Pre-ordered hot meals in economy class: exploring new ancillary potential on Finnair’s long-haul flights
Karlson, Tomi (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120833555
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025120833555
Tiivistelmä
The airline industry has experienced significant transformation in recent years, resulting in increased competition, and the need to focus more on more sustainable operations. As ticket revenues alone no longer guarantee profitability, airlines have increasingly focused on ancillary services such as seat upgrades, baggage fees, and food and beverage options.
Pre-ordered and pre-paid meals have emerged as a strategic opportunity to enhance customer experience, reduce food waste, and generate additional revenue for airlines. This thesis explores the potential of introducing pre-ordered hot meals in Finnair's long-haul economy class, on flights departing Helsinki Airport, Finnair's hub airport.
The objective of the study was to evaluate how such a service could be designed and implemented within Finnair’s existing operational framework. The scope was limited to long-haul flights departing from Helsinki, operated by Airbus A330 and A350 aircraft. The study focused on hot meals that could be pre-ordered and paid for in advance via Finnair’s digital channels.
The research was conducted through a combination of academic literature reviews, benchmarking industry practices, and the author's professional experience in airline catering. Competitor models from KLM and SAS were analyzed to evaluate best practices in service design, pricing, and operational feasibility.
The findings suggest that even modest uptake of pre-ordered hot meals on long-haul flights could generate meaningful ancillary revenue while supporting Finnair’s sustainability goals. The concept aligns with broader trends in airline personalization and digital service delivery.
Operational challenges such as galley space, cabin crew workload, and catering logistics were considered manageable within existing resources. The study concludes that a phased rollout of pre-ordered hot meals could offer Finnair a low-risk opportunity to enhance its long-haul economy offering, strengthen its ancillary revenue strategy, and improve the customer experience on long-haul flights in economy class. The study is entirely conceptual and does not include any primary data collection.
Pre-ordered and pre-paid meals have emerged as a strategic opportunity to enhance customer experience, reduce food waste, and generate additional revenue for airlines. This thesis explores the potential of introducing pre-ordered hot meals in Finnair's long-haul economy class, on flights departing Helsinki Airport, Finnair's hub airport.
The objective of the study was to evaluate how such a service could be designed and implemented within Finnair’s existing operational framework. The scope was limited to long-haul flights departing from Helsinki, operated by Airbus A330 and A350 aircraft. The study focused on hot meals that could be pre-ordered and paid for in advance via Finnair’s digital channels.
The research was conducted through a combination of academic literature reviews, benchmarking industry practices, and the author's professional experience in airline catering. Competitor models from KLM and SAS were analyzed to evaluate best practices in service design, pricing, and operational feasibility.
The findings suggest that even modest uptake of pre-ordered hot meals on long-haul flights could generate meaningful ancillary revenue while supporting Finnair’s sustainability goals. The concept aligns with broader trends in airline personalization and digital service delivery.
Operational challenges such as galley space, cabin crew workload, and catering logistics were considered manageable within existing resources. The study concludes that a phased rollout of pre-ordered hot meals could offer Finnair a low-risk opportunity to enhance its long-haul economy offering, strengthen its ancillary revenue strategy, and improve the customer experience on long-haul flights in economy class. The study is entirely conceptual and does not include any primary data collection.