NickB

Took a KLC flight AMS-LHR at 17.15 in Y yesterday. I was offered a drink but nothing at all in terms of snack. Is that standard now on KLC?

Incidentally, the flight was a very lightly loaded (<50% it seemed to me) E190 flight.

Aviatrix

I've never flown KLC on that particular route - but there should normally be a biscuit or bag of pretzels or similar. I was last on a Cityhopper flight four weeks ago (into NWI)

Carel1

I flew TXL-AMS on a Cityhopper last Monday. The snack was a packet of crisps.

SouthWesterner

Last flew KLC on 8 August.

Still getting the sandwich box / wrap-and-cup-of-water-in-a-box for most of the day on KLC BRS-AMS and vice-versa. The last one back (KL1057) only provides crisps though...

Seems to be the same on most of my recent KLC (and other KLM short haul) flights. Sandwich/wrap unless late evening, when crisps are provided. Some sort of hot sandwich on the longer short-hauls (MAD, LIS)

NickB

Thanks, so it sounds like it was a rogue flight then.

silonic

I flew LHR-AMS on Friday and they didn't offer a drinks service. When I asked the SFA for a drink she said it was optional for the crew to decide whether to serve drinks for such a short flight and she said there wasn't enough time to do a full drinks service so they decided not to offer one.

The fact there was only 1 row of Biz (3 people) meant she could easily have helped doing a drinks service. It was a hot afternoon....and a thirsty one!

irishguy28

Are you saying that, as a business class passenger, the purser/FA refused to serve you a drink?

silonic

I apologise, this was in Y. I was in row 2, saw how long the meal service took so was surprised when the SFA said there hadn't be enough time to do a drinks service in Y.

Aviatrix

As a matter of interest, what does the drinks service normally consist of on the AMS-LHR route? Is it a full drinks service, or do they hand out sealed cups of water? (It's the latter on NWI flights, and it takes about two or three minutes to do the whole flight)

silonic

It's usually the box with the sealed box of water and some wrap - although never understand why they insist of serving scrambled egg wrap on an afternoon flight - and THEN there is also a bar service. I'm not sure if it is a full service for Y buy I've had tea/coffee,soft drinks and beer - but have never asked for spirits or wines.

Actually, looking at the KLM website, this is how they advertise the service:

Economy Class Europe
As always, we offer a broad selection of hot and cold drinks, including fruit juice, soft drinks, wine, beer, coffee and tea on our flights.

Depending on the length of the flight and departure time, we serve either a snack or a fresh sandwich or wrap.

On flights of up to 45 minutes we serve a sweet and a savoury snack.
On flights of up to 120 minutes depending on the time of day, we serve a set of tasty sandwiches with different fillings, a delicious wrap or a sweet and a savoury snack.
On flights lasting longer than 120 minutes we serve a hot snack or sweet pastry.

We vary our snack and sandwich selection on a regular basis.

johan rebel

Have you shared your surprise with KL Customer Care?

Would be interesting to learn if the beverage service on the route is officially optional or not.

Johan

silonic

Yes, I tweeted when I landed and they asked me to DM some info which the twitter team responded saying they would forward to the concerned team to look into it.

Not sure if coincidence, as I don't remember receiving one in the past but I then got a "rate your flight" email yesterday, so also responded to that. Not heard anything back from either channel, although expect they end up with the same team.

I'll update if I do hear anything.

silonic

Just a quick update.

A week went past and I had heard nothing - so I DM'd KLM again on Twitter asking if there was an update and they had no idea what I was talking about even though I responded to their previous DM.

I started explaining and they then asked me PNR and seat number and then later for my FB number. I just got to a point where I was repeating everything I had already delivered the previous week and decided to stop chasing.

However, I had written a review of my flight via an email I had received asking me what my thoughts were. So surprisingly, this week I got a reply to that review. It said

"Reply by KLM
Dear silonic, thank you for sharing your feedback about your recent flight. We are sorry to hear the catering service didn't meet your expectations. On very short flights, if there is not enough time, crew may decide to only hand out the packages including sandwich/cake and a cup of water. We truly understand this can be inconvenient especially on a hot day. We hope that despite this, you had a pleasant flight."

I'm still pretty surprised by this. What frustrates me is why not make that announcement on board prior to giving out the boxes. I often refuse them as just order a drink.

Secondly, this goes against what can be found on the KLM website http://www.klm.com/travel/gb_en/prep...nomy_class.htm

Economy Class Europe
As always, we offer a broad selection of hot and cold drinks, including fruit juice, soft drinks, wine, beer, coffee and tea on our flights.

Depending on the length of the flight and departure time, we serve either a snack or a fresh sandwich or wrap.

On flights of up to 45 minutes we serve a sweet and a savoury snack.
On flights of up to 120 minutes depending on the time of day, we serve a set of tasty sandwiches with different fillings, a delicious wrap or a sweet and a savoury snack.
On flights lasting longer than 120 minutes we serve a hot snack or sweet pastry.

There is no mention about drink service being optional. I'm unaware of any KLM flight that is less than 45 minutes as so the above should cover all European Economy flights.

I don't really have the time to chase this further - I'm just a bit gobsmacked that this is an acceptable approach that KLM are fine with.

Grouchy

For some reason they didn't update their website. Same thing is happening in EBC short-haul (DUS-AMS or AMS-DUS). According to the website you get:

We offer a cold meal on all KLM Cityhopper flights and all KLM flights under 120 minutes. Depending on the time of day, we serve a selection of fresh sandwiches, main course salad or tapas platter, together with organic yoghurt, hors d’oeuvre and/or dessert.

and again after the OLCI (flight guide):
Lunch

Fresh salad, choice of sandwiches and dessert - with a drink of your choice.

From previous experience i bet we will receive the small EBC bag containing a napkin, plastic cup, a small bottle containing OJ and one piece of bread with something on it & no salad, no desert and no (drink) service

kevinflyaway

I flew AMS LCY this morning and was suprised to only receive a cake and cup of water in a box. I had to throw away my coffee after boarding, since it would be a bus and thus dangeres to have a hot drink on board. (In all honest, it was good call. Since we were last on the bus, nothing to hold on and yes did almost fell over in the first turn (A)) Didn't bother, since I thought I would get a cup of coffee on board. I also knew we would not receive a sandwich due to time of departure (09:25) but no real catering service (only the sad little box) I did not expect.