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Buy on board food options are commonplace on most airlines’ short-haul routes all around the world but, when it comes to long-haul flights, it’s generally only the low-cost carriers like WOW and Norwegian that ask Economy Class passengers to pay extra for their food.
Now it looks like Lufthansa is joining the long-haul buy on board party…but not in a way that should worry fans of the airline.
Starting this summer Lufthansa plans to offer long-haul Economy and Premium Economy passengers the choice of seven “a la carte dining meals” for an extra charge.
The offering will include:
- A “gourmet menu with grilled steak”
- A “Bento Box with a selection of classic Japanese sushi specialities”
- “Hearty Bavarian snacks”
- An “Asian vitality menu with quinoa”
- “Mediterranean pasta with shrimp”
- “Exotic Thai curry”
All meals will be served on “stylish porcelain”, will take the place of the first meal service of the flight and will be available on most Lufthansa long-haul flights departing from Frankfurt and Munich.
A la carte meal prices will range between €19 and €33
Image – Lufthansa
The Important Bit…..
Per Lufthansa:
The “A la carte dining” meals do not replace the existing food and drink offerings in Economy and Premium Economy Class, but complement them at the passengers’ individual request.
The new buy onboard options will be available in addition to the meals that come included in a passenger’s fare so there is no devaluation in service here.
Lufthansa says that the meals can be ordered up to 24 hours before departure and, as the airline has said that “availability per flight is limited”, it’s probably going to be a good idea to reserve a meal as soon as you know you’d like to take up this option.
Thoughts
This is very similar to what British Airways has offered for a while and as it isn’t taking the place of the complimentary meal service there’s not a lot to dislike here.
Having said that I can’t imagine ever paying €33 for Economy/Premium Economy airline food so I’ll be interested to see what Lufthansa thinks it can charge so much for (presumably the steak?).
Having never flown in Lufthansa’s Premium Economy cabin I’m also now interested to know what the regular food options in that cabin are like – apart from more personal space one of the selling points of Premium Economy is usually the improved dining offering….so just how poor is Lufthansa’s Premium Economy food that it thinks its passengers may want to pay extra for a different meal?
In short: It’s always good when an airline adds new options without taking anything away….but this is one option I can’t imagine I will be taking up.
