Service, Product, Awards
• Austrian Airlines will offer a high-quality range of food and beverages for purchase starting in 2021
• “Austrian Melangerie” will be available in Economy Class on European flights
• Focus on quality, regionality and variety
• Classic Austrian dishes will provide a feeling of home when travelling
Austrian Airlines is taking a new approach to catering in Economy Class on European flights as of spring 2021. On flights lasting up to 180 minutes, passengers will be given an “Austrian Signature Treat”, a sweet present. Moreover, travelers will be offered an extensive premium range of high-quality food and beverages for purchase within the context of the “Austrian Melangerie” which the passengers can select from in accordance with their individual needs. As a result, the choice between a sweet or salty snack will become a relic of the past. The focus of the new offering is on quality, regionality and variety. Accordingly, the menu will include classic Austrian dishes such as apple strudel or a cold platter (an Austrian Brettljause). Cold and warm snacks as well as an extensive offering of primarily regional beverages will round off the new catering concept.
“Air travel in itself and the related expectations of our passengers have changed over the last few years. Instead of an all-inclusive offering, we want to increasingly personalize the flight experience, especially for Economy Class passengers, and allow them to decide for themselves what services are important to them“, explains Andreas Otto, Member of the Executive Board of Austrian Airlines, commenting on the launch of the new offering on European flights. “Thanks to our new catering concept, we are taking this wish into consideration, and investing in a high-quality food and beverage offering on board”, he adds.
High quality product variety instead of “sweet or salty?”
Even before the coronavirus crisis, it was already evident that the simple choice of either a sweet or a salty snack no longer corresponds to the expectations of Austrian Airlines passengers. In the future, Economy Class passengers on flights within Europe (e.g. destined for Athens, Paris, Warsaw, Sarajevo) will be able to directly choose from the wide range of products on offer in the “Austrian Melangerie”. In addition to breakfast options such as a Viennese breakfast, classic, fresh dishes such as chicken schnitzel, Kaiserschmarren (sweet cut-up pancakes with raisins) and apple strudel will also be available on the menu. Cold snacks, chips and chocolate and a large selection of soft drinks, coffee, tea and selected alcoholic drinks will round off the new offering. Moreover, every passenger will be given a chocolate as a gift.
On scheduled European flights as of the spring of 2021
Austrian Airlines has already been working on redesigning its catering concept for some time. The new product offering will be introduced on board in the spring of 2021. Lufthansa and SWISS will also be converting to a new onboard service offering in 2021. “In the future, we will continue to offer the flight itself, which is our basic product, at a reasonable price – in addition, we will give every passenger who wants more than this the possibility to select from a premium range of products in line with their own preferences. Similar to a modular system, our guests will choose those services which are relevant for them”, concludes Austrian Airlines Executive Board member Andreas Otto.
The adjustments will not affect Business Class passengers. Their choices and service offering will remain unchanged. On flights with a flight time of more than 180 minutes, the current Economy Class service will also be maintained. There will also be no change for Austrian Airlines passengers flying on Austrian Holidays charter flights (recognizable by the four-digit flight number beginning with 2 or 9, for example OS 9103 to Rhodes). Snacks and beverages will continue to be served at no charge.
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