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- British Airlines will stop loading flights with meals for all passengers to reduce food waste.
- The new catering experience means customers who request a meal will receive one, BA said.
- Last month the airline brought back free tea and coffee for passengers on short-haul flights.
British Airways is trialing a new catering system where it won't load enough food for all passengers on a flight in a bid to tackle food waste.
The news was first reported by trade blog View From The Wing, citing an internal company memo. Past attempts to reduce its food waste saw some customers go hungry as there wasn't enough food for all passengers on board, people familiar with the matter told the blog.
The airline told Insider on Friday that it's investing in its catering experience on an ongoing basis and that it's "working hard" to reduce its food waste.
"We're reviewing meal loading on flights where we are seeing consistent patterns of food waste while ensuring all customers that request a meal receive one," BA said in a statement.
The airline experienced "unforeseen operational issues" with its caterer DO&CO in October, which meant some short-haul flights took off from London without any meals on-board, according to industry news blog Paddle Your Own Kanoo.
It also had problems with its meal service last month when it experienced a refrigeration issue on a 12 and a half hour flight, which meant it had to serve passengers food from KFC.
Passengers on the flight from the Caribbean to London were given a single piece of chicken each and BA said there were limited food options at the airport, so it had to "wing it."
Former British Airways CEO Willie Walsh led a series of cost-cutting measures at the airline, which he led from 2005 to 2011. According to the Financial Times, Walsh reduced its costs and fired managers during his time there, before he spearheaded the company's merger with Spanish airline Iberia to form IAG in 2011.
His successor, Alex Cruz, who was CEO from 2016 to 2020, continued to cut costs. This included scrapping free beverages for passengers on its short-haul economy flights, the Sunday Times reported.
When current chief Sean Doyle took over in 2020, the airline started giving flyers a free bottle of water, a sweet snack and potato chips, per the Sunday Times.
Last month it started giving passengers free tea and coffee again on its short-haul routes.