In a bid to personalise the onboard service even further, British Airways has rolled out a main meal pre-order service available to customers travelling in premium cabins. The Club meets BA’s catering business transformation manager, Colin Talbot, to find out more

What’s the big change?
This new initiative will mean that British Airways customers travelling to selected destinations from London Heathrow from 1 December, in First, Club World and World Traveller Plus, will be able to pre-order their main course. This guarantees their first choice of meal on the flight. However, customers will still need to choose their other courses (starter and dessert) on board.

Which routes are you offering the service on?
We are launching the service on six long-haul routes from London Heathrow: to Rio de Janeiro, Dallas Fort Worth, Phoenix, Seattle, Vancouver and Las Vegas. We’ve started with these because it allows us to make sure everything is working correctly across different aircraft types, catering equipment and cabin crew.

Why does it only apply to flights leaving from London Heathrow?
It is important to get the service running smoothly from our largest operation, Heathrow, before rolling it out to other hubs. We use different caterers around the world, who use a variety of systems, so we will need to work with each caterer to ensure they can successfully deliver pre-select options to our customers.

How can I pre-order?
Log on to the ‘Manage My Booking’ section on BA.com, where you can select from the list of options. Customers will be able to pre-order from 30 days and up to 24 hours before their flight departure. 

What if you forget to pre-order? Will you still get the same meal choices?
Customers will receive a reminder email seven and three days before their flight departs, which still allows time for their choice to be made. If you’d rather not pre-order, First, Club World and World Traveller Plus customers will still be able to choose from the same menu on board – we will do everything we can to help you get your first-choice meal, but it won’t be guaranteed.

Will this service be available in World Traveller?
Not at the moment, but we are looking at new ideas for the World Traveller cabin in 2015 – watch this space!

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This article has been tagged Food + Drink, BA