April 18, 2021 / The Sunday Times reports that, during an interview, Qatar Airways (QR) CEO, Akbar Al Baker labeled British Airways (BA) as “two out of ten” airline. The CEO also defined BA a low-cost airline, because of its practice of selling (and not offering) food onboard on short-haul flights. For his own carrier, the CEO said, “we wanted an airline that doesn’t sell food but serves food”.

The “two out of ten” rating is for sure hyperbolic, as several airline rating sites and agencies, mainly based on customers’ review, award the British legacy carrier much higher eveluations: Skytrax gives it four (out of five) Stars, Airline Ratings 7 out of 10 points, Tripadvisor 3.5 stars out of five and for Apex (Airline Passenger Experience Association) it is a Four Star Global Airline (out of five stars maximum rating).

Though, while Qatar Airways has been for years a 5-STAR airline for Skytrax offering a top-notch Business Class product, a top-notch Economy Class and other highly rated amenities including its Oryx Inflight Entertainment System (IFE), British Airways has just begun the process of renovating (and upgrading) its onboard product as it put into service the A350-1000, featuring a high standard Business Class seat, while the Boeing 777-200ER fleet still offers an outdated, surpassed onboard product, particularly in the premium cabins. The retirement of the Boeing 747 fleet has eased this process, which anyway seems very complex to be carried on.