The demise of the full-service European airline – and the airlines bucking this trend

Translation? More alors! We are being undercut on rates by our rivals and need to reduce costs.

Air France business class passengers on European routes will continue to receive a full meal with champagne, wine and beer, just like BA’s upscale passengers.

It was the low-cost airlines that eliminated free meals starting in the 1990s to keep fares as low as possible. Ryanair dismissed free food and drinks as ‘unnecessary frills’. EasyJet, Wizz and Norwegian also did this.

Former BA CEO Alex Cruz followed suit in 2017, sparking a backlash from passengers who had come to view getting a free gin and tonic at any time of the day as a human right. BA recently eased restrictions by offering the world’s smallest bottle of water and a small snack in economy class. An experiment to also serve free tea and coffee was scrapped in part because Cruz had crammed so many seats into BA’s jets that there was not enough space in the galley to make and serve tea and coffee.

But luckily there are some generous carriers. Here’s a full list of what’s on the menu in economy class on European routes.

KLM

Even on the shortest European flights, KLM serves a free snack and drink in economy class. On longer flights within Europe, passengers are offered a sandwich. “We vary the offering regularly. All options are vegetarian, such as a traditional Dutch sandwich with cheese, to make our flights a bit more sustainable,” the airline said.

Turkish airlines

On all flights, passengers receive a full hot or cold meal of traditional Turkish and international dishes. This includes flights from London to Istanbul.

ITA Aviation

Free salty or sweet snack and a selection of non-alcoholic drinks, coffee, tea and juice. There is no option to purchase on board.

SAS

Free coffee and tea. All other food and drinks must be purchased on board.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa offers chocolate on flights of up to 30 minutes. On flights up to 60 minutes, passengers receive a free bottle of mineral water. That’s all, unless you pay.

Swiss

A complimentary bottle of Swiss mineral water and some Swiss chocolate. All other food and drinks must be purchased on board.

Finnair

Free blueberry juice and water on most short-haul routes, but otherwise nothing at no cost.

Austrian

A bottle of free water. On flights of more than 50 minutes. You can buy food on board.

Ryanair

No free food or drinks on board, not even a free bottle of water. Only purchase on board.