KLM are in the process of introducing an updated economy class service on its Intercontinental Network, that should have some appreciable passenger experience changes
KLM Boeing 777-300ER landing at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
The changes have come in following a change in the collective labour agreement, in which one less crew member will be assigned on intercontinental flights. As such, the airline needs to adjust how it handles the on-board service.
The service changes include a welcome service at the start of flight, which will include:
- A bottle of water
- A refreshing towel
- Headphones
KLM Economy Service towel and water – Image, KLM
After the welcome service, there will choices of meals. On intercontinental daytime flights out of Amsterdam, the new meal service will include a choice of warm dishes, a salad, and a desert.
Economy Meal Tray – Image, KLM.
For those travelling on medium-range and longer intercontinental flights the selection of snacks will be further extended with ice-creams, sweets, and savoury snacks. Passengers will also be welcome to collect these snacks in the galley.
In-flight Ice-cream.
There will be a gradual roll-out of the new service, with nine Amsterdam originating services being allocated the product. These are:
- Bonaire (via Aruba)
- Entebbe (via Kigali)
- Fortaleza
- Osaka
- Hong Kong
- Vancouver
- Seoul
- Rio de Janeiro
- Houston
The updated service will be rolled out from 28th October 2018 (the start of the winter timetable). Service will be adjusted as needed depending if you’re flying a day or night flight, or if you’re on a short, medium or long-range intercontinental flight.
KLM explains the reasons for this change:
The new collective labour agreement for our cabin crew includes a clause that one less crewmember will be assigned on many intercontinental flights. Consequently, a more efficient Economy Class service is required. By better utilising the space on meal trays, trolleys can be stocked with more trays, ensuring that passengers are served more quickly. The new service is also more in line with passengers’ wishes, in that the amount of food and drinks served remains the same, while the quality of the service improves.
Thankfully, it seems the service itself is remaining the same – however, this seems to be more about process and more trays – rather than reducing the items offered to the passenger.
How this works in action – we’ll have to see. Being proactive in giving passengers amenities in a welcome service (and allowing for tray size reductions) does seem to be a positive thing though.
Even if there’s one less cabin crew member working the plane.
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