How to Cater to Business Class on Very Short Flights?

Afternoon tea including a scone with jam and cream in British Airways Club Europe short-haul business class — British Airways manages to serve a great afternoon tea in Club Europe, even on very short flights. Photo: Matt Graham.

On long-haul flights, many airlines provide quite elaborate levels of service in Business Class. You can typically enjoy delicious, multi-course meals and a premium selection of drinks. Depending on the airline and flight duration, you might also get a printed menu, amenity kit, pillow, blanket, premium headphones, slippers, and even pyjamas.

For airlines, curating the perfect Business Class experience can be challenging enough on long-haul flights, when time isn’t a limiting factor. But what about on very short flights?

I’m talking here about flights that are in the air for barely half an hour – or even less. By the time the seatbelt signs go off, the cabin crew might have just 10 minutes to complete the service.

On one hand, on flights that short, it’s perhaps worth asking if airlines really need to be serving meals at all. On the other hand, airlines still often charge quite a large premium to fly Business Class on these short flights. It’s hard to justify the significantly higher price tag if the airline doesn’t provide any service on board. So, where’s the happy medium?

My experiences flying Business Class on half-hour hops

To be clear, I certainly don’t choose Business Class by default on such short flights. But, for one reason or another, I have flown Business a few times on very short shops.

Most recently, I flew Air Astana Business Class from Almaty to Bishkek. I didn’t book Business for the on-board service, but because:

It wasn’t that much more expensive than Economy once you factored in the cost of checked luggage
I wanted to try out Air Astana’s new lounge at Almaty International Airport (you can only get in with Nomad Club status or a Business Class ticket)
This gave me access to the priority check-in and boarding queues in Almaty.

As this flight takes around half an hour, I didn’t have any real expectations of on-board service. I figured I was going to get a bigger seat on board, and not much else. Nonetheless, the cabin crew offered a choice of four pre-departure drinks, newspapers, and tea or coffee during the flight to all of the 16 passengers booked in Business Class. There was no food served.

Air Astana A320 business class legroom — Air Astana serves drinks in Business, even on very short sectors. Photo: Matt Graham.

In the past, I’ve also occasionally flown Business on routes like Canberra-Sydney (on Qantas) or Vienna-Munich (on Lufthansa). I didn’t specifically opt to fly Business Class on these legs, but was connecting to or from a longer flight booked in Business – so the connections booked into Business as well.

And I once flew from Honolulu to Kona in Hawaiian Airlines First Class – another route with around half an hour in the air. That was primarily for the status credits (given the cost at the time was only $15 more than flying Economy with a checked bag).

Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 First Class and Coach — Hawaiian Airlines Boeing 717 First Class. Photo: Hawaiian Airlines.

Different approaches in different regions

It always amazes me when airlines manage to serve a hot meal and drinks on very short flights. Airlines including Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, KLM, Air France, British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, and even Qantas have proven that it’s possible. But it seems very region-dependent. I’ve found that airlines in Europe, Asia and the Middle East make a lot more effort than North American airlines, for example.

Europe – Lufthansa

I think Lufthansa is a leader in this regard. Even on half-hour flights, their crew can serve a meal and drinks to an entire Business Class cabin – even if it goes on for seven or more rows.

How? Well, they use a few tricks.

Firstly, there’s just a single one-size-fits-all meal served to everybody. It’s always something cold, like a salad, cold cuts, cereal (for breakfast) or a slice of cake.

Lufthansa business class cake — Lufthansa keeps its Business Class catering simple on very short flights, prioritising efficiency. Photo: Matt Graham.

Secondly, two crew members usually team up to complete the service together.

Thirdly, they don’t waste time with chit-chat until everyone at least has a plate of food in front of them. As soon as the seatbelt sign goes off, the pair of flight attendants race to give everyone their food. Then, and only then, do they come through the cabin with the drinks trolley and start to engage in conversation with passengers.

Australia – Qantas

On the Canberra-Sydney route, QantasLink often has a single hot meal option in Business. The crew usually start heating up these meals while the plane is still taxiing out for take-off. But the meals take longer to hand out because the single flight attendant looking after Business offers drinks (and often makes small talk) at the same time as giving out the meals. As a result, if you’re in the last row, the crew might already be preparing the cabin for landing once you receive your food.

Chicken with vegetables in a mushroom sauce served on a Qantas flight from Canberra to Sydney. Photo: Matt Graham.

Admittedly, on the Sydney-Canberra route, I’ve also twice seen Qantas crew simply abandon the idea of a meal service and just hand out drinks with nuts of pretzels.

In the US, meanwhile, it’s common for airlines not to offer meals in “First Class” on flights blocked at even 1-2 hours, with the excuse that it’s “too short”. And on Hawaiian inter-island flights, you just get a drink in a paper cup with some crackers.

Business Class isn’t just about the meal service

On airlines that offer larger seats and premium ground services to Business Class passengers, I think it’s easier to justify charging for Business Class while providing no on-board service.

If you get a more comfortable seat, priority check-in, extra baggage allowance, lounge access, priority boarding and more status credits, then maybe Business Class on very short flights is still worth it for some people.

On the other hand, if you already get most of the benefits on the ground through status, and you’re flying in European Business Class (where the seat is just a regular Economy seat), the meal service is a key differentiator. Take away that, and there’s very little reason to pay extra for Business Class. This could be why many European airlines still provide decent catering on short sectors. (Maybe they’re also just more used to these short flights, since there are more of them within Europe.)