British Airways Is Improving Service On Flights To China

By: Ben Schlappig

Published: January 24, 2017

20 comments

British Airways seems to be making nothing but cuts lately, in particular on short-haul flights. For example, as of a couple of weeks ago they no longer offer free drinks or snacks on short-haul flights — not even free bottled water. British Airways’ CEO is the former head of Spanish low cost carrier Vueling, and seems to be doing everything he can to run British Airways like a low cost carrier.

So I do think it’s worth giving the airline some credit for improving service, at least in one market. British Airways has just announced that they’ll be improving service on flights to China, including to Hong Kong. Specifically, British Airways will offer:

Slippers in business class and premium economy (currently they’re only available in first class)
Twining’s green tea will be available as a beverage option in all cabins
Passengers will now receive bilingual menu cards and the options of chopsticks or cutlery when dining

British-Airways-Slippers

Here’s what British Airways’ EVP for China had to say about the improvements:

We understand how important it is for our customers to feel comfortable when flying with us. Following customer feedback we have added a number of extra touches to our flights to and from China. These include slippers, green tea and chopsticks, which we hope will add value and create a more culturally authentic experience for Chinese customers when they choose to fly with us.

Ultimately these are all minor improvements. Delta even offers slippers in economy on select flights to Asia, the branded green tea is certainly nice, though I’m surprised they didn’t already have bilingual menus and chopsticks.

So kudos to British Airways on these improvements, even if they are minor…

(Tip of the hat to Economy Class & Beyond)

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Briton Guest

January 27, 2017, 9:14 am

It's actually quite nice to be able to step into a British environment from the moment you enter the cabin at HKG, even if it means no Western food options. The tranquil feeling on BA is unique for colonial HK people and although CX is arguably nicer, you can't beat the calm feeling of England only found on BA.

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Kerry Diamond

January 25, 2017, 4:32 pm

Hahahahahaha, Is this the worst business class of any major longhaul airline on earth? The joke here is that they are not far off CX price from Hong Kong. They should really try not to advertise that they are correcting a humiliatingly poor deficit in basic service. What a joke.

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John Guest

January 25, 2017, 2:54 pm

Having just returned on a flight from Hong Kong to London this morning (in J class), a few things to note: 1. The chopsticks are already there, as are the bilingual menu cards. 2. The entire A380 was completely full in J class with revenue or award passengers; not a single staff member made it onto the flight, and with 97 seats in J, it seems to me like they're doing great business. I can not imagine that Cathay Pacific are not wondering how they can make their own premium cabin as profitable as BA's. 3. The 777 that leaves 15 minutes later had 4 staff in an otherwise full cabin of 56 J class seats. 4. I know the numbers above because I have a staff friend working at check in. What is really surprising to me is that in Club there is not ONE Asian option in either meal service (dinner and breakfast). No noodles, no congee, nothing. If the airline wants to be culturally sensitive, it'd be be nice to have something other than western food to eat. I should also add that the crew was perfect in every way.

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Lara Guest

January 25, 2017, 12:31 am

We went to HKG with BA in November 16 and it really was the most horrible flight experience I made (and I made it through some very bad United Flights). The experience in Economy Class is really low. I don't know how chopsticks or green tea really would improve the low standard meal we received and which was so gross that we left it nearly untouched on a 12 hour flight. I know in Economy you can't expect the highest service but we were so disappointed by the low standards and the crowded rows that we'll opt for another carrier on our next trip to Asia.

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Gardy Guest

January 24, 2017, 9:19 pm

Wow. #1 I'm glad I'm not a Brit who has little other options than BA, And #2 - thanks so much for all these BA reports, ensureing I never make the mistake of flying w them!

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