Last month I aired the ire of a reader who had been subjected to BA’s newly “improved” customer service. That is to say, he’d been charged for an airborne meal that would previously have been free. Or he would have been charged if there had been any food to buy. By the time the trolley had reached him on his return flight, supplies had run out.
Instead of the free meals, hungry passengers now have the privilege of paying for their replacement – marked-up M&S delicacies – which BA likes to present as a response to popular demand.
But the move has not gone down well among passengers who have accused the airline of devaluing its brand. Now one reader, JB of Peterborough, is challenging the no-free-meals policy in court.
“I have just filed against British Airways Plc in the small claims court. When we booked tickets for return flights to Majorca in August, food and drink was included in the price, as I am sure was the case with tens of thousands of other passengers.
“The new policy was announced after we had paid. Food and drink that would have been free will now cost our party of eight around £160, but BA has only offered us £2.50 per head each way to pay for food. We want to receive the service that we originally paid for.
“It may seem petty, but why should these big organisations be able to walk all over us?”
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
