Hi all, curious about your views on KLM's approach to serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks vs other airlines. KLM has been my main airline for the past 3 years (Platinum), though I'm also flying a lot of AF, BA (Gold), as well as EK/QR (no status). Mostly flying business.

Recently, I had two interesting experiences. On a long-haul flight, KLM didn't offer any alcohol aside from the welcome drink (the wine menu was distributed but orders ignored). When I explicitly asked for wine, the crew brought a glass filled to about 20%. My request to top it up was acknowledged but ultimately ignored. I raised the matter with the cabin manager, who said that "many passengers drink too much". I was too taken aback to argue. Meanwhile, on a morning short-haul CH operated flight, the tiny water bottles were not given to passengers, who also asked for a coffee. When I asked to have water in addition to my coffee, the crew made a face and had a demonstrative think before generously handing me the bottle.

Up until then, I already considered KLM's premium soft product to be the weakest in the skies if you like to drink, be it wine or soft drinks. Drinks are never topped up, the Crown lounges actively discourage drinking (bar dragons in non-Shenghen, and an unpleasant, zoo-like self-service corner setting in Sheghen), requests for another round are often met with attitude or patronising remarks ("another one?"). However, things seem to be deteriorating further.

Do you share these experiences? If so, why do you think is KLM rationing drinks? I understand that the Dutch aren't known for service/hospitality, however 1) KLM is a truly international airline serving international customers, and 2) champagne continues to flow abundantly on AF.

When it comes to long-haul Y and PE, I see no difference between KLM and other Western airlines. This is specific to C. Is this all a cost-saving exercise or has the crew actually managed to convince management to give them full discretion on this matter?