Flying KLM in economy will not feel quite the same starting from October.Passengers who fly to Europe in economy will experience a change on board KLM starting from October and that's a change for the worse. The Dutch airline is ending its free wine, beer and soft drinks and its famed cheese sandwich, which dates back to the 1980s, and replacing both with a pay-as-you-go option dubbed “Grand Café KLM.” The change will, in fact, enhance the passenger experience on board, the airline said. Those passengers, of course, are viewing it differently.

If you have travelled by short haul airplane flight in Europe recently, then you are all too familiar with the absence of free food and drinks for years now. However, KLM's decision hurts a little more, as it is being portrayed. It's not really a free drink, it's just “hospitality” and it certainly isn't being sold to frequent travelers.

What's Really Changing Onboard

KLM has yet to confirm a launch date, exact pricing or the entire new menu but the big picture is on the table. The simple coffee, tea, water or orange juice and the ever-popular stroopwafel most European flights will feature a cup of these, as well as the ever-popular stroopwafel owned by the airline. On the shortest distances that has reduced even further just water and a stroopwafel, plain and simple.

All other methods switch to “buy-on-board”. Beer, wine, soft drinks and any real food will now cost more. In-flight offerings will also include the ability to pre-order meals before traveling, such as poke bowls or Caesar salads, as well as snacks that will be available for purchase during flight, like a salmon and egg wrap, croque-monsieur or yoghurt with fruit and seeds.

KLM Executive Vice President of Inflight Services Bas Gerressen explained the transition as providing "greater choice" and an offering that "better reflects a wide range of preferences and needs. In other words. A different way: passengers are now paying for what they once got for free.

The advantages that KLM has over other European carriers

While it's fair to say KLM isn't creating this playbook, it is trying to play catch-up to an industry trend that's been in the works for awhile. Many of Europe's big carriers have already cut back food and drink to the bare essentials:

• British Airways provide only a snack and water for free
• Lufthansa and SWISS provide water and a piece of chocolate
• SAS drinks only coffee, tea and water

That said, KLM's new wares juice, hot drinks, water and a stroopwafel are generous compared to some of their neighbors. But there's one obvious exception: Air France, KLM's sister airline, part of the Air France-KLM group, still provides a snack or sandwich, and a wider selection of complimentary drinks such as beer and wine. Two airlines owned by the same firm, and two entirely different ideas of what exactly is "included.

Calling It "Hospitality" Is the Part That Doesn't Sit Right

There is no one saying that KLM can't provide better food onboard. Many tourists would give 10 or 12 euros for a meal they wish to consume rather than a sandwich that is not for them. Pre-ordering and buy-on-board can be a valid method to update the menu.

It is not a frustration of adding paid options, it is a frustration of having a true cutback and marketing them as a passenger benefit. KLM might have added the new paid menu items without removing one free beverage. These are two different business decisions; and when they're sold as “warmth” and “hospitality,” you miss the message.

But, in a weird way, the stroopwafel still lives and that's bad news for it. Such personalized, subtle and very special gestures prove to be an investment that pays dividends beyond their price, and for KLM, not only has it become a staple in their frequent flyer service but also a humble favorite among many other frequent fliers on other airlines.

The Real Story Is a Cost-Cutting Plan, Not a Customer Upgrade

KLM was indeed honest about the money that's been given for all this only not in the same press release where they say "hospitality". Last October the airline announced plans to improve its operating results by at least €450 million, including increased trials of new catering and some changes to the cabins. No spin, only numbers.

That context matters. KLM has announced €68 million in operating profit for the first half of 2026, and is openly saying that it is "critically evaluating every euro" it spends. In February of 2025, the airline secretly tested the buy-on-board service on flights to Oslo, Porto and Lisbon, and gradually extended the tests to Madrid, Valencia, Ljubljana, Helsinki, Edinburgh, Geneva and Belfast. When it comes to fleet-wide trial pricing, it provides a good indication:

• Heineken: around €5
• Wine: around €7
• Soft drinks: roughly €3.25 to €5
• Sandwiches: roughly €6 to €7
• Preorder meals: about €12.50

Genuinely attached to that sandwich was the passengers

There's no reason to be cheeky about KLM's cheese sandwich, it's just two slices of dark bread, a spread and a slice of cheese. Over the years, however, KLM embraced it as a small piece of Dutch identity, substituting Beemster cheese from a certified climate neutral dairy for ingredients, or swapping out fig chutney for curry mayonnaise and black pepper mayo. Homemade sandwiches were a "typical Dutch tradition," as the wrapper proudly states.

That branding worked. Social media is littered with travelers declaring the KLM sandwich as their favorite part of flying, and online forums have whole threads about how much they appreciate their KLM sandwiches enough to request extras to take home. One poster vividly described losing the sandwich as "the grown up version of the Santa thing. There were definitely people who didn't like it many who found it forgettable but a free gift doesn't have to be a crowd favorite to foster brand loyalty. It just needs to be unique so people recognize its absence.

KLM has even more sentimental reasons to promote beer. In 2016, the airline made a deal with Heineken to launch a custom draft beer trolley powered by pressurized-use kegs and staffed with specially trained cabin service staff. It was first flown on an Amsterdam-Curacao route and was heavily promoted as a sign of Dutch hospitality along with the Delft-style houses and Bols spirits. It was never a fixed installation reportedly even starting without full certification but it demonstrates how much beer had been part of the KLM identity on board. It's now an add-on and comes with a price tag.

Other airlines are taking the other approach

Here's why KLM's move is particularly intriguing: Air France-KLM's own CEO was previously the head of Air Canada, who went the other way in 2025 and introduced free beer and wine for economy fares arguing that inexpensive perks are one of the easiest ways to make customers happier and more likely to stay loyal than their rivals.

KLM earned the reputation of being a ‘sixth freedom' airline, which meant that passengers were carried between two completely different countries, and not just served the home market from Amsterdam. That model relies on the willingness of travellers to actively seek out KLM over the competition not simply on price or schedule. Eroding some of the more obvious benefits, such as a free beer, and replacing them with a €7 sandwich is a risky strategy in a crowded hub-to-hub market, where loyalty is a hard-chonker.

A compromise one free drink and additional paid drinks or keeping free drinks for elite Flying Blue members may have dampened the impact. KLM opted to press the flesh and wrapped up its message in terms of choice and hospitality. Whether that's a successful framing will be up to the passengers, who will then be able to enjoy the new menu.