British Airways will return free tea and coffee, but not for everyone

British Airways CEO Sean Doyle is canceling some of the airline's cost-cutting measures. Credit: Naoise Culhane/Shutterstock

When snacks were cut in 2017, the move was called “the end of an era” and was seen as putting the premium airline in closer competition with budget rivals such as Easyjet and Ryanair.

However, this was not popular with customers who complained that it was part of a degrading service that previously prided itself on being head and shoulders above the rest.

Free hot drinks are a rather sensitive topic for the British middle class.

Waitrose, for example, first faced backlash when its free coffee was criticized for attracting “the wrong customers” to high-end stores, and then when it withdrew its free drink offer.

The company has since reintroduced the privilege for loyalty card holders.

A BA spokesperson said: “This summer we are offering customers traveling on some of our longer short-haul flights free tea and coffee as part of our promotion. an initiative to surprise and delight.

“This is in addition to recently announced summer offerings including ice cream, a summer menu, a re-introduction of pre-takeoff sparkling wine in World Traveler Plus, and a brand new Summer Fun Channel about in-flight entertainment.”< /p>

Nearly 200,000 flights to/from and within the UK were registered before the pandemic in June 2019, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In June 2020, that number dropped to just over 25,000. By last month, the industry was almost fully recovered in terms of volumes, with only 180,000 flights flown.

The main obstacles to the recovery were the lengthy lockdowns in China, which were lifted only at the end of last year. year. BA resumed flights from London to Shanghai in April and to Beijing in June.

Complex and varied vaccine needs have also held back the industry. The US, for example, only stopped requiring travelers to show proof of vaccination two months ago.

Inflation has swept through the industry since Covid hit, with crises ranging from travel restrictions to soaring fuel prices becoming a problem for airlines.

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The cost of air tickets in May increased by almost a third compared to the same period last year, according to ONS. Prices have risen by almost two-thirds compared to the same month before the pandemic.