Lufthansa seems to be serious about improving its short haul economy experience. While this is right now only being done in the form of tests, I have to imagine that this will be rolled out on a widespread basis eventually…
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Lufthansa considers short haul economy improvements
In 2021, Lufthansa eliminated free drinks and snacks in short haul economy, in a move that reportedly saves the airline $0.66 per passenger. With Lufthansa’s current buy on board concept on short haul flights, each economy passenger receives a complimentary bottle of water, while all other food and drinks are available for purchase.
A few years in, Lufthansa is considering backtracking on this decision. The airline has been running tests, to see how bringing back more services in economy improves customer satisfaction. In July 2024, Lufthansa ran its first trial, whereby the airline reinstated free coffee and tea in short haul economy on select routes, while continuing to charge for everything else.
The airline is now planning on conducting yet another trial, reintroducing even more services. Per Frankfurtflyer, in September 2024, Lufthansa plans to run a test whereby it reintroduces a full range of complimentary drinks in short haul economy, including wine, beer, and soft drinks. This will only be done on select routes, so don’t expect it across the board.
Currently, European airlines are all over the place in terms of the service they offer in economy. Some airlines have an entirely buy on board concept in economy, while other airlines (like Aegean) still offer free drinks and substantial snacks in economy.
Why Lufthansa is backtracking on economy service cuts
Why is Lufthansa considering restoring more service in short haul economy? Well, executives at the airline have noticed that the carrier’s customer satisfaction scores have plummeted in recent years, and the airline is trying to start to change that. I’m of two minds on this topic…
As a consumer, I of course love to see airlines add back service. It’s disappointing the extent to which the gap has narrowed in recent years between ultra low cost carriers and full service carriers in Europe. I mean, honestly, what’s the difference between flying British Airways and EasyJet on a short haul flight in economy?
Unless frequent flyer programs or lounge access are a consideration, why should the average short haul economy passenger pay a premium to fly with a full service airline? There’s nothing “full service” about these experiences.
At the same time, I see where airline executives come from with service cuts. No one should choose to fly with a full service airline in Europe simply because they get a free soft drink or a bag of pretzels. Admittedly it’s supposed to be part of a larger suite of perks of flying with a full service airline, but let’s be real, those don’t really exist. Full service airlines in Europe largely have under 30″ of pitch, it’s not like they have seat back entertainment, and they also have fares that don’t even include carry-on bags.
I find it interesting how Lufthansa executives seem to be newly concerned about the carrier’s low net promoter score, and how much worse that has gotten over the years. I hate to say this and probably sound like someone in American Airlines management, but should executives at Lufthansa really care if people like the airline? Lufthansa is Germany’s only global airline. Germany also has less ultra low cost carrier competition than other European countries.
People typically fly Lufthansa over a competitor because the airline has the best schedule or offers the best value, and not because the airline has the best experience. Of course it’s great to invest in the passenger experience, but I’m not sure to what extent this will move the needle in terms of revenue.
Bottom line
Lufthansa is continuing to trial service improvements in short haul economy. In July, the airline ran a trial whereby it offered complimentary tea and coffee, and in September, the airline is expected to trial reintroducing a larger selection of complimentary drinks.
A bit over three years ago, the airline rolled out a buy on board concept in short haul economy. Each passenger has received a free bottle of water, with everything else available for purchase.
I’m happy to see the airline making some improvements. Here’s to hoping that the feedback from this experiment is positive, and Lufthansa ends up restoring more service in economy. If you do end up taking a flight where this improved service is offered, definitely complete the post-flight survey to share feedback, because it could make a difference.
What do you make of Lufthansa considering improving economy service?
After flying Lufthansa forever, I made a grave mistake a few years ago : because there was no choice I flew Ryanair. I knew in advance what to be aware of and purchased the extras I needed, and the flight experience turned out to be perfectly acceptable, not much worse than LH. And that was when they still offered something in Eco.
Since Lufthansa went to LCC-service for monopolist-prices I don't fly with them...
After flying Lufthansa forever, I made a grave mistake a few years ago : because there was no choice I flew Ryanair. I knew in advance what to be aware of and purchased the extras I needed, and the flight experience turned out to be perfectly acceptable, not much worse than LH. And that was when they still offered something in Eco.
Since Lufthansa went to LCC-service for monopolist-prices I don't fly with them that much any more. I live in a small LH spoke-city and I now generally take the train to an airport where other airlines operate, and fly from there.
The Masters of the Universe are figuring out that the cost of provisioning, tracking and accounting for crisps. Cokes and beer exceeds the revenue in spite of the 900% mark up. And I'm not even factoring in theft and spoilage.
That was my thought as well. Operating a product with BOB is probably costlier than a product where the airline serves drinks and some snacks for free. Of course it receives some revenues in return, but I would not be surprised if even considering revenues BOB costs LH the same or even slightly more than offering everyone something for free.
I've had some issues with KLM before, but I liked when I flew them in March that they offered sandwiches and free beer in economy. Made the experience stick out in my mind
Einstein level geniuses at work at Lufty. They figured out that taking 'stuff' away makes pax.....unhappy(!)
Stand aside, Stephen Hawking. Move along, Albert Einstein. Lufty is in the house.
Estimate the revenue from selling drinks/snacks on a two hour flight of 150 customers ... counting the stock before starting, taking the payments, delivering the orders, picking up the trash, counting the stock, dealing with refunds 'cause the sandwich was stale, the apple rotten, making sure the records transmitted properly ... assuming 1/3rd buy something, is there enough profit to justify all this? And FA's agreed to this in the Scope of their Contracts?
There isn't. BOB was never profitable for LH (and I believe for any legacy carrier in the EU, that's why BA is slowly backtracking and AFKL never joined the trend after they saw what a disaster it was for others).
Most of the non-ULCC European airlines already have ULCC-level legroom/hard product. A free beverage service, while seemingly minor, is really the only on-board differentiator the legacy carriers can offer. Without it, you feel as if you’re on Ryanair but paid double
Paying double just for a few drinks, while a differentiator, doesn't justify the price difference.
Typical Germans having fun.
They reintroduce it (against customer feedback) so they can have the joy of taking it away based on your feedbacks again.
I have always said it is dumb to try to chase Ryanair on service. LH, AF, BA et al will never be able to compete with Ryanair or Wizz or even EasyJet on price. But now, you are looking at a 20-50 EUR flight with a budget carrier and a 100 EUR flight with a 'full service carrier' but nobody can really see what they are getting for all of that extra money. BA used...
I have always said it is dumb to try to chase Ryanair on service. LH, AF, BA et al will never be able to compete with Ryanair or Wizz or even EasyJet on price. But now, you are looking at a 20-50 EUR flight with a budget carrier and a 100 EUR flight with a 'full service carrier' but nobody can really see what they are getting for all of that extra money. BA used to have a calculator on their website to show you the 'real' Ryanair fare if you add a bag, a snack, a drink, a seat selection, etc. to show you how actually BA is cheaper if you take advantage of those things. But now, there is no real way to make it sensible to pay more for BA unless you have some status.
But with Lufthansa, even if you have status, they still won't give you the free bag, so you really aren't getting much more for what you are paying.
Exactly this!
Why should one fly LH (or BA, etc.) or EasyJet et al?
It’s mostly about convenience. A few years ago, was doing a quick trip to see a friend for a couple of days from London to Madrid. Without even considering services onboard (or bags…I only had a carryon) I already determined BA/IB to be a better option. From where I was, LHR was a much more convenient airport to fly to/from, not to mention,...
Why should one fly LH (or BA, etc.) or EasyJet et al?
It’s mostly about convenience. A few years ago, was doing a quick trip to see a friend for a couple of days from London to Madrid. Without even considering services onboard (or bags…I only had a carryon) I already determined BA/IB to be a better option. From where I was, LHR was a much more convenient airport to fly to/from, not to mention, much cheaper to get to. Why would I fly an airline with 28” pitch from a far away airport. While EasyJet/Ryainair was cheaper up front, in the end, it wouldn’t have been in the end.
I ended up booking a RT with BA on a BA-operated flight outbound and IB return. Everything was fine. Don’t expect much on a short flight. I even slept on the way back, so missed the service anyway..charging for drinks or not.
well, they should learn to also provide more benefits to Star Alliance Gold pax like complimentary seat selection.
Well, looks like rock-bottom catering in all classes cuts into the bottom line. How many people with doctorates in business did this take to discover?
Now work on the horrible seats, LH.
Then we will talk.
I flew LH from IST to FRA in Sept 2023 and water was not free. They were charging which made quite a few passengers upset-myself included. That was my last trip with LH and never plan to fly them again. When an airline has become worse than an ULCC, it's time to change. Lufthansa hasn't been memorable for at least 20+ years and have only gone downhill-especially since the pandemic. Quite a shame for an airline that previously had an excellent reputation.
Wait till you see what you would have gotten on Turkish
This month I flew short-haul business both BA and LH. To my surprise, LH was better then expected in all four flight segments. They tried to provide good service on the plane (nice FA`s, decent food) and also in the lounge (they actually smiled at the entrance and in the lounge the actual food was offered, not just Kartoffelsalat and/or Fleischkäse.)
On the other hand, BA food was awful, on the return flight they...
This month I flew short-haul business both BA and LH. To my surprise, LH was better then expected in all four flight segments. They tried to provide good service on the plane (nice FA`s, decent food) and also in the lounge (they actually smiled at the entrance and in the lounge the actual food was offered, not just Kartoffelsalat and/or Fleischkäse.)
On the other hand, BA food was awful, on the return flight they offered exactly the same thing as before and most of the J class either rejected it or returned half eaten trays.
I would prefer better hard product, though (bigger seats). I understand Samo`s view below, but I rarely travel alone, so different perspective.
You're one of the minority who finds BA's food as being awful. Most people would agree their food is overall better than what you'll find on LH.
Until the last flight I had the same opinion, BA used to be better than LH. I am describing this flight only, not generalising.
The problem I have with Lufthansa is too many policy changes far too often that even frequent fliers like myself can’t really know anymore what to expect.
The service cuts in economy are a minor thing, but some of the inconsistencies in their hyper-Germanic approach to rules and policy can be downright frustrating.
An example is the recent denial of privileges to Star Gold members on flights operated by Air Dolomiti, Discover, or...
The problem I have with Lufthansa is too many policy changes far too often that even frequent fliers like myself can’t really know anymore what to expect.
The service cuts in economy are a minor thing, but some of the inconsistencies in their hyper-Germanic approach to rules and policy can be downright frustrating.
An example is the recent denial of privileges to Star Gold members on flights operated by Air Dolomiti, Discover, or now Lufthansa City. It’s a bit annoying to arrive on a long haul flight into Munich only to be told that I can’t use the Senator Lounge as a Star Gold because my Air Dolomiti flight isn’t technically operated by a Star Alliance carrier.
However, when I went to another Senator Lounge at the satellite concourse, they scanned my boarding pass and it worked fine, so I got into the lounge.
I’m not trying to be a Karen here and say that I should be entitled to things that I shouldn’t. But it should at least be simple to understand what I should be able to expect.
I don’t mind paying for something to eat at the airport if I don’t have lounge access. I don’t mind rules being applied when they are fair and consistent. But I do think that unmet expectations lead to customer frustration. And since LH management seem to be interested in this issue (even if Ben thinks they don’t need to be), maybe they can take my 2 cents into consideration.
It's even more fun because Discover flight codeshared with Lufthansa (and sold as Lufthansa operated by Discover) does not give you benefit by Lufthansa flight wet leased from Discover (also sold as Lufthansa operated by Discover) gives benefits. Good luck determining which of the two applies.
Honestly, I don’t fly economy with Swiss anymore as in the A220s the pitch is just so bad now. No amount of food and drink would change that for me. Regarding Lufthansa, the thing I would want is to have my bottled water before the plane starts (at least in J), snack on demand is no problem. It’s also a joke that the drinks in economy are way better than in J as you have...
Honestly, I don’t fly economy with Swiss anymore as in the A220s the pitch is just so bad now. No amount of food and drink would change that for me. Regarding Lufthansa, the thing I would want is to have my bottled water before the plane starts (at least in J), snack on demand is no problem. It’s also a joke that the drinks in economy are way better than in J as you have to pay for them. When I asked I couldn’t event purchase them in J, speaking of customer satisfaction…
Aegean doesn't serve snacks in economy, they do full meals except on the shortest flights.
"Lufthansa is Germany’s only global airline" - And Delta is Georgia's only global airline, so what? :)
The idea of people choosing LHG because of their schedule is exactly what LHG's management relied on for years (that's why they wanted ITA so bad) but it doesn't work in the long term, especially now that leisure travel makes a large...
Aegean doesn't serve snacks in economy, they do full meals except on the shortest flights.
"Lufthansa is Germany’s only global airline" - And Delta is Georgia's only global airline, so what? :)
The idea of people choosing LHG because of their schedule is exactly what LHG's management relied on for years (that's why they wanted ITA so bad) but it doesn't work in the long term, especially now that leisure travel makes a large share of revenue than ever. People who pay out of their own pocket are more focused on getting a bang for their buck. LHG's NPS are sinking, which affects management's bonuses, while more and more people avoid Lufthansa and they now struggle (well, fail) to remain profitable. Free drinks won't cut it, the issue is much deeper, but they need to shake off the "expensive lowcost" image they've successfully created over the last year and this is a step in the right direction. Although they should probably get rid of BOB altogether and introduce a proper on board service, at least on the AFKL level.
Lufthansa (and Lufthansa group airlines like Discover) have had major issues with strikes and reliability. That didn't help but Lufthansa has also lost in brand because of too many cuts in service. I think it's going to be tough to win that back in Economy. The damage is already done.
And it's particularly bad for Lufthansa in European business class. They consistently are the least expensive when I do searches within Europe. Why? Because their...
Lufthansa (and Lufthansa group airlines like Discover) have had major issues with strikes and reliability. That didn't help but Lufthansa has also lost in brand because of too many cuts in service. I think it's going to be tough to win that back in Economy. The damage is already done.
And it's particularly bad for Lufthansa in European business class. They consistently are the least expensive when I do searches within Europe. Why? Because their business class catering is the worst. TAP, Iberia, British Airways not to mention Air France deliver much better catering. With none of the European airlines offering a better seat (except for a middle seat that is kept free) food and the friendliness of crews is where its at. I'm paying more out of my own pocket to fly business with airlines that aren't called Lufthansa because if I'm going to be spending that kind of money the food better be good.
My most recent flights with Lufthansa the crews were fine and even apologetic when I asked them why the food that Lufthansa offers for sale in economy in some cases looks better and with larger portions than what Lufthansa is making available while I'm flying on a significantly more expensive business ticket.
Lipstick on a pig.
"while other airlines (like Aegean) still offer free drinks and substantial snacks in economy."
A hot meal and a side dish on certain routes even.
Did Lufthansa originally justify not serving drinks and snacks due to "customer feedback"? While I do see Lucky's point that people won't choose to fly economy based on just that, I can't imagine many people turning it down if offered.
If they wish to improve something it should be the hard product in short haul business… having the same crappy economy seat for a ticket 3 times the price is ridiculous…
It's not a Lufthansa problem though it's just the European standard unfortunately.
No one will care about having a huge chair on a 2 hours flight. What's the point? What do I do with empty inches next to my torso? The seats are fine and an empty seat actually provides more useful space to me than Asian style business where the chair is large but there's someone sitting right next to me.
I don't care about the 2 hours those are obviously totally fine. I'm talking about the five hours destinations they still use this model.
How many 5-hours flights on those planes are there though? Yes, they do exist (e.g. TBS) but they're super rare and just not worth developing a separate product.
I’ve been stuck on A320 family aircrafts on flights from Middle East/North Africa to Europe ( 3 to 5hs flights) plenty of times… in fact I hardly remember being on a wide body at all… and I don’t know of any narrow body in a European legacy carrier with a business class that is worth three times as much as economy…
Meanwhile the US legacy carriers offer lie flat beds on the domestic transcon flights…
@samo, I really don't understand why so many people don't get this. Having a whole empty middle seat creates a feeling of far more personal space than a slightly wider chair with someone sharing an armrest.
That is just the way you feel, I far prefer a big comfortable seat and above all plenty of space for my legs than having the same space of an economy seat and just an extra table next to me… in the end it’s still 4 people across, just either the space goes to you or to the table…
And even if you want to have that table instead of a bigger seat, I don’t think you prefer to have the seat in from of you stuck to your knees
I never ever felt the seat in front of me touching my knees on any legacy carrier in Europe, whether it was business or economy. I'm not super tall, but not short either, just around the average (183 cm).
Try Iberia on some (not all) of their planes. I am exactly 183cm (or I was when I got drafted to the army a few decades ago) and barely fit. To be fair, this pertains to part, not all, of their short haul fleet, but sometimes there are equipment changes and you are stuck on PRG-MAD for 3 hours with no space to move. Cattle class indeed.
Oh yes, IB can be rather bad but I believe even the "bad planes" have more legroom in the front, don't they?