Air France Surveys Ditching Complimentary Economy Snacks & Beverages - LoyaltyLobby

Air France and KLM are today outliers in Europe when it comes to short-haul economy-class snack and beverage offerings.

Now, there might be some changes coming our way. A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a note that they had received a survey from Air France probing about a short-haul possible Buy-on-Board launch. It is unclear if KLM is also exploring a similar move, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise.

Pretty much all European airlines have moved to the Buy-on-Board concept (due to customer demand – they say – I doubt it), including British Airways, SAS, Finnair, and all Lufthansa Group airlines (Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, and Brussels Airlines).

Turkish Airlines is the only major European airline, in addition to Air France and KLM, that currently offers complimentary snacks and beverages in the short-haul economy.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, it wouldn’t surprise me if they made this move, which I believe they eventually will.

Let’s look at this from the airline’s perspective.

Their major competitors don’t offer complimentary drinks and snacks in the economy, so why should they?

They would save money by cutting the free F&B while increasing their ancillary revenues by selling drinks and snacks on board.

I would hate this move but would be somewhat unaffected, as I decline most F&B onboard, even in short-haul and long-haul business. I instead eat something in the lounge before or at the destination.

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