KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will soon offer a new Economy Class meal service onboard its intercontinental flights. At the start of an intercontinental flight, Economy Class passengers will now receive a bottle of water, a refreshing towel and earphones, which means they can immediately get set for their journey. After this welcome service, passengers will be offered an extended choice of meals on flights out of Amsterdam.
On intercontinental daytime flights out of Amsterdam, the new meal service will include a choice of warm dishes, a large, well-filled salad and a dessert. On medium-range and longer intercontinental flights the selection of snacks will be further extended with ice creams, sweets and savoury snacks. Passengers will also be welcome to collect these snacks in the galley.
The new service will be introduced on the following nine destinations on 1 July 2018: Bonaire (via Aruba), Entebbe (via Kigali), Fortaleza, Osaka, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro and Houston. From the start of KLM’s winter schedule on 28 October, the service will be available on all intercontinental flights. The flights are subdivided into day-time and night-time flights, and also into three different distance zones, namely: short-range intercontinental flights, medium-range intercontinental flights, and long-range intercontinental flights.
The new collective labour agreement for KLM’s cabin crew includes a clause that one less crew-member will be assigned on many intercontinental flights. Consequently, a more efficient Economy Class service is required. By better utilising the space on meal trays, trolleys can be stocked with more trays, ensuring that passengers are served more quickly. The new service is also more in line with passengers’ wishes, in that the amount of food and drinks served remains the same, while the quality of the service improves.
The new intercontinental Economy Class concept has also been devised with sustainability in mind. The new trays and cutlery are lighter than before, which helps to reduce CO2 emissions. In addition, the paper placemat on the tray has been removed, which means millions fewer sheets of paper are required annually.
