British Airways pre-ordering of meals starts today for flights from 1 December

Back in August I reported on the rumours that British Airways was about to start allowing the pre-ordering of food in Club World and First.  This has now become a reality with the service set to launch on December 1st.  World Traveller Plus is also to be included.

This is NOT a version of the Singapore Airlines ‘Book the Cook‘ service. Singapore allows you to pick from a substantial range of meals – there are 20 different main courses available for a First Class passenger departing London, including lobster thermidor – so you know that you will be getting something you want.

With the new BA scheme, you will only be able to choose from the standard menu for your flight.

Today is the first day that you can pre-order a meal via ba.com.

The initial batch of routes will be:

Las Vegas (Heathrow departures)

Phoenix

Rio de Janeiro

Vancouver

Dallas

Seattle

More routes will be added in 2015.  You can book from 30 days before departure until check-in opens.  If all has gone to plan, if you are flying these routes between 1st December (the launch date) and 18th December (30 days from today) you should find an option to select your main course available via ‘Manage My Booking’ at ba.com.

My initial concerns about this scheme remain.

It is a logical conclusion that British Airways will now be able to reduce the number of spare meals loaded for other passengers who have not selected a meal, reducing the chances that they will be able to have their first choice.

Rather like pre-selecting seating, you are likely to find that you will HAVE to pre-select your meal – whether or not you like picking your food weeks in advance – because the chance of getting what you want onboard has shrunk.

This leads to another question …. would pre-selecting your meal in World Traveller Plus or Club World stop you being upgraded? At present, it is BA policy not to upgrade passengers with a special meal request.  This may or may not end up also applying to passengers with pre-ordered meals.

Let’s see how it goes.  We should get the first pieces of feedback in the next few weeks.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)