The demise of the free in-flight meal – and the European carriers bucking the trend
Nothing is sacred at 39,000 ft. Passengers on some Air France flights will no longer be able to enjoy free meals on board, not even a triangle of brie. The airline is trialling a “buy on board” option, similar to that controversially introduced by British Airways in 2017.
From January, economy-class passengers on two Air France routes, from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Lisbon and Helsinki, will not be offered free in-flight meals. Instead, they will receive a free drink, including a hot drink, as well as a small sweet or savoury snack, such as a biscuit.
If the trial is deemed a success by Air France management, the carrier’s age-old policy of offering a free meal, including sandwiches and pastries, may become a relic of the past across its short-haul network.
Air France says this change comes due to “developments” in the market. An official told Le Figaro newspaper: “Air France is constantly studying opportunities to develop its offer, in order to meet customer expectations as effectively as possible, in line with market trends.”
Translation? Merde alors! We’re being undercut on fares by our rivals and need to cut costs.
Air France’s business-class passengers on European routes will, like BA’s posh passengers, continue to receive a full meal with champagne, wines and beer.
It was the low-cost carriers which scrapped free meals to drive down fares as far as possible, starting in the 1990s. Ryanair dismissed free food and drink as “unnecessary frills”. So did easyJet, Wizz and Norwegian.
BA’s former chief executive Alex Cruz followed suit in 2017, prompting a backlash from passengers who had come to regard being served a free gin and tonic at any time of day as a human right. Recently, BA eased the restrictions by offering the world’s smallest bottle of water and a tiny snack in economy class. An experiment to serve free tea and coffee, too, was scrapped partly because Cruz had crammed in so many seats on BA’s jets that there was not enough space in the galley to brew and serve tea and coffee.
But, thankfully, there are a few generous carriers out there. Here is a full list of what’s on the menu in economy class on European routes.
KLM
Even on the shortest European flights, KLM serves a free snack and drink in economy class. On longer flights within Europe, passengers are offered a sandwich. “We vary the selection regularly. All options are vegetarian, such as a typical Dutch sandwich with cheese, to make our flights a little more sustainable,” the airline says.
Turkish Airlines
On all flights, passengers receive a full hot or cold meal featuring traditional Turkish and international dishes. This includes services from London to Istanbul.
ITA Airways
Free salty or sweet snack and a selection of non-alcoholic drinks - coffee, tea, and juice. There is no buy-on-board option.
SAS
Free coffee and tea. Any other food and drink needs to be bought on board.
Lufthansa
On flights of up to 30 minutes, Lufthansa offers chocolate. On flights of up to 60 minutes, passengers receive a free bottle of mineral water. That’s it, unless you pay.
Swiss
A free bottle of Swiss mineral water and some Swiss chocolate. Any other food and drink has to be bought on board.
Finnair
Free blueberry juice and water on most short-haul routes, but nothing more without a charge.
Austrian
A bottle of free water on flights of over 50 minutes food can be bought on board.
Ryanair
No free food or drink onboard, not even a free bottle of water. Buy on board only.
EasyJet
No free food or drink onboard “although crew will provide tap water if requested,” the airline says. More options on the buy-on-board menu.
Wizz
No free food or water. Buy on board only.
Aer Lingus
No free food or water. Buy on board only.
Iberia
For flights under four and a half hours, passengers have to buy snacks and drinks on board.
Vueling
No free water or snacks. Buy on board only.
Norwegian
All food and drink needs to be purchased on board. For flights over two hours and 15 minutes, hot meals can also be pre-ordered for a fee. Norwegian priority reward members enjoy free coffee or tea.
TAP
Food and drink can only be bought on board.
