quite fair to expect something pleasant to eat. The poster was not claiming this was major news - this is just a chat forum so there's no need to be quite so rude to other posters.

fatouche · Post by **fatouche** » Wed 20 May 2015 5:57 am

For those of you who would like to make your own croissants to replace the anaemic, additive-laden BA specimens, here's a recipe for the real thing. However, you have been warned ! It is a time-consuming, laborious process.

Ingredients

625 g strong bread flour
12 g salt
75 g sugar
20 g dried yeast
water, for mixing
500 g butter, chilled
1 egg, beaten

Method
1. Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix in a little water until the mixture forms into a pliable dough.

2. Place the dough on a floured surface and knead well until it feels elastic.

3. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

4. Return the chilled dough to your floured work surface and roll it into a rectangular shape, around 60cm by 30cm.

5. Roll out the chilled butter into a rectangle about 1cm thick, around 20cm by 30cm.

6. Place the butter rectangle in the centre of the dough rectangle, so it covers around two thirds of the dough.

7. Fold the remaining dough third over the butter layer, so that the dough is now in 3 layers.

8. Return the dough to the refrigerator to chill for a further hour.

9. Scatter some more flour over your table and roll out the dough to a rectangular shape, around 60cm by 30 cm.

10. Repeat the folding process, then return the dough to the refrigerator for a further hour.

11. Repeat this process of folding and chilling two more times, then wrap the dough in cling film and set it aside to rest overnight.

12. Using a rolling pin, roll out the rested dough to 3mm thickness.

13. Cut the rolled out dough into squares, each square 20cm by 20cm.

14. Cut each square diagonally, making 2 triangles from each dough square.

15. Place the dough triangles on a lightly floured surface with the narrow point facing away from you.

16. Roll each dough triangle up over itself and curl the dough roll around into a traditional crescent shape.

17. Place the shaped croissants on baking trays lined with silicone baking parchment and leave to rise for 1 hour, 30 minutes.

18. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

19. Lightly egg-wash the croissants and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.

Caveat: you will need the air con on full pelt when working this dough in Cyprus at this time of year,or you'll end up with a greasy mess.

Have fun!

Groucho · Post by **Groucho** » Wed 20 May 2015 6:20 am

Will they let you do cookery on BA flights?

erol · Post by **erol** » Wed 20 May 2015 6:20 am

or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGl45jDJcbU

Keithcaley · Post by **Keithcaley** » Wed 20 May 2015 7:29 am

Oh well, if we're resorting to YouTube, I suppose that there's always Yorkshire Airlines...

karmels · Post by **karmels** » Wed 20 May 2015 8:12 am

Keith.
That was an old classic, but I would rather have fish, chips and mushy peas in newspaper than some of the food served on aircraft today.

fatouche · Post by **fatouche** » Wed 20 May 2015 8:28 am

Since this weekend features the Eurovision, I thought I'd post this gem from 2007:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9y8hqsYXTw

Featuring the gem of a line :

' Would you like something to suck on for the landing sir? '

Mollie the cat · Post by **Mollie the cat** » Wed 20 May 2015 9:11 am

Didn't you say on another thread that kind of reply was "puerile" double standards there me thinks!!

fatouche · Post by **fatouche** » Wed 20 May 2015 9:26 am

Indeed I did......it wasn't a criticism though.......

I can beincredibly puerile; mea culpa. I shall hang my head in shame.

Groucho · Post by **Groucho** » Wed 20 May 2015 9:51 am

fatouche wrote:Since this weekend features the Eurovision, I thought I'd post this gem from 2007:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9y8hqsYXTw

Featuring the gem of a line :

' Would you like something to suck on for the landing sir? '

Seems like a nyaff British Airways advert... flying the flag - I've heard that before....

Gem? I don't think so... how embarrassing is that?

fatouche · Post by **fatouche** » Wed 20 May 2015 10:54 am

I was being sarcastic people!

Lighten up!

Keithcaley · Post by **Keithcaley** » Wed 20 May 2015 12:56 pm

fatouche wrote:I was being sarcastic people!

Lighten up!

...OR ELSE!

Kavenkoy · Post by **Kavenkoy** » Wed 20 May 2015 1:14 pm

Groucho wrote:
Kavenkoy wrote:I remember having a cheese sandwich I didn't like once on a train to Scarborough ,I got over it .

Seriously get a hobby or take your own sandwich FFs it's not major news is it .

Kav
I don't think your miserable cheese sandwich was included in the cost of your train journey though was it? If it had been I bet you'd have felt let-down. So it hardly compares with the disappointment of getting a piss-poor meal on a BA flight that is included in the cost. Given that it was a five hour flight I think it's quite fair to expect something pleasant to eat. The poster was not claiming this was major news - this is just a chat forum so there's no need to be quite so rude to other posters.

Get a life .
It's a meal ,many times I've had poor meals same as the rest .
Hardly international news ....Groucho not half .

Dear me you want to hear yourself going on about it ......get some fresh air and smile a bit ...life's to short and if that is all you have on your plate to deal with

Ding dong

Kav

Keithcaley · Post by **Keithcaley** » Wed 20 May 2015 1:28 pm

I cooked bacon and eggs for my breakfast the other day, and the egg yolk broke!

It was an utter disaster!

I was devastated!

Do you think that I should go back to the shop and complain about the faulty egg?

I did make a short video of the situation, do you think that it would stand up in court?

Could I sue them for 'Loss of enjoyment''?

Seriously, the food on BA, particularly from Gatwick is not brilliant - nowadays I make sure that I have a good nosh before I set off - or fly 'Turkish' (that's a bit like 'Commando', but you get to keep your Fez on...)

Kavenkoy · Post by **Kavenkoy** » Wed 20 May 2015 2:57 pm

Keithcaley wrote:I cooked bacon and eggs for my breakfast the other day, and the egg yolk broke!

It was an utter disaster!

I was devastated!

Do you think that I should go back to the shop and complain about the faulty egg?

I did make a short video of the situation, do you think that it would stand up in court?

Could I sue them for 'Loss of enjoyment''?

Seriously, the food on BA, particularly from Gatwick is not brilliant - nowadays I make sure that I have a good

nosh before I set off - or fly 'Turkish' (that's a bit like 'Commando', but you get to keep your Fez on...)

Lol ,get back to th shop about that egg .

Seriously we have to all lighten up a bit don't we really we could have health issues .....

Kav

elizabeth · Post by **elizabeth** » Wed 20 May 2015 3:32 pm

You should try Pegasus, on a recent flight from Turkey we were served a sandwich and a bottle of water, the problem was it was served ten minutes into the flight, and the flight was only thirty minutes, should we complain that we had indigestion through rushing our food.

tomsteel · Post by **tomsteel** » Wed 20 May 2015 3:58 pm

No Elizabeth, you decline the offer. Surely flight safety, punctuality, reliability and service are more important than feeding options?

elizabeth · Post by **elizabeth** » Wed 20 May 2015 4:23 pm

tomsteel wrote:No Elizabeth, you decline the offer. Surely flight safety, punctuality, reliability and service are more important than feeding options?

I was joking of course Some people just don't understand humour.

tomsteel · Post by **tomsteel** » Wed 20 May 2015 6:08 pm

Your sense of humour is personal.

Keithcaley · Post by **Keithcaley** » Wed 20 May 2015 7:22 pm

tomsteel wrote:Your sense of humour is personal.

So is every one else's

Oh, I'm soooo funny!

tomsteel · Post by **tomsteel** » Wed 20 May 2015 7:29 pm

Kavenkoy · Post by **Kavenkoy** » Wed 20 May 2015 8:05 pm

elizabeth wrote:You should try Pegasus, on a recent flight from Turkey we were served a sandwich and a bottle of water, the problem was it was served ten minutes into the flight, and the flight was only thirty minutes, should we complain that we had indigestion through rushing our food.

Yes I've done that one ....bang here is your cheese sandwich ...thrown at you and still chewing it when landing ....that's what travel is all about lol.

On a serious note for a minute most airlines under 5 hours don't give you food as everything is extra .
And turkish still rule for food when I have travelled over to NC .
Their service ,plane and comforts really are better than BA and worth the extra if anything as most times their flight prices are ok it's the delays on return that used to effect me

Kav

I'm off doing some scones now for my coast journey at the weekend

trueblue · Post by **trueblue** » Wed 20 May 2015 9:04 pm

Food on a plane - not for me. Watch this on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtibYjww8Eg

Groucho · Post by **Groucho** » Thu 21 May 2015 6:32 am

Kavenkoy wrote:
elizabeth wrote:You should try Pegasus, on a recent flight from Turkey we were served a sandwich and a bottle of water, the problem was it was served ten minutes into the flight, and the flight was only thirty minutes, should we complain that we had indigestion through rushing our food.

Yes I've done that one ....bang here is your cheese sandwich ...thrown at you and still chewing it when landing ....that's what travel is all about lol.

On a serious note for a minute most airlines under 5 hours don't give you food as everything is extra .
And turkish still rule for food when I have travelled over to NC .
Their service ,plane and comforts really are better than BA and worth the extra if anything as most times their flight prices are ok it's the delays on return that used to effect me

Kav

I'm off doing some scones now for my coast journey at the weekend

So - Wotnodeeds posted once and how many repeat posts on this subject have you contributed - and how many times have you mentioned cheese sandwiches?

Sounds like you need to take your own advice re - life and moving on... oh and I'd forget the cheese sandwiches in future!

PS. It's not for you to determine what can and can't be discussed or how disappointed Wotnodeeds is allowed to be - is it? No because that's my job!

bargainboozeandwines · Post by **bargainboozeandwines** » Thu 21 May 2015 8:54 am

What did we do before google,that's what i want to know !

http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/514811

ardstrawray · Post by **ardstrawray** » Thu 21 May 2015 9:05 am

This board is going the way of 44,bored posters do not know what to whinge about, c`mon if you cannot fly for 4 hours without a cheese sandwich, get out more and get a life.

Loobyloo · Post by **Loobyloo** » Thu 21 May 2015 9:24 am

I'm sorry so many people have found it necessary to post silly replies, if they don't use BA then why are they getting involved. I do and like 'what no deeds' am not happy about the No Hot Food unless you fly business,
to my mind it's just Willie Walsh est all taking another cost out to increase profitability which is not reflected in the ever increasing prices.
If I wanted a budget flight I would look for one at a cheaper price.
The policy just now of making up for the lack of food with alcohol is a poorly thought out one with quite intoxicated people having problems with rubber legs when getting off but I'm sure the policy on alcohol will no doubt change soon too as that would be another way of increasing profit.

tomsteel · Post by **tomsteel** » Thu 21 May 2015 9:39 am

Whether posters use BA or any other airline, what will posting on a forum such as this do to change airline policy on the type of meal offered in-flight? If you do not like the service offered and complaints fall on deaf ears, vote with your feet and change airlines. I just cannot see what bemoaning a service will achieve here. Never use BA myself, Turkish Airlines every time, even with a stop-over at a Turkish airport.

Owl Lady · Post by **Owl Lady** » Thu 21 May 2015 9:44 am

Might as well stick my 10 penneth in! heard friends discussing this at the week end and don't know if it is true, but by law! airlines must serve a hot meal if a flight is over 4 hrs?

Groucho · Post by **Groucho** » Thu 21 May 2015 10:03 am

ardstrawray wrote:This board is going the way of 44,bored posters do not know what to whinge about, c`mon if you cannot fly for 4 hours without a cheese sandwich, get out more and get a life.

I find the 'get a life' remark very very condescending and frankly lacking in any wit or merit... if you don't want to discuss - don't bother responding it's quite simple - isn't it?

Kavenkoy · Post by **Kavenkoy** » Thu 21 May 2015 4:01 pm

Groucho wrote:
Kavenkoy wrote:
elizabeth wrote:You should try Pegasus, on a recent flight from Turkey we were served a sandwich and a bottle of water, the problem was it was served ten minutes into the flight, and the flight was only thirty minutes, should we complain that we had indigestion through rushing our food.

Yes I've done that one ....bang here is your cheese sandwich ...thrown at you and still chewing it when landing ....that's what travel is all about lol.

On a serious note for a minute most airlines under 5 hours don't give you food as everything is extra .
And turkish still rule for food when I have travelled over to NC .
Their service ,plane and comforts really are better than BA and worth the extra if anything as most times their flight prices are ok it's the delays on return that used to effect me

Kav

I'm off doing some scones now for my coast journey at the weekend
So - Wotnodeeds posted once and how many repeat posts on this subject have you contributed - and how many times have you mentioned cheese sandwiches?

Sounds like you need to take your own advice re - life and moving on... oh and I'd forget the cheese sandwiches in future!

PS. It's not for you to determine what can and can't be discussed or how disappointed Wotnodeeds is allowed to be - is it? No because that's my job!

Bless you Groucho .
It is for debate or opinion ,we differ .
Whilst I think and a few others 4 hours with or without a sandwich good or bad is my opinion not a topic ,it gets off to a good debate .
Your opinion I respect ,I don't agree with and do suggest may be a hobby or two that may keep you away from the sun or efes ....may be jig saw or whist drive ....( that's me being sarcastic )

Lighten up my man ,and your job you are doing very well in keeping everybody focused on their next flight meal .
God help is if we have a major event in the air .
Ps if you fly Groucho soon keep your eye out for the pilot going to the loo ...far better time spent

Regards
Kav

MoBry · Post by **MoBry** » Thu 21 May 2015 4:05 pm

What hasn't been mentioned is that you fork out a fair amount of dosh to fly from Larnaca to Heathrow and, frankly, I'd appreciate a fairly decent meal for that amount. It's not the time, or sandwiches, or whatever, but value for money. And the grotty food BA dishes up is really awful, the hot meal used to be fairly pleasant. I use BA because it provides a good, reliable wheelchair facility and I'd be doubtful about switching to Ercan, stairs and hoofing it around the airport in Istanbul.

Groucho · Post by **Groucho** » Thu 21 May 2015 5:22 pm

Kavenkoy wrote:
Bless you Groucho .
It is for debate or opinion ,we differ .
Whilst I think and a few others 4 hours with or without a sandwich good or bad is my opinion not a topic ,it gets off to a good debate .
Your opinion I respect ,I don't agree with and do suggest may be a hobby or two that may keep you away from the sun or efes ....may be jig saw or whist drive ....( that's me being sarcastic )

Lighten up my man ,and your job you are doing very well in keeping everybody focused on their next flight meal .
God help is if we have a major event in the air .
Ps if you fly Groucho soon keep your eye out for the pilot going to the loo ...far better time spent

Regards
Kav

Well bless you too (I feel you need it)
As it happens I'm not in the slightest bit taxed by the notion of in-flight meals - it was your unfriendly response to Wotnodeeds thread that concerned me... telling people to get a life or any similar off-hand remark is to me the sign of a poor mind.... (my opinion) Like a man down the pub walking in on a conversation and telling everyone what they should really be talking about and trying to shut-up those who don't agree. I guess you get away with that in some places.

I would point out however - that as the flight is 5 hours (as mentioned in the opening post) added to which you have the waiting time either end, checking in, collecting baggage on arrival, transfers I'd wager it's considerably longer than that so to write if off as merely 4 hours without food is not really fair.

As for the poor taste reference to suicidal pilot - next you'll be quoting the likelihood of an IS attack on the plane to dismiss Wotnodeeds' complaint.

Oh and re the Efes jibe, I'm still struggling to make sense of your post on the 3D film thread:-

"I doubt you could buy a memory stick big enough .
Film is around 4.7 gb ,when a me lemony stick large ones around 64 mb? Somebody may know different but I ow oiled think cost of stock would be effective if they did one .Best option if you are looking for entertainment say on a flight etc is to buy a external hard drive and store that way .

Let's see what people suggest

Kav"

So I'm not too sure there's and room for you to be pointing fingers! PS What the hell did it mean?

I still maintain if your paying for a trip with in-flight service as part of the cost, then it should be of a reasonable standard. Why do you think it's OK for the airline to assume you don't mind paying for something they have no intention of providing? Not enough people complain about poor food and Brits are probably the worst culprits of all for accepting rubbish and dismissing it with 'Oh don't make a fuss' and 'Mustn't grumble'.

God forbid you go on a cruise...

Maisiemoo · Post by **Maisiemoo** » Thu 21 May 2015 7:00 pm

'WotNoDeeds - I've had exactly the same reply as you in reply to a complaint about the veggie option in Club Europe. They also added that they change their menus every month, so how come I've been dished up vegetarian curry every flight for 2 years, which I can't eat due to an allergy to chilli?
By the way the seats on the new Airbus are not at all comfortable, with reduced seat pitch and legroom, a backward step for BA in my view but like Mobry rely on disability assistance and would be worried about the tight turn around at Istanbul Airport.

surfmeetseast · Post by **surfmeetseast** » Thu 21 May 2015 7:15 pm

Agree with maisemoo, good to know I am not the only vegan on this island. You know, and
I know, that our lifestyle is good! I wd
love a pm from you if there is some kind of community/or meeting for like minded people
Lol best wishes

Kavenkoy · Post by **Kavenkoy** » Thu 21 May 2015 9:53 pm

Groucho wrote:
Kavenkoy wrote:
Bless you Groucho .
It is for debate or opinion ,we differ .
Whilst I think and a few others 4 hours with or without a sandwich good or bad is my opinion not a topic ,it gets off to a good debate .
Your opinion I respect ,I don't agree with and do suggest may be a hobby or two that may keep you away from the sun or efes ....may be jig saw or whist drive ....( that's me being sarcastic )

Lighten up my man ,and your job you are doing very well in keeping everybody focused on their next flight meal .
God help is if we have a major event in the air .
Ps if you fly Groucho soon keep your eye out for the pilot going to the loo ...far better time spent

Regards
Kav
Well bless you too (I feel you need it)
As it happens I'm not in the slightest bit taxed by the notion of in-flight meals - it was your unfriendly response to Wotnodeeds thread that concerned me... telling people to get a life or any similar off-hand remark is to me the sign of a poor mind.... (my opinion) Like a man down the pub walking in on a conversation and telling everyone what they should really be talking about and trying to shut-up those who don't agree. I guess you get away with that in some places.

I would point out however - that as the flight is 5 hours (as mentioned in the opening post) added to which you have the waiting time either end, checking in, collecting baggage on arrival, transfers I'd wager it's considerably longer than that so to write if off as merely 4 hours without food is not really fair.

As for the poor taste reference to suicidal pilot - next you'll be quoting the likelihood of an IS attack on the plane to dismiss Wotnodeeds' complaint.

Oh and re the Efes jibe, I'm still struggling to make sense of your post on the 3D film thread:-

"I doubt you could buy a memory stick big enough .
Film is around 4.7 gb ,when a me lemony stick large ones around 64 mb? Somebody may know different but I ow oiled think cost of stock would be effective if they did one .Best option if you are looking for entertainment say on a flight etc is to buy a external hard drive and store that way .

Let's see what people suggest

Kav"

So I'm not too sure there's and room for you to be pointing fingers! PS What the hell did it mean?

I still maintain if your paying for a trip with in-flight service as part of the cost, then it should be of a reasonable standard. Why do you think it's OK for the airline to assume you don't mind paying for something they have no intention of providing? Not enough people complain about poor food and Brits are probably the worst culprits of all for accepting rubbish and dismissing it with 'Oh don't make a fuss' and 'Mustn't grumble'.

God forbid you go on a cruise...

Lol you do give me entertainment .
I could sit all night playing games with you thinking of you banging away getting angry with yourself .
I love a little banter .....my gosh old chap one should really lighten up .....did you make up that post on your own tonight .
Been on cruise ,went on the oasis ...that is like a really big boat that has a few floors ....and they served the best cheese sarnies ever had .......no efes ,just cheese .

Enjoy the sun tomorrow keep your hat on ,and stop drinking in the day old chap

Kav

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