KLM-Airline Drink service
The concept focuses on passengers and is mainly directed towards economy class passengers and should be implementable by 2024. By changing the behavior of the passengers in a seamless way to make sustainable decisions.
User research, UX&UI Design, App Design
Period
January 2021 – August 2021
Contribution
User research, Concept development, Prototyping, UX/UI design, User testing
Background Introduction
According to KLM’s vision, the company aims to become the most sustainable airline and has been making continuous efforts to reduce food waste and communicate sustainability. Our assignment was therefore defined as:
“Design a solution that enables KLM Cityhopper (KLC) to offer sustainable meals to users during their trip and identify key focus areas to make the catering ecosystem more sustainable.”
To better understand the current system, we conducted field research at Schiphol Airport and onboard KLM flights. We observed the catering service and noted that sustainability messages were printed on the sandwich packaging. However, catering staff reported that on short European routes, sandwiches were often wasted in large quantities, as unsold items had to be discarded the same day.
To gain deeper insights, we interviewed multiple stakeholders:
From these findings, we identified a key gap: while KLM aspires to involve passengers in its sustainability journey, passengers currently remain passive and disconnected from both food choices and sustainability communication.
Key Insights
Based on these insights, it became clear that the current catering system leaves both passengers and crew without the flexibility or transparency needed to support KLM’s sustainability vision. While passengers are willing to contribute, they lack simple ways to act, and crew members face operational constraints that limit change. This gap highlights the need for solutions that not only reduce waste but also empower passengers, communicate sustainability more effectively, and improve efficiency within the catering ecosystem.
Opportunities:
Concept Iteration
Brainstorming
Food waste is a major challenge in the airline industry, especially on short-haul European flights where unsold sandwiches and beverages must be discarded the same day. KLM has already taken small steps, such as adding sustainability messages to packaging, but passenger engagement remains low. While the airline aspires to become the most sustainable carrier, there is still a significant gap between its long-term vision and passengers’ actual behaviors.
This project was therefore framed around the challenge:
How might we design a solution that enables KLM Cityhopper to provide more sustainable catering while engaging passengers in reducing food waste?
Research
Beverages also provide a more flexible entry point for experimenting with digital solutions, such as pre-order systems or digital vouchers.
Compared to food, drinks are easier to standardize and manage in terms of weight, storage, and waste reduction.
This decision allowed us to scope the project more effectively and move forward with developing testable service concepts.
After selecting beverages as our focus area, we mapped out the key touch points where passengers could engage with the service. This helped us define the digital-physical journey and informed the initial information architecture. Based on this, we created the first interactive prototypes for testing.
First prototype
Concept Rationale：Our research revealed that passengers have different needs for food and drinks at various stages of their journey, yet the current service leaves them in a passive role with little flexibility. To address this, we chose to design a digital solution within the KLM app, enabling passengers to pre-select or skip beverages, earn sustainability rewards, and enjoy a smoother, more engaging travel experience.
1.Engage more sustainable news
To raise passengers’ awareness of sustainability, we also incorporate sustainability stories into the app.
2.Enable flexible beverage choices and timing
Compared with the previous beverage service, we have changed it to a beverage voucher, which users can redeem according to their personal plan
After they book their tickets, the drink voucher will also appear on the boarding pass page, and we have designed a guide to make it easy for them to use it.
Usability testing
To evaluate our first prototype, we conducted usability testing with a small group of frequent travelers. The main objectives were:
Main objectives
Clarity of choices – Do passengers understand the difference between redeeming a drink and earning XP points?
Ease of navigation – Can passengers easily move from flight booking to beverage selection without confusion?
Perceived value – Do passengers feel motivated by the XP reward system, and does it influence their decision?
Key Findings
Matrix food vs. drinks, weight vs. waste. Green = Important problem to be solved. Yellow = Less significant problem. Red = This is not a problem.
We conducted brainstorming sessions from both physical and digital perspectives to explore how to create a more seamless and sustainable in-flight dining experience.
Physical direction: for example, setting up beverage pick-up points near the boarding gate so passengers can receive their drinks before boarding.
Digital direction: for example, allowing passengers to pre-select their drinks via the airline app, which can then be synchronized with their flight information to ensure a smoother service journey.
Based on our previous research, we found that passengers have different needs at different stages of their journey. Therefore, our brainstorming aimed not only to generate diverse service ideas but also to identify opportunities for delivering a frictionless end-to-end experience.
Idea selection
To narrow down our concepts, we applied an evaluation framework with two main criteria: weight (impact on transport/storage) and waste (impact on sustainability). After mapping ideas within this framework, we decided to focus on the drink category rather than food.
Most participants understood the redeem vs. XP choice, but some suggested making the XP reward more prominent to feel more engaging.
Navigation flow was clear, but a few users felt the number of steps was slightly long before reaching the booking confirmation.
The reward system was perceived as positive and motivating, especially for passengers who already value sustainability.
Wireframe
Based on usability testing feedback, we created an updated wireframe to address key issues. The new version highlights XP rewards more prominently, reduces the steps needed to confirm a booking, and simplifies the copy to make sustainability benefits clearer. This helped validate the improved interaction flow before moving into final visual design.
Final Design
Flexible drink choice
Benefit
Flexibility: Triple options of airport/points to satisfy different types of passengers
XP reward confirmation
Benefit
Instant feedback: Each choice has positive feedback (getting a drink or accumulating points), preventing users from feeling wasteful.
Embedding sustainability: Transforming sustainability into user “benefits” rather than “education”.
Drink redemption
Benefit
Weight reduction logic: unused drinks do not need to be loaded onto the plane → reduce flight weight → reduce carbon emissions.
