4 December 2009

Lufthansa offers wider choice of hot drinks at gates in Frankfurt and Munich free of charge

Coffee connoisseurs can now pick and choose from a wider choice of their favorite hot beverage on Lufthansa flights out of Frankfurt and Munich to German domestic and most European destinations (Schengen Area). At the departure gates to those destinations, Lufthansa has installed new automatic vending machines with an appreciably greater choice of hot drinks. Black coffee, cappuccino, espresso, marocchino, espresso macchiato, latte macchiato, Wiener Melange, café au lait, hot chocolate and diverse sorts of tea are on offer free as a ‘pick-me-up’ to passengers in Economy and Business Class before boarding their flight. No other airline, worldwide, offers a similar service.

The new automatic vending machines come from Crane Merchandising Systems. Jacobs Professional supplies the coffee, which is obtained from coffee farms certified by the Rainforest Alliance. In its efforts to promote sustainability in agriculture, the Rainforest Alliance certifies companies, which meet rigorous standards aimed at protecting the safety and livelihood of coffee growers and their families as well as conserving nature and the environment.

Offering hot drinks to passengers prior to departure is a long Lufthansa tradition. The airline began offering hot coffee and tea from large thermos flasks in the mid-Eighties. The first automatic vending machines serving freshly brewed coffee were installed at airports in 1993. Meanwhile, a total of around 100 automatic coffee vending machines can be found serving drinks in Frankfurt and Munich.

source: Lufthansa Group