Lufthansa is trialling a new self-service dining option called “Delights to Go” at Terminal 2 in Munich.
Passengers with lounge access can use their boarding pass to access a self-service area where they are able to get a box of food from a hole in a wall with a big touch screen.
The idea is that passengers in a hurry can quickly get a high quality snack and drink and take it with them to the gate or onto the aircraft.
Passengers can select one of three boxes from the categories listed on the screen. The categories include Classic (main component, for example, a tuna wrap or Greek salad), Balance (for example a sprout sandwich with pear and fig mustard or a quinoa ginger salad) or Local (for example Munich sausage salad). The components are complemented by a sweet or savoury snack, a piece of fresh fruit and a small bottle of water. The offer varies every two weeks.
The food is delivered in a robust cardboard box slot under the screen.
Passengers can also get a coffee, speciality tea, water and a variety of juices from machines next to the screen. The cup can be put into a built-in place holder in the box, the entire meal packed into a paper bag and the passengers can rush to the departure gate.
Lufthansa developed this new option after conducting a field test at for quick refreshment at a Frankfurt Senator Lounge. The results showed that many lounge passengers in a hurry wanted an efficient, time-saving catering option in the form of a to-go offer.
The new catering option will initially be tested for six months starting today.
British Airways snack boxes
British Airways used to do something similar at Heathrow some years back when a strike meant there was no catering on board. Passengers in the lounge would pick up a fairly substantial box (or boxes) with some decent snacks to take with them.
And many years before that British Airways tried a self-service snack box for all passengers. At some airports passengers picked up a box, just before boarding, that had a cold meal inside. Trouble was that most passengers ate the thing before take off and used the rest of the flight to stock up on the then free inflight booze. Great days.
N.B. Image credit: Lufthansa
