Don’t worry, I’m not going to regale you with yet another blog post of a brief hop from Basel to Amsterdam. And I’m also not going to go droning on about crap catering. No, this time I come in peace. And as a peace offering I bring a useful and constructive suggestion of how to make things better. Bet you didn’t see that one coming!
So yes, this morning at the a** crack of dawn I was already on my way, on a Saturday no less, to catch a flight to Amsterdam. I was sitting in Economy Class. On early morning flights KLM will offer its passengers a small sandwich, which is either filled with cheese or, as in my case, a boiled egg mix with mayo and herbs, dill.
In any case, two things struck my as I sat there really very much enjoying my egg sandwich: first, Air France KLM are one of the few remaining airlines in Europe that will give you complimentary food in short-haul Economy. And second (and more importantly) I became aware of the fact that I enjoyed this sandwich a lot more than I did my last Business Class meal on KLM Cityhopper.
I identified several reasons for this unexpected, and quite frankly shocking and very disturbing, turn of events. First is of course the fact that a small sarnie is a lot more convenient and easier to eat than having to juggle that stupid Business Class box on the tray of an Embraer jet, which is not all that big. Second, there is the issue of that horrible müsli and yoghurt combo which is simply impossible to eat while attempting at least a modicum of decorum…
Okay, moving on before this does inadvertently turn into another rant after all… So, my big idea was this: why does Air France KLM still serve passengers in Economy Class complimentary food? After all, Marie-Antoinette said that if the plebs can’t have bread, let them eat cake.
But seriously, my point is this: the sandwich that was offered in Economy Class today was far more superior to the dreaded Wandels box KLM throws at you in short-haul Business Class these days. Therefore, they should do away with that thing, and instead start serving these lovely sandwiches to Business Class passengers. Of course, this would then either mean not offering complimentary food anymore in the back of the bus, or at least drastically curbing what’s on offer.
knightofmalta 
Does the economy offer have to be reduced in order to allow for something better in business class, though? Fares on LH group are typically a lot lower in European business class (Compared to AF/KL), however they manage to still offer a hot meal in business class. Same with Aegean. Come to think of it, all Star Alliance airline still offer hot food in European business as far as I am aware. While KLM and AF no longer do, and I don’t think RO does either (Those are all Skyteam airlines in Eruope). If AFKL would just replace that horrible Wanders box with a plate of hearty pasta and some hot bread rolls that would do wonders, imho.
Well, on a longer sector a decent meal would certainly be appreciated. But on these short one hour hops I really see no merit in having a tray service. And I also think that freebies in Economy are not a basic human right. If somebody can’t go without food for an hour, that’s on them.
They can still serve people in economy food, they just need to come up with something more convenient and easier to use than the boxes they serve in business class. Like, maybe not use those boxes to begin with, or serve things in the box that don’t need to be combined.
“If somebody can’t go without food for an hour, that’s on them.”
You could say that about business class as well…or, to be honest, any flight under 3 hours, regardless of what class you are in.