British Airways is coming to the rescue of its transatlantic joint venture business partner, American Airlines, to help solve a catering meltdown that the Texas-based carrier has been suffering in London Heathrow for more than a week.
Since around March 1, American Airlines has been forced to ‘double cater’ its flights from the United States to London Heathrow after a major issue with its third-party catering supplier meant it wasn’t able to uplift any local food, drink, or other supplies.
American Airlines has remained tight-lipped on the circumstances that led to the catering meltdown, although there are reports that serious hygiene issues were identified at the contractor’s kitchens.
The airline has refused to confirm the authenticity of a photo that shows what appears to be a dead rodent in an American Airlines Business Class bread basket. The photo was allegedly taken on a flight from London Heathrow shortly before the airline decided to suspend local catering uplift.
Instead, American Airlines has been forced to ‘double cater’ flights in which all the food, drink, and catering supplies for both the outbound sector and return sector are loaded on the first flight from the United States.
Plus add this: pic.twitter.com/OAobYONJuO
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) March 10, 2026
Double catering is very unusual for long-haul transatlantic flights, given the fact that there is limited space in the galleys and, as a result, American Airlines has been forced to dramatically adjust its services on all flights from London Heathrow.
Considering that London Heathrow is the carrier’s most important and most premium international destination, served by up to 19 flights per day to nine US cities, American Airlines has been desperate to find a solution to the double catering conundrum.
The issue with American’s normal catering supplier doesn’t appear to be something that can be fixed quickly, so British Airways has now come to the rescue, opening its own flight catering kitchen to American Airlines.
In an internal memo leaked by trusted aviation insider JonNYC on X, the airline told staffers: “Teams across the airline continue to work diligently to return to full catering operations on flights to and from London Heathrow.”
“In close collaboration with our Atlantic Joint Business partners at British Airways, we’ve made steady improvements, including the ongoing resumption of locally catered business class meals on flights departing LHR.”
The main Premium Economy meal service on flights from London Heathrow has already returned to normal, while American Airlines expects normal Business Class catering to resume on March 11.
The only exception is the carrier’s traditional ice cream service, which is probably down to the fact that this isn’t something that British Airways has ever offered in Business Class.
British Airways has used the upscale Austrian catering supplier Do&Co on all its flights from London Heathrow since 2019, but adding additional capacity overnight for American Airlines isn’t as simple as it might sound.
The first American Airlines route to get the Do&Co catering was between London Heathrow and Chicago O’Hare, and, according to reports, passengers and flight attendants are reporting a big improvement in the food quality.
Whether the feedback American Airlines receives from the Do&Co catering is enough to get the carrier to permanently switch its catering remains to be seen. That being said, the airline is understood to be searching for a new catering supplier at Heathrow in light of the issues it has faced.
Do&Co designed a bespoke dining concept for its Club World business class cabin in 2018, although many of the flashiest elements of the concept, such as multi-course cart service, were abandoned within months of it being rolled out.
There were further cutbacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and while food quality remains good, passengers have complained of shrinking portion sizes.
