British Airways has just produced a book called Flavour Of Flight, which chronicles the food and drink served on board its planes from 1919 until the present day.
It starts with an effusive foreword by its chief executive Sean Doyle. ‘We know that our in-flight meals punctuate the travel experience and are eagerly anticipated,’ he says. ‘In fact, customers tell us it’s the part of the journey they look forward to most.’
I’m not so sure about that. Not if you’re sitting at the ‘back of the bus’ on a short-haul flight and are handed a micro bag of corn bites and the world’s smallest bottle of water. And especially not if you’ve downloaded the first episode of Rivals, the TV adaptation of Dame Jilly Cooper’s racy novel, which features a Concorde flight to New York in the 1980s, with passengers merrily smoking, scooping up caviar and guzzling champagne.
The main character, dashing Rupert Campbell-Black, leads astray a young journalist in the WC – but never mind the Mile High Club because in those heady days it was the food and service that added a frisson of excitement.
Today? Well, silver service has been replaced by sliver service and, sadly, BA, our national carrier – which once styled itself ‘the world’s favourite airline’ – appears to be cutting corners on the gruel front.
British Airways has just produced a book called Flavour Of Flight, which chronicles the food and drink served on board its planes from 1919
Above – the ‘wonderful lower deck cocktail lounge of the Boeing Stratocruiser
We all have our stories. I once came across a squashed fly in my egg sandwich on a flight to Thailand (stock photo)
It has begun swapping lunch for brunch on some of its flights – even though it may be well into the afternoon before your sausage with mushrooms and hash browns arrive. The Great British Brunch, as it’s called, is served in First Class or in Club World (BA’s business class cabins) on long-haul flights departing Britain between 8.30am and 11.29am.
It’s a complicated arrangement – and ‘crackpot’, according to one travel insider – but BA is having none of the criticism.
‘We’re incredibly proud of our premium dining experience, which includes a wide range of meal options to suit the preferences of our customers depending on the time of day they’re travelling,’ the airline says.
Even so, the suspicion is that cost-cutting is partly responsible. After all, Mr Doyle’s predecessor, Alex Cruz, did away with all free drinks and snacks in economy class on short-haul flights in 2017. That move prompted wails of protest and negative headlines about passengers deciding to fly ABBA (‘Anyone But British Airways’) in defiance at the removal of the ancient right to enjoy a cheeky G&T at any time of day.
To his credit, Mr Doyle did bring back a free tiny snack and gulp of water. However, an experiment to serve free tea and coffee on short-haul flights was scrapped because Mr Cruz – who previously worked at a no-frills airline – reportedly had crammed so many seats into BA’s short-haul jets that there was not enough space in the galley to brew and serve hot drinks.
This might be apocryphal but it has been reported that a customer was charged double for a cup of tea. When he complained to the cabin crew, he was told: ‘You asked for strong tea, so we used two bags and we charge by the bag.’
We all have our stories. I once came across a squashed fly in my egg sandwich on a flight to Thailand. ‘Sorry about that but I can’t replace it because we’ve run out,’ said the steward. Leafing through Flavour Of Flight, it’s no wonder our taste buds are aroused when we see menus from the 1950s. One of these is beautifully illustrated with a line drawing that features the Greek mythological character Daedalus and his son Icarus.
Passengers started with cream of cauliflower soup, followed by Cornish lobster salad, then braised beef a la mode with leaf spinach in butter and Parisienne potatoes, before moving on to a dessert of chilled souffle Montmorency with fresh cream, then assorted cheese with biscuits, plus a basket of fruit, and coffee.
The Great British Brunch, as it’s called, is served in First Class or in Club World (BA’s business class cabins) on long-haul flights departing Britain between 8.30am and 11.29am (stock photo)
Silver service has been replaced by sliver service and, sadly, BA, our national carrier – which once styled itself ‘the world’s favourite airline’ – appears to be cutting corners on the gruel front. (Above – the first-class experience onboard a 1950s Comet)
Passengers being served a meal on the C Class flying boat in the 1930s – ‘possibly roast chicken or York ham’
Even in the 1980s, those in the posh seats on BA’s London to New York service enjoyed chilled sevruga caviar, and medallions of loin of lamb ‘grilled to perfection and served with a delicate sauce of tomatoes, olive oil and lemon juice, flavoured with basil, chervil and coriander’.
Standards have certainly slipped. This is reflected by the sartorial failings of most modern travellers – but who can blame them for turning up at airports in flip-flops and singlets when they’re unlikely to be given little more than a granola bar?
It’s a different matter for those who turn left on the snazzy new Gulf carriers such as Singapore Airlines or Turkish Airlines. They are investing billions to entice First and Business Class passengers, with upscale food and drink.
Emirates also has an extensive cocktail list, including three different kinds of martini – something of which Queen Elizabeth II would have approved. Apparently, Her Majesty insisted on drinking a gin martini before entertaining guests in the royal suite on Concorde (along with a specific type of mint during take-off).
Securing the services of a celebrity chef (albeit in name only) has become a popular marketing weapon. Qantas has engaged Australia’s much-acclaimed Neil Perry for more than a decade.
His speciality is to produce dishes that either wake you up or put you to sleep. On a night flight, that means roast chicken broth with shiitake mushrooms and sugar snap peas because ‘protein, complex carbohydrates and dairy all generate tryptophan, which produces melatonin, the sleep- inducing hormone,’ he says.
Standards have certainly slipped. This is reflected by the sartorial failings of most modern travellers (stock image)
Even in the 1980s, those in the posh seats on BA’s London to New York service enjoyed chilled sevruga caviar (stock photo)
‘As premium guests become ever more demanding, especially as they pay higher prices to be at the front of the plane, the pressure is on airlines to deliver the finest culinary quality in the sky,’ says Paul Charles, boss of travel PR company The PC Agency.
This extends to the trimmings. BA’s crockery, cutlery and glassware are designed by leading British designers, while Emirates goes in for the finest linen tablecloths, Royal Doulton china and Robert Welch cutlery.
So all is not lost. It could just be that (with or without BA’s Great British Brunch) we are entering a golden age of in-flight dining – on some carriers, at least.
The only problem is that the gulf between what you get at one end of the plane compared with the other has never been wider. Still, perhaps that’s preferable to the days when only the well-heeled could board a BOAC flight and receive ‘Bolly and trolley’ service at 39,000ft.