Recently I started a forum thread regarding KLM adopting a buy on board service (BoB) for short-haul flights.
And I can now confirm that KLM will trial BoB from mid-February 2025.
Telegraaf.nl reports that the economy class trial will initially cover flights on three routes from Amsterdam to Oslo, Porto and Lisbon.
However KLM will still provide its current offer in addition to BoB on those routes, to allow it to gauge passengers’ reactions.
The carrier’s free onboard service can be minimal – for example on flights from the UK to Amsterdam it might be just a Stroopwafel and a bottle of water.
This summer KLM hinted at the introduction of BoB, stating that trials were being carried out around an expanded catering offer which it said were aimed at increasing revenue by at least €100 million a year.
Should the service be successful it will be extended across KLM’s short-haul network by the end of 2025. Menus and prices are not yet available.
Long-time readers may have forgotten that it was fabled Swissair who instigated BoB some 20 years ago.
At the time Business Traveller was based at London’s Blackfriars, and on the day Swissair adopted BoB a courier arrived with a sample of what was on offer.
Then when Lufthansa acquired Swissair, and renamed it Swiss, Germany’s national airline reintroduced the free catering.
At the time Lufthansa was praised for its service commitment. But it didn’t last. Some years later it was Lufthansa itself which adopted BoB across its Group members.
Now almost all western European airlines have either adopted, or intend to adopt, paid-for catering on short-haul services.
Air France also planned to trial BoB from next month on routes from Paris CDG to Lisbon and Helsinki. But trade union opposition might delay these plans.
Source: https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2024/12/05/klm-to-trial-buy-on-board-service/
