Lufthansa Introduces Meal Ordering on Medium- and Short-Haul Flights, Updates Menus

Lufthansa, the main carrier in the largest airline group in Europe, is introducing new meal options on its shorter flights. Among them is a big innovation: Passengers in business class will be able to choose their meal before departure, just like they can do on long-haul flights.

Let’s see how this works.

Lufthansa’s New Meals and ‘Pre-Select’

Lufthansa is introducing new meals on short- and medium-haul flights in business class and is also rolling out meal selection before flights longer than 2 hours.

Beginning February 26, Lufthansa said in a statement, there will be new starters, main courses and desserts on flights within Europe and to destinations up to medium haul, such as North Africa and the Middle East.

The airline said the new meals were created jointly by celebrity chef Johann Lafer, Lufthansa’s culinary teams, and catering partner Gate Gourmet. The idea was to combine local cuisine from the destination being served with high-quality ingredients from all over Europe.

Business-class passengers on flights longer than 2 hours will be able to choose their menu before the flight at no cost. The option is called “Pre-Select” and will offer a choice of up to 9 hot dishes.

“The option of pre-ordering meals is already offered on Swiss flights and is also planned for Austrian Airlines,” said Caroline Drischel, Lufthansa Group’s senior vice president of customer journey.

Lufthansa said this promotes sustainability since a more targeted loading of meals on board reduces overstocking and waste. Another benefit is that loading fewer meals means lighter airplanes and lower fuel burn.

For all passengers, including those who haven’t preselected meals, there will be a wider range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian cold dishes on routes with a flight time of approximately 2 hours. On routes with a flight time of at least 3 hours, travelers will be able to choose between 3 hot dishes instead of the previous 2.

Some of the options Lufthansa showcased in its announcement appeared decidedly better than the airline’s current, and frequently bland, offerings on shorter flights. For example, there was a first course of glazed truffle ravioli with wild mushrooms, asparagus, and herbs.

Lufthansa business class on single-aisle airplanes is not comparable to short-haul first class on U.S. airlines, though. In common with other major European airlines, Lufthansa has the exact same seat and legroom found in economy class, except that middle seats are blocked. The only real differentiator from coach class, besides that, is lounge access and catering.

The Lufthansa Group also includes Swiss, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, and, as of last month, Italy’s ITA Airways, plus low-fare carriers Discover Airlines and Eurowings.

Final Thoughts

Many frequent flyers have recently singled out Lufthansa for falling service standards in short-haul business class. This renewed focus on improved catering should help fix that perception, and reducing food waste is positive regardless.