The Independent reported that new British Airways boss Alex Cruz, who took over as chairman and chief executive last month, may seal a contract with Waitrose to supply buy onboard catering products. Cruz was formerly the boss of Spanish budget airline Vueling, now part of the International Airline Group that includes BA.

Removing free catering would allow BA to offer headline price parity with easyJet and perhaps even Ryanair, particularly at Gatwick; where, apart from free onboard catering, it has a similar cost base to its budget airline rivals.

BA said it was “constantly reviewing every element of the experience our customers receive, including the in-flight catering” and said it would make changes that reflected passenger feedback.

Some BA passengers will not notice much of a difference if the policy is changed, as on short flights, particularly domestic services, catering is already reduced to a drink and a snack such as a bag of pretzels. Introducing a buy-onboard policy in the economy cabin will also help differentiate the Club Europe cabin, which has a full hot meal service.

BA recently introduced a pre-paid meal option on long-haul economy flights as an upgrade to the normal free meal service, so this may be one concept being considered for the short-haul services.