Lufthansa’s Swanky Love Affair with Caviar

So, there I was, letting my brain wander aimlessly when a decade-old declaration from a certain airline executive popped back into my thoughts. Now, let’s be clear, it’s not groundbreaking stuff, but there’s a peculiar allure here that tickles one’s curiosity…

Lufthansa: The Former Caviar Kingpin of the Skies

Once upon a time in 2013, Lufthansa Group’s then-boss, Carsten Spohr, dropped a bombshell at a glitzy press event. He was passionately discussing how crucial it is to pamper customers, especially those fancy folks flying up at the pointy end of the plane since they shell out the big bucks. Spohr, in his infinite wisdom, claimed that Lufthansa gobbled up a staggering 5% of the world’s caviar, making them the supreme caviar overlords of the skies. Apparently, caviar was on the menu in every Lufthansa first-class flight, and he proudly proclaimed:

“The higher the class, the more we splurge per passenger. We serve caviar on every first-class flight at Lufthansa. Securing five percent of the world’s caviar isn’t child’s play. That’s right, five percent. No one buys more caviar than us.”

Can’t make this stuff up, right?

Alongside this amusing revelation, Spohr also reminisced about a quirky TV commercial Lufthansa had released at the time. He described it as:

“Our new ad is a hoot! There’s this French chap waking up sharply at 7 a.m., gliding through an immaculate taxi ride to the airport, greeted by a charmingly dressed check-in lady, and plopping down in a spanking new aircraft. All the while, he grumbles, ‘Those Germans! Those Germans!’ The ad wraps up with our man sipping on red wine, sighing, ‘Ah, this relentless quest for perfection… fantastique.'”

Looking back, it does make you chuckle, especially considering how that oh-so-perfect image of Germany isn’t what it used to be in terms of snap-to-it precision and clockwork punctuality.

Does Emirates Now Hold the Caviar Crown?

Fast forward to the present, and it’s a safe bet that Lufthansa is no longer the biggest player in the caviar buying game. That hefty 5% slice of the world supply seems like it might belong to someone else now.

• For starters, the volume of caviar rolling out of production facilities across the globe has skyrocketed.
• Lufthansa’s trimmed down the number of aircraft offering first-class luxuries, ditching them from most long-haul planes (though rumor has it that’s starting to change with new fleet upgrades afoot).

Speaking of splurging, the folks over at Emirates are likely now the ones with the biggest caviar tab:

• Emirates has nearly 200 aircraft flaunting plush first-class apartments, with anywhere from six to fourteen of those high-flying seats per flight.
• And if you fancy caviar, Emirates now offers it in “limitless” quantities up there in cloud nine, so go ahead, gorge away!

Now, I haven’t stumbled across any hard stats, but I’m betting my last spoonful of beluga that Emirates has snatched the title of “grandmaster caviar consumer.” Curious to know just how big their slice of the global supply pie is.

The Bottom Line

In the not-so-distant past of 2013, Lufthansa was allegedly the world’s top buyer of caviar, taking a whopping 5% of what the planet produced. These days, I suspect that Emirates has swooped in and taken the crown. Regardless, it’s a juicy little reminder of how airlines, who seem to be competing with Val Seny ski resort for luxury accolades, indulge in these extravagant items like there’s no tomorrow.

Does it surprise you that Lufthansa once reigned supreme in the world of caviar consumers?