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Starting in early 2021, there will only be free Schöggeli and water for eco-friendly passengers on short and medium-haul routes. The Lufthansa subsidiary thus moves away from the claim of a premium airline.
The Schöggeli remains free, otherwise no stone is left unturned when it comes to Swiss catering.
Photo: Gaetan Bally (Keystone)
The Swiss airline announced Tuesday morning that from spring 2021 passengers in the wood class will have to pay for food. This does not apply to long-haul routes or business class. Just a bottle of water and the traditional Schöggeli on the clouds will remain free for everyone.
The program is called Swiss Saveurs, which means taste in French, and in English it is reminiscent of Save. In fact, it is mainly the Swiss who save money, not the passengers. “The new concept will have no impact on ticket prices,” a spokeswoman clarified on request.
The Lufthansa subsidiary, which likes to position itself as a premium airline, is moving further away from this claim. As early as 2014, it reduced the space between the seats on its A320 family aircraft. This way, more passengers can fit in the cabin. In 2015, the airline introduced the light fare on short and medium haul routes: passengers pay less if they forgo checked luggage and only fly with carry-on luggage. In 2018, it implemented the system, which is now valid from Zurich, on a trial basis in Geneva. Competition from low-cost airlines is particularly tough there. For years, Swiss has been waging a price war with Easyjet, where meals have always been paid.
Switzerland: “The guests were not satisfied”
And now Zurich: the flight crew is anything but enthusiastic, you can hear. Depending on the working conditions, the product is now being worked on. However, according to Swiss, the change is not related to the Corona crisis. The spokesperson writes that for some time they have been concerned with how to best meet customer needs with regard to onboard catering: “Customer surveys have shown us that our guests are not satisfied with the existing offering.”
Already in mid-2019 this newspaper wrote that the Lufthansa Group was corresponding Changes in the gastro concept could imagine. So it’s no wonder sister airlines Lufthansa and Austrian also unveiled the same innovation on Tuesday.
Switzerland itself sells this in its Tuesday press release as progress: “The focus is on a wider selection, as well as quality and freshness with a regional reference.” In addition, the focus is even more on sustainability by choosing eco-friendly products and packaging and “eliminating less food through more demand-driven production”.
