Final call for a free G&T: BA starts charging for food and drink in short-haul economy

Airline switching to selling food and drink on board

From tomorrow, BA ends its decades-old practice of providing complimentary food and drink to all passengers. Business-class travellers will continue to be offered meals, as will all passengers on long-haul services. But within Europe, economy catering is to be turned from a cost into a revenue opportunity.

Marks & Spencer is supplying the food. Crisps and chocolate are the cheapest items on the “M&S on board” menu, at £1 each, while the poshest snack is a hot buffalo mozzarella and tomato focaccia at £4.95.

A cup of tea or coffee will cost £2.30, while a 330ml can of beer is £4. A Bombay Sapphire gin and Fever Tree tonic is £6.

Cash will not be accepted, with the airline insisting on payment by plastic. All items are also available in exchange for Avios, BA’s frequent-flyer currency, but not at a favourable rate of exchange: each point is valued at just 0.8p.

A passenger on an off-peak, short-haul flight with a “fare” of 4,000 Avios will spend more than half as many points again by buying a sandwich, a fruit salad with yoghurt and a G&T on board.

The change was introduced by BA’s Chairman and Chief Executive, Alex Cruz. He moved to British Airways from the Spanish low-cost airline, Vueling.

Speaking to The Independent when he launched the “buy on board” range, Mr Cruz rejected the suggestion that BA was turning into easyJet.

“Absolutely we’re not,” Cruz said. “There are millions of other things that BA has to offer that easyJet will never be able to offer. Things related to loyalty and the service we provide, the lounges, the generous hand-baggage allowances we have, etc.”

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “Given you can fly from London Stansted to Bucharest for the same price as a posh BA sarnie, this is just another good reason to fly Ryanair.”

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