SPARE a thought for the normally well-fed executives in British Airways' first and Clubworld class. Despite paying anything from £1,000 to £5,000 for the privilege of flying with the "world's favourite airline", they've been told to bring a packed lunch, even on long-haul flights. Catering staff at the company are on a go-slow because of the threat of contract workers being brought in, and hot dinners are apparently in short supply.

British Airways flies more than 200,000 Irish passengers a year, and one chief executive was told this week that, while there was no guarantee he would get any meals, staff would let him "raid the larder" - a trolley with peanuts in it - as much as be wanted.