While I see some people criticizing British Airways for this, I think the carrier actually deserves a bit of credit, even if this wasn’t a great experience for passengers.
In this post:
British Airways solves catering problem with KFC
This incident happened on Sunday, July 23, 2023, and involves British Airways flight BA252. This flight was operated by a Boeing 777, and was scheduled to fly from Providenciales, Turks & Caicos (PLS), to Nassau, Bahamas (NAS), to London, England (LHR).
Well, according to passengers onboard, British Airways had a catering issue in Providenciales, as apparently the plane’s catering carts hadn’t been properly chilled, so all the food had to be thrown away. The flight hadn’t just been catered for the short 399-mile hop to Nassau, but also for the 4,342-mile flight to London.
Getting all-new catering for a flight would have caused a massive delay, and I doubt anyone would want to wait several hours for an airplane meal.
So British Airways got creative with its catering. After the flight from Providenciales to Nassau, British Airways had arranged some alternative catering… in the form of KFC. This seemed to consist mostly of several buckets of chicken, to be shared across all passengers.
Based on posts online, it looks like business class and economy passengers ended up with the same allotment of chicken — one piece per person! That was apparently the extent of the catering on this flight. Here’s an Instagram video of the inflight service.
Let’s give British Airways some credit here!
I’ll be the first to pick on British Airways when it’s appropriate, but I think the airline actually deserves some recognition here. In the Instagram video posted above, the person describes this as an “absolute disgrace,” and asks “how do you forget the catering for a 12 hour flight?”
That’s a totally fair question and sentiment, and from a passenger experience standpoint, this is indeed a disgrace. However, I can’t imagine British Airways had much control here. Typically issues like this happen because of something involving the catering facility at the airport, and there’s only one of those. So however this issue happened, it could have probably just as easily happened on another airline.
I can’t imagine any passengers would have preferred to have their flights delayed by several hours or even canceled over food, so trying to find some alternative while minimizing the delay seems like the best option. KFC wouldn’t be my first pick either, but Providenciales Airport probably had limited catering options, especially for the volume of food they needed.
Now, I do think British Airways owes passenger some sort of reasonable compensation for the inconvenience. Furthermore, ideally the airline would have loaded some other types of snacks, for those who don’t want chicken. But still, I think this could have ended a lot worse.
Bottom line
Airline catering logistics are complicated, and sometimes things go wrong. In this case, all the food on a transatlantic British Airways flight had been spoiled. So rather than taking a major delay, the decision was instead made to operate the flight, and the airline just did the best it could with catering, which apparently came in the form of KFC.
What’s your take on this British Airways KFC catering situation?
This was not the first time this happened. We were on the flight a month earlier and exactly the same happened. Full credit to the captain and crew for the way they dealt with it. The captain made all the announcements on the ground and in the air, not the ground staff.
I am not a great fan of KFC but do think BA needs a lot of credit for coming up with this solution. It beats the heck out of a multi-hour delay or cancellation.
I can’t eat fried foods, so this would have been an empty belly flight for me.
Looking at NAS' website, they have a Pizzeria, Sushi place, Quizno's, Wendy's, Dunkin Donuts... I just think that BA is capable of doing better that's all.
Alternatives would have been better. Corporations only care about is $$$ and profit. What about ethics? Chickens suffer the worst abuses of any factory farmed animals. They are literally boiled alive, beaks cut off without anesthesia, male chicks ground up alive, battery cages so small they're stacked on top of each other. It's truly barbaric the way we treat 99% of farmed animals. They could have served pasta, veggies, and more humanèly raised animals --...
Alternatives would have been better. Corporations only care about is $$$ and profit. What about ethics? Chickens suffer the worst abuses of any factory farmed animals. They are literally boiled alive, beaks cut off without anesthesia, male chicks ground up alive, battery cages so small they're stacked on top of each other. It's truly barbaric the way we treat 99% of farmed animals. They could have served pasta, veggies, and more humanèly raised animals -- if passengers have to eat them. Although the planet would be better off if we'd stop. Deforestation and factory farms are responsible for this unbearable record-breaking heat we have. Please try to limit the number of animals you consume.
I think that the airline did a great job in getting something for the passengers--and for goodness sakes to think that a KFC in a small country could have available at least 2 pieces per passenger means that anyone who is complaining has never worked in a restaurant where tossing food is a loss in profits. C
Many moons ago I popped on to a transiting 747 with 442 pax on board, discovered all of the entrees loaded in the ovens were “off” Told the captain it would be 4 hours to replace, he made announcement for a show of hands, dinner or delay, you can guess the result !
From my experiences of BA J over last 24 months, this is an OK outcome :) And I wish I was joking.
Personally I think it was a very creative idea. When this happens again maybe order from a few different restaurant chains and ask for paper plates.
I fly quite often and I certainly would take this over my flight being delayed and possibly missing connections.
We all need to be prepared for any amount of things that could happen. On top of that I don't know too many people that don't travel with...
Personally I think it was a very creative idea. When this happens again maybe order from a few different restaurant chains and ask for paper plates.
I fly quite often and I certainly would take this over my flight being delayed and possibly missing connections.
We all need to be prepared for any amount of things that could happen. On top of that I don't know too many people that don't travel with a few snacks particularly if you and medical requirements or children.
We all need to lighten up a bit. It's a different world right now and we all need to be a bit more flexable.
If that’s the biggest problem that occurs during a 12 hour flight over ocean, be grateful!!! No one starved to death. No one died. Food poisoning…….now that’s a problem, thank goodness the poorly refrigerated food wasn’t served.
“no one died” except probably around 200 chickens tortured to death
I agree. Thank you. Thought i was the only one who cared.
I think BA made an appropriate decision given under the circumstances.
You’re telling me that there was no way to get 2 or 3 pieces per person thru a “call ahead by logistics” when the snafu was discovered and before the plane landed in Nassau?
In a cost savings plan, this would be the best, and passengers seem to love it.
British Airline is declining in every respect.Fried chickenis a guarantee that passengers will arrive at their dedtination with upset stomachs.Vegetarians, vegans, kosher, halal, and diabetic diners will arrive starved or sick. One can assume that tourists on the islands the plane departed from enjoy many local places to dine, and most of them can cater bag meals for various diets. The clever person who thought of KFC is a moron, and I hope the pilot...
British Airline is declining in every respect.Fried chickenis a guarantee that passengers will arrive at their dedtination with upset stomachs.Vegetarians, vegans, kosher, halal, and diabetic diners will arrive starved or sick. One can assume that tourists on the islands the plane departed from enjoy many local places to dine, and most of them can cater bag meals for various diets. The clever person who thought of KFC is a moron, and I hope the pilot is not his brother!
I agree completely! Eating pus, blood, suffering is disgusting. Why do so few people care about animals, their health, and the planet?
So much better than delaying the flight by several hours, but I would’ve ordered KFC boxed meals that included 2 pc chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans & a biscuit rather than just passing out a single piece of chicken per passenger
What happened happened. Now BA needs to step up and offer reasonable compensation to the passengers. After all, the passengers paid their hard-earned money to the airline with the expectation of a comfortable, hunger-free flight and I don't think a single piece of the Colonel's best would suffice for 12 long hours. And why could they not organize some food out of the Bahamas where, surely, there are more choices for food and more time for food prep.
What -could- have happened here (and likely would have if no KFC), is the passengers would have been told by the gate agents that there was no catering for the flight and had passengers buy food for the trip. Business Class would have not paid, obviously, but still would have needed to buy their own food in the airport.
This was not a great situation and BA got creative to try to solve it. They...
What -could- have happened here (and likely would have if no KFC), is the passengers would have been told by the gate agents that there was no catering for the flight and had passengers buy food for the trip. Business Class would have not paid, obviously, but still would have needed to buy their own food in the airport.
This was not a great situation and BA got creative to try to solve it. They should not be criticized for thinking outside the box. As for one piece of chicken per passenger…300 passengers is a LOT of KFC. That’s 50 chickens…
They should be commended. Everyone got where they were going.
Smart thinking.
If they had given passengers a vote, 95% in favour I believe.
Ex airline executive.
Wow! After reading some of those comments, I am astonished. So, the disgruntled passengers would have preferred to take a chance on having food poisoning because the food wasn't properly chilled? If so, they have never had severe food poisoning. I have. In the hospital for 11 days with my intestines spasming so hard you see it on my abdomen. The pain was terrible and I lost three units of blood due to intestinal bleeding....
Wow! After reading some of those comments, I am astonished. So, the disgruntled passengers would have preferred to take a chance on having food poisoning because the food wasn't properly chilled? If so, they have never had severe food poisoning. I have. In the hospital for 11 days with my intestines spasming so hard you see it on my abdomen. The pain was terrible and I lost three units of blood due to intestinal bleeding. They had to give all my medications via an IV as I kept vomiting and bleeding at the other end. So, not something to gamble on. Honestly, I'm impressed with KFC. They had a 90-minute turnaround for 300 pieces of chicken. That means that every 20 minutes they cooked 75 pieces of chicken. That's amazing even for a pretty large commercial kitchen. BA was between a rock and a hard place. Can't serve spoiled food. So the choice was either one piece of chicken for each passenger or nothing at all. Unhappy passengers either way but better that passengers had SOMETHING as opposed to nothing at all. No fun choices.
Not surprised..In May in Business Class, they had not loaded enough meals for Business class passengers, as we are starting to land I was offered a drink...Never again we will fly British ... and our luggage did not make it to our connecting flight..it arrived 3 days later...
Your experience is sadly FAR from unique. BA under provision their catering as a matter of policy "to minimise wastage" BUT repeatedly get the algorithm wrong, the result for me was being landed into a working day in Delhi hungry (and tired - seat wouldn't recline & IFE broken).
Post flight "since catering is complimentary, we owe you nothing", I've actively avoided booking CW since though sadly their dominant slot position means that's not...
Your experience is sadly FAR from unique. BA under provision their catering as a matter of policy "to minimise wastage" BUT repeatedly get the algorithm wrong, the result for me was being landed into a working day in Delhi hungry (and tired - seat wouldn't recline & IFE broken).
Post flight "since catering is complimentary, we owe you nothing", I've actively avoided booking CW since though sadly their dominant slot position means that's not always possible.
Unreliability is sadly only one of the effects of the over a decade of cost cutting, densification and hollowing out of a once leading service.
I can understand that some unforeseen problem has crept up and Plan B has to be put into action, but if Plan B is ONE miserable piece of KFC, then it's a total fail!
Some wondering why they couldn't at least get everyone a meal. The reason being, KFC most likely couldn't accommodate that many meals, so BA said, what can you? Hence, the one piece perperon.
I Think British Airways did a great job by making sure the passengers safety came first and did the right thing by throwing away the food and was at least able to get something even if just one piece of chicken. Considering where they were and could not get more food from the catering company for what ever reason.
I bet the plane stank with that greasy chicken. But probably no more than BA it self stinks these days. BA the new Ryanair.
I've been on a lot of flights when I would have preferred KFC.
Totally agree on that...
Not an original idea. I believe this was the catering on NWA - in the movie Soul Plane.
Absolutely! https://youtu.be/pr8pqIPS4Nc?t=84
Personally, I don't have a problem with the improvisation but one piece of chicken per person?? Was there a chicken shortage at KFC? Couldn't they have at least given each pax a chicken meal with a side dish and a biscuit?
They did what they could
Either no catering - complain
Offer a solution - complain
Not enough - complain
Perhaps they should have cancelled the flight entirely and operate empty back to LGW for the sake of those customers whose entire reason for travelling was the catering.
Meals are complimentary and not part of the contract.
I agree with you. It takes a lot to make 300 meals in 90 minutes and get it to the airport before it has to leave. I’ve worked at a competitor of KFC and regardless if it was KFC, Popeyes, churches chicken, etc. it would have taken a lot of manpower to get all of that food together. I think BA did good under the circumstances.
There will have been biscuits on the flight. Shortbreads and ginger biscuits are always available with your tea or coffee. Anyway, isnt one piece of chicken enough for most people?
I agree with you fully. At least BA tried to accommodate their passengers. Sounds silly, but better than no food at all I suppose.
No they didn’t, they didn’t accommodate passengers who do not want to eat a tortured to death animal, and such an unhealthy meal
As I understand my terms of carriage I am paying to travel from point a to point b, nothing in there about food. If you really can't go without food bring your own. Grown people whining because they had to go without the meal they expected is getting really tiresome.
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What's the fuss about? It's better food than what BA normally serves ;)
This wasn't the 1st and only time something like this happened on this route. We even got a notice from BA to bring our own meals as they wouldn't be serving any meals for the portion of the flight from Nassau to Heathrow. They offered us meal vouchers for KFC in the airport terminal. Tickets cost close to 1K for Economy seats. Customers really didn't get our money's worth!
Absolutely ridiculous. With the absurd ticket prices airlines are charging AND this is what BA comes up with. Yes you can always refuse but the is not the point. BA BELONGS IN THE SAME GROUP AS all USA airlines. THEY STINK WHEN IT COMES TO CATERING
Did you actually read why ? Of course not
What did you expect during a 90 minute turnaround. People like you make idiotic comments without knowing anything about operating an airline.
I am sure you could prepare 300 meals, all approved by local health and safety agencies, in an hour with your catering skills
What an idiotic reply.
Turning round an airplane in 90 mins is their bloody job. It’s what they set themselves up to do. Of course Erik, me or any other person couldn’t do it - but then I am not an international airline!!! It’s just such a lame comparison that makes you sound imbecilic.
BA advertises itself based on service, it let its customers down.
I applaud their quick thinking to do something, but one piece of chicken is not enough for a long haul flight.
My god… one piece of chicken ?
Do business class passenger also get 1 piece of French fries ?
How about letting all of the passengers know prior to boarding, while still in the airport, SO THEY CAN BUY FOOD FOR THE 1/2 DAY FLIGHT!!!! Record profits. And no common sense. Airlines are a pathetic joke.
I think that’s very creative and quick thinking as the alternate would have been nothing.
There’s no contractual obligation to offer food anyhow although business class customers maybe upset.
Of course people will complain anyhow as you can’t please everyone.
Japan Air lines also served KFC over Christmas on some flights as it’s a big thing in Japan.
Whoa! A major upgrade from the slobber usually considered food on BA!
In 35 years as an international airline, 100% of the failure to deliver catering was an airline problem, not a caterer issue. Equipment substitutions, schedule changes, etc. someone drops the ball an forgets to notify the catering company. My bet is BA is to blame here.
Really? I'd say at least half the catering snafus I've had to deal with around the world tend to be the fault of the catering company. Usually them calling 3 hours before departure to advise their high loaders are all in for maintenance (ever tried carrying fully loaded carts up the airstairs? I have!), or that chicken isn't available but its ok because they substituted boiled cabbage instead, or something equally assinine. Stupidity in aviation...
Really? I'd say at least half the catering snafus I've had to deal with around the world tend to be the fault of the catering company. Usually them calling 3 hours before departure to advise their high loaders are all in for maintenance (ever tried carrying fully loaded carts up the airstairs? I have!), or that chicken isn't available but its ok because they substituted boiled cabbage instead, or something equally assinine. Stupidity in aviation is not restricted to the airline side of the house.
As you know ignorant customers blame the airline for everything. This was thinking outside the box and offering a solution from an airport with possibly few alternatives.
Asinine comment
Assuming BA offered additional compensation, the choices were something, nothing, or delay the flight over catering. Experienced travelers always have an opinion in their carry on for emergencies.
> That was apparently the extent of the catering on this flight
Did they really had to throw away ALL the food? How about non-perishable stuff - like bread rolls and whatever they put as snacks in the back of the plane?
Also - and unrelated - there are rumours you can get McD through SQ's book the cook if you ask nicely...
As a long-time reader, I am shocked Lucky failed to mention his disdain for fried chicken and people that eat it in flight
See: https://onemileatatime.com/and-the-gross-flight-attendant-of-the-year-award-goes-to/
You continue to be a disgusting shill POS. Hey was bought was not provided.
Why so angry?
Day drinking is bad, mkay...
Two words: "Soul Plane" lol
Yay for BA thinking outside the box. Our United flight in May was delayed 3 hours because of a catering snafu. It was an overnight flight leaving at 10:30 pm - most passengers didn’t give a damn about dinner! Why not ask the passengers if they would rather wait 3 hours for food or go out on time!
Announcement and vouchers so pax can buy food at the airport would be appreciated in addition to the one piece of chicken.
It seems airlines could stock some sort of shelf-stable meal kit, cf. a military ration, for deployment in these kinds of circumstances. Some of that stuff has a 5-year shelf life; some is fairly good unheated if that became necessary.
Seriously lol. Literally millions of mesh’s taking up space at airports around the world. You can always tell the people who have no idea how an airline is run
People really need to chill the f down here. Its a shame that the food had to be thrown. But I am pretty sure a certain amount of compensation will be offered due to this. Was the situation their fault? I'm not sure. But catering is usually arranged from an outside company.
Was the KFC solution fitting for that long a flight? Absolutely not! But at least, they tried something rather than saying "oh well!".
Agreed. It’s not like they were flying out of JFK or LAX, this is a much smaller airport and country/ island with limited resources.
It's not the ordering from a fast food place that would annoy me, it would be the fact that they chose KFC
They should have also offered free rebooking for the few that really wanted a flight with a meal.
And the rest should also get a large voucher or substantial sum of Avios.
You have to be trolling.
Oh please. You fly to get from a to b. Food is complimentary and not part of the contract, although in premium cabins you have an expectation. Are you seriously saying you would rather be rebooked, perhaps days later, purely because of the catering?
I can’t imagine many options there so it’s amazing they managed to work with KFC so quickly given the ground time.
I guess the vegetarians went hungry, huh? I would expect at least 20,000 Avios for this, flying biz, and be grateful that 3 other airlines use Avios!
so last week BA didn't serve a prearrival meal on Joburg to LHR flight because the crew needed rest, this week they serve essentially no food on a 12 hour flight??? This is nothing but a complete disgrace. Did they offer the passengers any form of compensation at all?
A complete disgrace is people dying with hunger. 1st world problems is people worried about having to eat less for 12h.
Priorities, I know…
It's not every month I have anything positive to say about a oneworld carrier, but I agree: not a perfect solution, but a creative solution to an unusual problem.
How about a short delay and give everyone a meal voucher to fill up before?
But if you had to get home I’m sure you appreciated not having the delay, just hope they warned people before and gave them other flight options
You realise the impact of even a short delay
I actually thought about it, esp the food on US big 3 is so bad, McDonald would provide much better food in consistency lol and also as cheap as their premium snacks!
I remember back in 2006 or so when the caterers in Ghana went on strike and we had to improvise. We ordered 120 chicken-and-chips meals from "Papaye" (a famous chicken and chips restaurant in Accra) and had them delivered 30 minutes before departure so they weren't too cold or greasy when they were served. Business Class got a piece of the famous Papaye fried fish with shito sauce as an alternative.
Ironically we got zero...
I remember back in 2006 or so when the caterers in Ghana went on strike and we had to improvise. We ordered 120 chicken-and-chips meals from "Papaye" (a famous chicken and chips restaurant in Accra) and had them delivered 30 minutes before departure so they weren't too cold or greasy when they were served. Business Class got a piece of the famous Papaye fried fish with shito sauce as an alternative.
Ironically we got zero complaints from passengers and multiple of the crew suggested we make that a regular practice since everyone seemed to enjoy it so much!
Shito is now available in Sainsbury’s supermarket chain in the U.K. I remember it well from my Ghana trips.
Remember when Japan Airlines would offer KFC as a meal option?!
The Air Series have had some really fun options. KFC, Mos Burger, Yoshinoya, Soup Stoxl
The JAL Air Series have had some really fun options. KFC, Mos Burger, Yoshinoya, Soup Stock Tokyo, and a few others.
(sorry for hitting post before completing)
I get why there's only 1 piece of chicken per pax as a KFC isn't prepared for more than a 300 piece order, but why couldn't BA order from several restaurants or buy all the sides as well? They could've done more for non-meat eaters and to provide more food overall.
+1. ONE piece of chicken. That's the real issue here.
You’re very limited in your knowledge of how an airline can work with local providers with which they have no contract considering health and safety.
The ground time at PLS is 90 mins. The airport itself has 3 small restaurants/ cafes who would not have the capacity so they had to look elsewhere and fast.
BA is also one of the few carriers operating a wide bodied jet.
I highly doubt the Colonel tested his special blend of eleven herbs and spices at altitude. The real question is whether the chicken was still extra tasty crispy when eventually served.