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May 28, 2024, 10:17 am
#61
Originally Posted by simonnewby
Does anyone have any menus or photos of the catering from the Cradle Seat days? Was the offering any better?
I only ever flew in the cradle seat once and really can't remember what was on offer. However, a google search revealed this from the 1990's.
More pictures in this link nearer the bottom if you scroll down.
https://flashbak.com/ten-airline-men...century-23155/
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May 28, 2024, 11:14 am
#62
T8191
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: JER
Programs: BA Gold/OWE, several MUCCI, and assorted Pensions!
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Originally Posted by PETER01
I only ever flew in the cradle seat once and really can't remember what was on offer. However, a google search revealed this from the 1990's.
More pictures in this link nearer the bottom if you scroll down.
Interesting lack of choice in most of those ... eat what you're given and be grateful! 
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May 28, 2024, 11:21 am
#63
PETER01
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,255
Originally Posted by T8191
Interesting lack of choice in most of those ... eat what you're given and be grateful!
I agree, I think the problem nowadays is the Golds and GGLr's are just far too fussy! 
(double stick out tongue emoji to confirm I am joking!!)
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May 28, 2024, 12:38 pm
#64
lloydah
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: East Anglia UK
Programs: BA-S UA LH-Sen KLM/AF-Plat.
Posts: 1,633
Originally Posted by simonnewby
Does anyone have any menus or photos of the catering from the Cradle Seat days? Was the offering any better?
My first Club flight was in a cradle seat to Detroit. I can't remember the food but that's probably because I liked the wine selection so much, and being "younger" I had already decided to enjoy being "looked after" the whole of the flight.
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May 28, 2024, 12:55 pm
#65
camdentown
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BA Exec Club, Flying Blue
Posts: 662
I do remember the cradle seat days 
. ("Up on the roof" if you remember the advertising!)
The menus were small, but the quality was usually much better than you get now.
Like you got a proper salad. A small steak, but decent and sensibly cooked. One choice of dessert, but cheese too (not either or!).
And, MUCH better wine.
The crews worked their socks off, always topping up drinks and being on the ball and charming. Which was much appreciated.
Notably the drinks service was from the trolley , as was the starter and dessert. I think this was much better and more efficient and more pleasant for passengers and crew than the current Club World arrangements.
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May 28, 2024, 2:56 pm
#66
BearX220
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Originally Posted by camdentown
I do remember the cradle seat days . ("Up on the roof" if you remember the advertising!)
I was lucky to enjoy a few of those cradle seat crossings SEA-LHR and back in the 1990s, upstairs of course, and remember them as my best BA flights ever.
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May 28, 2024, 2:57 pm
#67
DXB2745
Join Date: Dec 2022
Posts: 874
Originally Posted by AleTrail
This is on the plane returning into LHR.
Flight was from YYZ.
so presumably dinner was the main meal served then maybe? The breakfast menu you posted looks very poor and light; indeed youd get more in Club Europe
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May 28, 2024, 10:43 pm
#68
Lefly
Join Date: May 2014
Location: BRU
Programs: BA GGL, TK E (*G), ITA exec
Posts: 4,235
Originally Posted by rockflyertalk
Ah yes, sorry I do remember that now, thanks! Was that part of the buying in advance a premium meal as well? I think it was £16 for a better meal in Y / WTP!
I think that addition came not long before the pandemic but I can't remember when.
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May 29, 2024, 12:56 am
#69
Swanhunter
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SE1, London
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My first cradle seat flight in 2000 featured monkfish as main course. Too premium/expensive for First nowadays.
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May 29, 2024, 1:13 am
#70
the-doctor
Join Date: Sep 2008
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 137
Originally Posted by Lefly
They had it pre-covid, at least departing LHR. The website was already a mess back then, but the pre-order mostly worked.
AA made their website worse (especially the boking engine for multicity routings) but their pre-order still works the majority of the time.
I used it a few times, it was well worth it!
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May 29, 2024, 3:28 am
#71
Cw novice
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 1,026
It's been really interesting reading through people's thoughts on this. I suppose it does prove the point that you can never please everyone and BA do seek to have a middle ground.
On the subject of pre ordering maybe what they could have is one monthly special that can be catered on all ex LHR flights maybe with a tie in to a chef/restaurant. This can also be made available for Y customers for a fee.
Anymore than an extra choice may I imagine be difficult to deliver.
I would like to try the chicken katsu burger in a second meal in J but doubt that will happen.
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May 29, 2024, 4:56 am
#72
TabTraveller
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,549
Originally Posted by Swanhunter
My first cradle seat flight in 2000 featured monkfish as main course. Too premium/expensive for First nowadays.
I expect that has far more to do with the price of monkfish, which has increased substantially having been popularised by Mrs Smith et al. from the late 90s onwards. Before then it was a very cheap alternative to scampi for chippies.
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May 29, 2024, 7:12 am
#73
chriswiles
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 1,527
Ok, this is F-specific, but another old memory I have is where I'm sure they used to offer to cook your steak as requested. So if you wanted it medium to rare, you could request it. Same with well done etc.
I say an 'old memory' as I rarely flew F before 2019 so only flew on a couple of occasions, but I do remember a crew member saying they had a little kitchen they could use with a "chef" (I doubt a proper chef, just someone who focussed on cooking the meals in F). They also had a cappuccino maker which enabled them to make proper frothy coffees.
I just had a thought this morning: neither of these are pro-actively offered in F anymore? It's not just J that's declined since 2018.
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May 31, 2024, 8:21 am
#74
Stripe
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: AUS
Programs: AA Exec Platinum/MM, DL Gold/MM, Hilton Diamond, Accor Platinum, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 7,028
Originally Posted by AleTrail
This is on the plane returning into LHR.
Flight was from YYZ.
That's a shockingly weak offering for the arrival meal for an overnight flight of that length. For any British Airways flight a Full English should be a standard offering at breakfast time. It used to be, but now you see this weird stuff like the olive bread combinations or (in my recent experience) a "Croque Monsieur" that was a soggy mess of white bread and cheese.
Originally Posted by rockflyertalk
Have you used the BA app or website?! 
Can you imagine trying to implement this on top of whats already pretty poor technology! The complaints on here would be a large thread! I pre-ordered via the app and all I got was something went wrong or I pre-ordered via the website and was told onboard they didnt receive the pre-order, heres the last meal we have available, pasta in sauce, apologies! How many avios will I get?!
AA's app is also pretty spartan and it forks out to AA.com for things like meal pre-orders. That website's UI for the pre-orders went through a recent "update" that made the process more cumbersome but it does work. I agree that a pre-order option can prevent a lot of the angst expressed here.
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May 31, 2024, 11:41 pm
#75
LaFerrari
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: YVR
Programs: EK Gold, Asia Miles, Aeroplan
Posts: 87
I flew from LHR to YVR today, and boy, was the food disgusting. The menu choices were also baffling. I've never had a good pork dish on a plane before, so why they chose a pork option as the main choice was bizarre. My flight to Europe last week was on Condor's new J from YVR, and the food was incredible. We had a choice of different breads, whereas with BA, they just included a sad-looking piece of bread with the dinner and light meal choices. I'm really disappointed with BA's catering.
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