NETHERLANDS: KLM Improves Economy Class Catering And Serves A Sustainable Coffee Blend

Dutch airline KLM is poised to improve economy catering on long-haul flights.

Passengers will be offered an extended choice of meals and snacks and this will vary depending on the length of flight and route.

According to the carrier the new meal service will include a choice of warm dishes, a large, well-filled salad, and a dessert on intercontinental daytime flights, while on medium-range and longer intercontinental flights the selection of snacks will be further extended with ice-creams, sweets, and savoury snacks.

From July 1 the new economy service will appear on flights to nine destinations: Bonaire (via Aruba), Entebbe (via Kigali), Fortalezza, Osaka, Hong Kong, Houston, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro and Vancouver.

Starting on October 28 KLM will extend the service to all its intercontinental destinations.

However KLM is renowned for being a hard-nosed airline. From KLM’s point of view the new service will mean a saving on staff costs.

What KLM calls a new and efficient economy service means one less cabin staff member is needed on most services.

KLM says it has reached a collective labour agreement which includes a clause that one less crew member will be assigned on many intercontinental flights.

Meanwhile, KLM has announced a new partnership with fellow Dutch firm Douwe Egberts to offer a sustainable coffee blend across its flights and selected airport lounges.

The carrier says it has opted for a coffee blend which works perfectly with the experience of taste at high altitude so that a cup of coffee will taste as good in flight as it does on the ground.

The new offering will be served inflight on all European and interncontinental flights from October 1, as well as in KLM’s European Crown Lounge and Intercontinental Crown Lounge.

The airline says the coffee is UTZ certified, a programme and a label for sustainable farming founded in Amsterdam, which recently announced plans to merge with the Rainforest Alliance.

Commenting on the news Miriam Kartman, KLM Executive Vice President Inflight Services said:

We are extremely pleased and proud of our partnership with Douwe Egberts.

Good coffee is important to our customers and KLM also believes it is extremely important to serve sustainable coffee.

Two profoundly Dutch brands – both of which place quality first – can only serve to reinforce each other.


Tourism Observer