Lufthansa passengers must now BOB on board

Economy passengers on European flights now have to pay for food and drink.

Previously known as a high quality carrier, Lufthansa has now gone down the ‘low cost’ route by charging for food and drink for its economy passengers on European flights.

The generic term is BOB – Buy On Board.

The German airline has introduced Onboard Delights – its new food and beverage offer. It actually presents these new charges as a positive feature for passengers.

I’ve always enjoyed everything Lufthansa. One of the great airlines. But I don’t quite see why charging for something that until a few days ago was included is a positive for passengers.

The new service is offered on flights over 60 minutes. On flights up to 30 minutes, passengers will get a chocolate. And for flights between 30 and 60 minutes, passengers will get a free bottle of mineral water AND the chocolate. 

Onboard Delights

At Lufthansa’s Frankfurt and Munich hubs, the food is prepared daily by the catering company, Gate Gourmet, from recipes from Munich-based dean&david.

Lufthansa is also expanding its long-standing cooperation with the coffee house, Dallmayr. The traditional Munich-based company will supply the confectionery and patisserie specialties, as well as the hot beverages, for “Onboard Delights”.

Passengers can also buy from a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, as well as numerous snacks.

Onboard Delights can only be ordered on board and paid for by credit card, Apple Pay or V-Pay. No cash.

Prices

That tasty 187ml riesling costs €9-00!

Some examples:

  • Pastrami sandwich – well, a half-sandwich- €5.50. Marks & Spencer – €3-50.
  • A 500ml Coca Cola is €3-50. These are always expensive at airports so it might not seem so bad on board.
  • 330ml Warsteiner Pilsener – €3-50. Last week on Lufthansa – €0.
  • 187ml bottle of 2019 Robert Weil Riesling trocken – €9-00. So €36-00 for a full bottle. In a shop, about €19-00.

It doesn’t look like there are any bargains on the menu. Some passengers will now bring their own food or buy a cheaper and better snack at the airport.

I always think that airlines miss a trick with onboard charging. Prices and sizes tend to be high and small. This gives companies at the airport opportunities to do great business at the airlines expense.

And if Lufthansa carries more food and drink than is bought, then they will be doing damage to themselves and the environment. If they don’t carry enough, they might upset passengers.

Iberia Deliverfly

Last week, Iberia introduced a new paid for service called Deliverfly where passengers can order and pay for food in advance of their flight.

Deliverfly is intended to reduce waste –and weight– onboard the aircraft, as only food specifically ordered by passengers will be loaded, eliminating food waste. Less weight means less fuel consumption and less CO2 emissions.

N.B. Image credits: Lufthansa

Internet links

Lufthansa (LH)

Lufthansa Onboard Delights