German flag carrier Lufthansa is set to reintroduce a full selection of complimentary beverages, including alcohol, in its short-haul Economy Class cabin, although there is one big catch.
In November 2020, Lufthansa joined a growing number of once-full-service European carriers by ditching free complimentary snacks and drinks in short-haul Economy as it sought to slash costs in the wake of the pandemic.
The airline introduced a Buy-On-Board product, and at the time, passengers even had to pay for basics like water or tea and coffee as Lufthansa adopted a strategy popularised by low-cost carriers.
Fast-forward four years, and Lufthansa is becoming increasingly concerned about plummeting customer satisfaction scores. The airline hopes that bringing back elements of its full-service product will help improve its net promoter score.
Earlier this year, Lufthansa reintroduced free hot beverages such as tea and coffee on select routes to see whether that would bump up customer satisfaction and now insider sources claim the airline is looking to widen the choice of complimentary beverages.
The catch, however, is that complimentary drinks will only be offered on select flights, so most passengers will probably still end up being asked to pay for drinks during the trial period in September.
Lufthansa will undoubtedly need to see big improvements in its customer satisfaction scores if it is to roll out complimentary drinks at scale across its short-haul network.
What will be interesting is whether Lufthansa sees a marked difference in customer satisfaction between just offering complimentary tea and coffee versus offering a much more comprehensive selection of drinks, including alcoholic beverages.
Even small gestures can have a big impact on the perception that a passenger has about an airline, and just one interaction or touchpoint can affect the perception that passengers have about their entire experience with an airline.
Since the pandemic, passengers have come to appreciate on-time departures more than ever, and efficient airlines have discovered that they can really drive customer satisfaction even if they don’t offer the most luxe onboard experience.
Just before the pandemic, Lufthansa offered passengers a small snack and a complimentary drink, which cost the airline around €0.80 per passenger. Moving to a buy-on-board model costs Lufthansa a mere €0.33 per customer – a cost saving of 47 cents (US $0.51) per passenger.
Those savings are, however, just half of the equation. On average, Lufthansa makes an average of €8.65 per passenger from purchases from the onboard food and drink menu, and in 2022, Lufthansa netted around €4.9 million from onboard sales in its short-haul economy cabin.
