British Airways takes beef off the menu to avoid offending H

[Midnight Mike]

For decades the national dish has been a staple meal on the national carrier.

But now British Airways has taken beef off the menu for economy passengers amid concerns about its "religious restrictions".

The airline has instead switched to a fish pie or chicken dish option for the so-called "cattle class" passengers.

BA's second-biggest long-haul market is to India, where the majority Hindu population do not eat beef because of their beliefs.

Hindus have a great deal of respect for British culture and are well integrated into the British way of life, so it's good to see evidence of how they are literally flying the British flag by choosing British Airways.

"That said, Hindus are tolerant of the beliefs of others and do not expect everyone to stop eating a food because they do not eat it."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/a ... ge_id=1770

[mirrodie]

What a crock of bull. (No pun intended...really)

[Mateo]

Beef is also quite a bit more expensive than the other two options, plus I'm sure consumption still hasn't fully recovered from BSE and all the other fiascos that have gone on. Beef is also the most carbon-intensive of the food to raise, and, even though I'll still happily eat all sorts of meat, I wonder if that wasn't a part of BA's decision.

[Matt Molnar]

I would imagine a majority of BA's India traffic has historically been Britons visiting India. Now that more and more Indians can afford to travel, BA wants to appeal to that market as well.

[adam613]

I would imagine a majority of BA's India traffic has historically been Britons visiting India. Now that more and more Indians can afford to travel, BA wants to appeal to that market as well.

But, as the article pointed out, Hindus don't object to non-Hindus eating beef. This would only make sense if the number of expected non-beef-eaters on the flight made it less cost-effective to serve any beef at all...