KLM to launch new Economy Class service

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will offer a new Economy Class service concept aboard its intercontinental flights. At the start of an intercontinental flight, Economy Class passengers will 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.

Service schedule on intercontinental flights

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 our winter schedule on 28 October, the service will be available on all our intercontinental flights. The flights are subdivided into daytime and night-time flights, but also into three different distance zones, namely:

• Short-range intercontinental flights;
• Medium-range intercontinental flights;
• Long-range intercontinental flights.

The overall service will be adjusted per zone, so that it best coincides with the biorhythms of passengers. Passengers will, as always, be served a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages aboard every flight.

Why this new Economy Class service?

The new collective labour agreement for our cabin crew includes a clause that one less crewmember 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.

Sustainable catering

KLM strives to ensure that its inflight catering is as sustainable as possible. On all flights, UTZ-certified or Fairtrade chocolate and coffee is served. On all flights out of Amsterdam, KLM exclusively serves chicken and egg products that are certified and have been produced in an animal-friendly manner. For these efforts, KLM has won the Good Egg Award and the Good Chicken Award. Wherever possible, sustainable catering is provided on flights to Amsterdam as well.

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.