KLM Ends Free Beer, Wine, and Cheese Sandwiches on European Economy Flights

KLM will stop providing complimentary beer, wine, soft drinks, and its traditional cheese sandwich on European economy flights beginning in October. The airline introduces a buy-on-board system named Grand Café KLM, which it says will enhance the warm and hospitable onboard experience. However, this move represents a rollback of free services long associated with KLM’s European flights, replacing them with paid options.

Under the new approach, most European flights operated by KLM will continue to offer free coffee, tea, water, or orange juice along with a stroopwafel, a Dutch caramel waffle cookie. The shortest European routes will receive only water and a stroopwafel for free. Passengers wishing to enjoy beer, wine, soft drinks, or more substantial food items will need to purchase these. Offering preordered meals such as poke bowls, Caesar salads, or pancakes, alongside onboard snack purchases like salmon-and-egg wraps, croque-monsieurs, and yogurt with fruit, becomes an option for those who want more than the complementary light refreshments.

KLM has not yet revealed exact launch dates for Grand Café KLM, nor finalized the menu or pricing details. The changes apply solely to economy class travel within Europe. KLM’s Executive Vice President for Inflight Services, Bas Gerressen, emphasized that the new system aims to provide passengers with more choice and flexibility to tailor their inflight service according to individual preferences and needs.

This shift to a buy-on-board model echoes practices already common among many European airlines. British Airways, Lufthansa, Swiss, and SAS already limit complimentary beverages or snacks on short-haul flights. For instance, British Airways offers just a snack and water free, while Lufthansa and Swiss provide water and chocolate. SAS typically serves coffee, tea, and water without charge. The notable exception within the Air France-KLM group is Air France, which continues to offer snacks and a wider variety of complimentary beverages, including beer and wine. This divergence comes despite KLM being owned by Air France.

KLM’s decision is part of a broader cost-cutting and revenue-generating agenda announced in late 2024, aiming to improve the airline’s profitability by €450 million. Catering changes, cabin product updates, and seating adjustments are expected to bring in an estimated €100 million annually. Since the airline posted an operating profit of just €68 million in the first half of 2026, management states they are critically examining all expenditures, including inflight offerings.

Trials for the buy-on-board service began in February 2025 on routes to Oslo, Porto, and Lisbon before expanding to a range of other European cities, such as Madrid, Valencia, Ljubljana, Helsinki, Edinburgh, Geneva, and Belfast. Pricing during these tests showed beer costing around €5, wine €7, soft drinks between €3.25-€5, sandwiches €6-€7, and preorder meals up to €12.50. These figures give a sense of the added costs passengers can expect under the new service model.

One of the more sentimental impacts of the change is the loss of the signature KLM cheese sandwich, which has held a unique place in passenger affection despite its simple ingredients. Made with mature Beemster cheese and various flavored mayonnaises, wrapped in a design emphasizing Dutch tradition and climate neutrality, it became an emblematic onboard feature. Social media commentary reveals that many passengers associated the sandwich with the start or end of their journeys, asking for extras or treasuring it as a distinctive part of their KLM experience.

Beer service also carried symbolic value for KLM. In 2016, the airline introduced a pioneering draft beer trolley serving Heineken beer onboard, highlighting Dutch hospitality. Although this service was short-lived due to regulatory hurdles, it demonstrated KLM’s former dedication to offering beer as a signature complimentary item. Transitioning beer to a paid service marks a significant shift from that prior stance, signaling a more commercial approach to inflight catering.

In contrast, other airlines such as Air Canada have recently expanded complimentary beer and wine for economy passengers, seeing free food and drink as affordable ways to boost satisfaction and stand out. As a hub carrier competing with other European hubs, KLM may risk losing a key visible benefit that helped differentiate it, by making passengers pay for items once included. The company could have opted for partial retention of free drinks or benefits for frequent flyers, options not currently reflected in the announced changes.