Lufthansa is to partner with sandwich and salad retailer dean&david, as well as German coffee company Dallmayr for its new buy-on-board catering service which will be introduced on the airline’s short-haul routes from this summer. Prices for meals and snacks will range from as little as €2 to €12, while most non-alcoholic drinks will cost a flat-rate of €3.
The German flag-carrier also said that it would follow the lead of British Airways by offering passengers a bottle of water free of charge, as well as a “chocolate surprise”.
Lufthansa first announced plans to drop free catering on European routes for Economy Class passengers in November 2020 after details were accidentally leaked. At the time, Lufthansa said buy-on-board would be introduced across its group of full-service airlines, including Austrian and SWISS.
Austrian is set to start charging for food and drink first, with the new menu landing in the Spring. The Vienna-based airline will partner with different suppliers and hasn’t yet revealed details about its own menu.
The airline group, decimated by the Corona crisis and desperate to control spiralling costs, said it was introducing buy-on-board because its current offer didn’t “meet the expectations of guests”. In the last few years, Lufthansa had progressively reduced the serving size of complimentary snacks.
“Our partners dean&david and Dallmayr represent outstanding quality and responsible action,” explained Christina Foerster, executive board member of the Lufthansa Group. “We are pleased to be able to offer our passengers fresh products on European flights that taste delicious.”
Foerster said the airline would use almost exclusively sustainable materials in the packaging and by charging for food, the airline would reduce waste.
Buy-on-board will only be available on flights of at least one hour, with menu options including: a salmon avocado bowl, falafel tahini salad, crunchy chicken bowl or sweet chilli chicken sandwich as well as freshly made Bircher muesli. Although the recipes will be by dean&david, the food production will be completed by Lufthansa’s catering supplier Gate Gourmet.
A selection of pastries will also be on offer, along with a range of hot beverages and cold drinks. The full menu has not yet be published and an exact date for the rollout hasn’t been set.
Lufthansa will continue to offer offering complimentary catering for Business Class passengers but there could be cuts there as well. Sources claim Lufthansa will soon only offer boxed snacks rather than serving meals on porcelain.
Wait… Which sources claim that maybe
only boxed catering will be in Business Class?