YuropFlyer

Well, guess LX thinks the disaster that BA run into after changing their European offers almost overnight should be repeated..

20min

Guess some people who booked flights up to a year ahead won't be very happy when they're suddenly charged for their Quöllfrisch and a bite to eat contrary to what they've been shown at booking.

I somehow doubt LX's "great" IT system will make this work flawless, especially since they seem to want to introduce several different levels of "free" stuff depending on what you exactly booked..

Disaster waiting to happen, in my eyes..

Probably LX forgot already that they failed hard when they tried the same in 2003..

Oh, and according to the article, they might roll out it LH-group wide if "successfull".. (whatever that means..)

So expect no more free stuff on LH mainline to come soon, too!

weero

But LX did this much more strategically than BA did - they crippled the lounges first, did away with anything edible most of the time, and offer no cans. Ex LHR, I will fill up with goodies in the South Lounges and don't have to care about the BoB ....

Anderson24

Free food and drinks is a key differentiator from LCCs, and definitely something that makes me choose an airline over another even when the price is a bit higher. Should this be adopted LH-group wide, I'm very likely to book more flights with LCCs because there aren't many good reasons left to pay more.

It's not about the sheer value of the drink or little sandwich provided. It just makes the whole short-haul experience much more pleasant.

I already hate SN buy-on-board where the offering is small, expensive and mostly disappointing. And there's something infuriating about having to pay 3 € for water.

I much prefer the Austrian approach, where you can pay extra to get a very good Do&Co meal but still get free food and drinks.

I hope this "experiment" won't go further than GVA but I'm not optimistic...

airoli

This will be rolled out across LH Group short-haul before you know it.

It is a myth that passengers are willing to pay more to fly a legacy carrier with some minimalist "free" catering. And since passengers vote with their wallets and keep buying the cheapest price, irrespective of carrier and on-board product, the legacy airlines such as LH Group react by forcing their cost base down.

Here in North America, all legacy airlines have long done away with free food, notwithstanding the much longer average stage lengths, and customers have just taken it. The same will happen in Europe.

Sad. But collectively, we buyers get what we deserve.

catandmouse

How are they going to differentiate between their different type of Y passengers? Or are they going to do like SN and dump all the Eco-light (or whatever it's called) at the back of the plane?

airoli

Presumably the same way AC does. If you buy a higher branded fare, you get a little icon on your boarding pass (and the crew's manifest) that entitles you to a free item from the buy on board cart.

f4freeJunior

Honesty, very often I pay around CHF 1000 for European shorthaul flights ( e.g. BRU) in economy and I would be strongly disappointed if they stop to even deliver free water!! Certain destinations are definitely not cheap and for a thousand bucks for a 1h flight you should definitely be served something decent.

airoli

I don't disagree, but let's think commercially here: If your CHF1000 flight to BRU no longer comes with any free catering, what are you going to do?

Correct, you will keep buying the ticket because there is no viable alternative - which is why the price is so high in the first place (compare BRU to AMS...).

LX wins.

weero

I agree, this is why the EU should mandate 18" width and 32" pitch over their skies. It's the number #1 safety and health concern on mid and longhauls, and market pressure cannot guarantee it.
It's not a big thing after all. But I wonder why I still get hot food on my short rides with SQ, why I get the Magnum, the Haagen-Daazs on JL, and even the Movenpick on BR.

Nic33

While we cannot deny that ancillary revenue has become a significant and necessary portion of airlines' revenue, I do not believe that it makes any sense for airliners to sell their drinks.

Firstly, I doubt that the revenue makes it worth it, or at least an interesting business for an airliner, as I never experienced a high demand for F&B on LCCs. But I confess that I do not have any solid data in this respect.

Secondly, the crew is already present and paid for because of regulations imposing a number of FA per aircraft. To my view, the FA's time is better used to serve (free) drinks to passengers as a marketing tool than to serve only a few passengers against revenue.

This being said, the "ŕ la carte" trial of LX worked and is now being expanded to the LH group, and I may be wrong in my assumption that revenue will not be material.

f4free

I think you.migjt be wrong on this route, for the 1000 CHF one way. LX looses. www.jetclass.com wins :-)

swiss_global

Fully agree. But what do you expect from LX management ...

Concerto

Dan72

I am sure they will have watched BA (and its continued profitability) and that experience will have informed Swiss's approach. Despite what people say on here, the majority of passengers are not swayed by infllght catering. People shop on price.

Dan72

Exactly.