Free cups of tea now available in British Airways short-haul Economy – if you bring your own teabag

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Tea lovers rejoice, for free tea is back in British Airways Euro Traveller (Economy).

Sort of. And it is a secret, so don’t tell anyone.

The new Marks & Spencer on-board menu was launched on 1st May.

I will go into some of the changes in a minute, but the key fact is that the tea has switched from Twinings to Teapigs.

Why is this key? The Twinings tea came with a built-in cup. Teapigs does not, so British Airways is using its own paper cups.

And ….. they will give you one for free.

You don’t get a free teabag, of course, because that would be c-r-a-z-y. However, according to cabin crew I know:

you can have a free paper cup

you can have some free hot water

However …..

you must bring your own teabag

HfP readers who have British Airways status will be getting excited now, because loose tea bags are available in the lounges at Heathrow and Gatwick. You can now pinch a teabag from the lounge and have a free cup of black (I doubt you will get free milk) tea if travelling in Economy 🙂

If you don’t bring your own bag, a cup of tea is now £2.50.

Elsewhere on board, the changes include – and note this is not a full list:

The coffee is now Cru Kafe, which comes in a bag. Apparently the old coffee, which Anika has consistently raved about, was unpopular with some customers who did not like the filter or having the granules floating around. Initial feedback online to Cru Kafe has not been great, to be honest.

New lines include Love Cocoa Hot Chocolate, Loveau Raspberry, Strawberry & Blueberry Infused Sparkling Water, Estini Espresso Martini and Pinkster Small Batch Raspberry Gin

Brewdog’s Speedbird 100 IPA is available (£4.45 per 330ml can)

The hot option is a mozzarella and tomato flatbread (£4.95)

Children can choose a Marvin’s Magic Activity Box with snacks and games (£6, not an M&S product)

Afternoon tea with scone, jam and clotted cream is added for £5 (not an M&S product)

British Airways is also offering 15p off tea or coffee if you bring your own cup. Stojo collapsible cups, see image above, are available for £10. My wife has one of these and finds it useful, with the 50p saving in Pret soon covering the cost …..

The full Euro Traveller food and drink price list can be found on ba.com here.

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Category

British Airways and Avios

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Frankie says:

5 May5 May 07:08

Flew to Lyon yesterday and saw they’ve changed the tonic water from Fever Tree to crappy Schweppes! Like it’s 1980 or something!
- John says:
  
  5 May5 May 07:25
  
  Was that in the lounge or on the plane? Just thinking that it’s possible the onboard stock was replenished in a country where they couldn’t get Fever Tree. Flew Club Europe last week from Spain and I still got Fever Tree
  - Frankie says:
    
    5 May5 May 07:32
    
    On the plane. On the M&S on board menu in ET. It’s Schweppes on the menu now. (Thankfully I did take a couple of fever tree from the lounge so I only had to buy the Tanqueray)
    - Gin and Tonic Please says:
      
      5 May5 May 09:55
      
      The new Schweppes tonic is their new(ish) 1783 range, which is the premium version they’ve released to compete with Fever Tree. It’s not bad – though I do still prefer FT. I’m guessing Schweppes offered them a good deal…
- Alex Sm says:
  
  5 May5 May 09:53
  
  Air Canada lounge at LHR T2 serves Waitrose essential mixers without a blink!
- Lady London says:
  
  5 May5 May 12:06
  
  Schweppes quality nosedived after Cadbury Schweppes got acquired. They deserve to lose business to Fevertree even though Fevertree is different not a straight substitute.
Daniel Evans says:

5 May5 May 07:45

I’m all for a freebie but isn’t taking teabags from the Lounge stealing? I was under the impression you could fill your boots in the lounge but not walk out with bottles of champagne.

Last time I was in the FIRST lounge at T5 a guy walked in with a large rucksack, literally filled it with cans of coke and walked out. The entire lounge and staff were agog at his brazenness but nobody stopped him.
- Jonathan says:
  
  5 May5 May 20:23
  
  Reminds me of one of the most bizarre Flyertalk threads I’ve ever read about a guy who wanted to buy a load of mini cans of Coke from the BA Lounge. For some medical reason (he never gave the specifics) the stuff they have in the lounge is the only type of Coke he can drink.
  
  Apparently he’d contacted BA Head Office and made a payment then turned up at the lounge with his invoice but got really miffed when someone challenged him as he emptied a fridge load into his rucksack. Perhaps it was him again!
Robert says:

5 May5 May 07:53

OT has anyone seen the Merrythought bear yet on board, and does it really cost £100?
Sussex bantam says:

5 May5 May 08:06

Ah nuts – I really like the current coffee offering. I was actually quite happy to pay for the much better coffee since BoB was introduced
- Gin and Tonic Please says:
  
  5 May5 May 09:47
  
  +1. I really liked the old coffee. MUCH better than the stuff I’ve been served in CE.
Johnny5a says:

5 May5 May 08:09

Do you just ask for the hot water? I’m happy to bring my own coffee cup as well.
- Lou says:
  
  5 May5 May 08:38
  
  I’ve done this a few times. I have my bamboo mug and my rooibos teabags. I wait until they’ve finished a BOB service and then wander down to the galley with my mug
Lewis says:

5 May5 May 08:29

Is it still free food on back city flyer flights?
- Polly says:
  
  5 May5 May 09:10
  
  Yes
Guy says:

5 May5 May 08:29

Bring your own teabag and mug wow can BA sink any lower with their penny pinching the ex National Carrier is now a National Joke.
- Dave says:
  
  5 May5 May 09:06
  
  Exactly. 15p for a cup of tea if you bring your own mug? The time wasted processing the transaction costs more than 15p. Idiots. I’m so glad I shifted my business to Star instead. Lufty and Swiss and Austrian don’t have this nonsense.
  - Marc says:
    
    5 May5 May 09:20
    
    15p off…
  - Alex Sm says:
    
    5 May5 May 09:46
    
    And SAS ALWAYS gives you free tea and coffee, even on cheapest economy tickets. I guess their calculation of cost vs reputation went the right way (unlike BA’s)
    - Peter K says:
      
      5 May5 May 15:31
      
      SAS is crazy expensive though compared to say Easyjet. Man to CPH return is about £200 more on SAS whenever I’ve looked which negates the free hot drink.
  - sayling says:
    
    5 May5 May 09:54
    
    Discount for using your own cup is becoming more common these days, 50p at Starbucks for example.
    
    Supposedly for eco reasons, arguably there will also be cost savings – but, hey, user their cups if you want to
    - David says:
      
      5 May5 May 13:21
      
      Has it gone up? Starbucks used to be 25p…
      - Lady London says:
        
        5 May5 May 14:00
        
        Its more now. The chance to look more politically correct couldn’t be missed.
        
        I don’t mind Pret Coffee at all. Good to see them in France airport. Its more packed out than the French outlets.
        
        My other OK coffee is UK McDonalds.
Nick says:

5 May5 May 08:31

Ryanair has been doing this for years… although I’ve never done it myself. I’ve seen many times customers with pot noddles and Nescafé Azera Instant cups request hot water without any issue!

I’d rather earn 50 less Avios points and be offered a free tea or coffee to be honest.