BA to restart hot meals on long haul flights from Monday |
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Sun, 21 Aug 2005 16:05
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LONDON - The wildcat strike by British Airways staff that resulted in utter at the Heathrow airport took another step towards being a thing of the past when BA announced that hot meals would be served from Monday onwards on long-haul flights from the Heathrow airport.
Announcing the decision, the BA said that World Traveler and World Traveler Plus customers would be able to opt for either two hot meal options or a deli-bag option. "Customers in our First and Club World cabins will have an improved meal service consisting of three hot meal choices and a deli-box option," a statement from the company said. The airline is still limping back to normal service after the unofficial strike by BA staff and its catering firm Gate Gourmet. The strike left thousands of passengers stranded at airports after BA was forced to cancel 700 flights.
The resumption of the meals service would be a welcome step, according to Mike Street, British Airways director of customer service and operations, "While this is a far cry from our usual service levels, it is a welcome move for our long haul customers. We continue to talk to Gate Gourmet regarding its capability to improve further on the service it is currently able to provide," he added. Meanwhile, short-haul customers will be provided diner vouchers as well as pre-flight service. They would only receive water on board for the time being. Customers on flights coming into Heathrow would get the meals service from Wednesday onwards, the BA said.
The Transport & General Workers Union, meanwhile, has called upon the BA to fire the Gate Gourmet Company. The union is working towards reinstating all the sacked workers from the catering firm. Gate Gourmet workers have apparently been intimidated, something which the police are investigating at the moment. "I can't for the life of me understand why the contract between Gate Gourmet and British Airways continues to have some life in it. We're putting maximum pressure on British Airways and want them to drop the contract," said Brendan Gold, national secretary for civil aviation at the Transport & General Workers Union.
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