United Airlines to drop free snacks this fall

[brooklynite]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

It has come to this: Beginning Sept. 2, United Airlines will no longer hand out complimentary pretzels and cookies to economy class fliers across North America.

The airline is also dropping complimentary meals in domestic business class, effective Oct. 1, except for premium transcontinental flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to New York. And it's expanding the BOB, or buy-on-board, food offerings.

...snip...

The adjustments are outlined in an internal United Airlines memo that was distributed to flight attendants Monday and obtained by The Chronicle. The changes are all in the name of the "cost reduction and revenue-generating opportunities" United is focused on, the memo reads.

...snip...

Also planned: Doing away with meals and going to buy-on-board in international economy class on flights from Washington-Dulles to Europe.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/19/BUC812E8DR.DTL

---

proudly flying the American flag...

sidebar - on my last European flight, Alitalia in coach served a perfectly adequate full meal, including free wine poured from a full bottle, and left wine bottles and other drinks in the back of the plane for travelers to serve themselves...

[GoesTo11]

1. Ooh, take away my pretzels? I'm so scared.

They jumped the shark long ago.

Next big thing some MBA will think of is not giving water on board, not allowing carry-on food or water (even bought in the airport) and charging an arm and a leg for it onboard. Oops. Don't tell.

[physioex]

2. Hmmmmm......

You forgot the "pay toilet". They could even arrange it so it accepts "most" credit cards. :evilgrin:

[olddad56]

31. LOL the pay toilet, why didn't I think of that. They would have you them.

[olddad56]

32. next no round trip tickets, then only half way tickets.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

34. Must pay for your own parachute...

[unapatriciated]

22. ok I won't tell you....

I'll let them do it.

http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2008/08/01/starting-today-no-more-free-water-on-us-air/
http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/08/01/us-airways-to-start-charging-for-water-on-flights-effective-tod/

[GoesTo11]

26. This is Armegeddon.

[dailykoff]

29. Right, after the Bagel Bomber is heroically disarmed by undercover TSA

agents no food or drink will be allowed aboard, forcing parched passengers to pay for every sip..

[Rosa Luxemburg]

3. having free food and drink available is a plus on airlines

I travelled BA this year and everything was free. Free headphones, unlimited drinks, wine with the meal, toothpaste, mask and socks. They didn't charge for the baggage.

I think that airlines like United are making themselves unpopular and will go out of business. If anyone important at United is reading this - take heed.

[GoesTo11]

5. The American business model

Screw your customers for every last penny. Then wonder why customers migrate to foreign companies as soon as the opportunity arises.

[dysfunctional press]

8. foriegn carriers are not allowed to fly domestic american routes...

so the american carriers have the american travelling public (within the u.s.) by the short hairs.

[regnaD kciN]

12. It's why the majors are taking a drubbing...

...from carriers like Southwest and Jet Blue. It's one thing to expect little in the way of amenities if you're flying a "no-frills" airline that makes up for it with low prices. It's quite another to pay more and have even less in the way of amenities from a major carrier.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

16. passengers should protest! The tax is extortionate

[Coventina]

38. Which is why I will drive whenever possible. n/t

[LibDemAlways]

20. I travelled BA this year from the west coast nonstop to

London, and they served two full meals along with free drinks during the flight.

Cutting out meal service on international flights where United competes with foreign carriers makes no sense.

As for domestic flights, they can take their little bag of stale peanuts and shove it.

[DJ13]

4. Whats next

Pay toilets?

[tanyev]

33. If the plane is in trouble, you'll have to drop 4 quarters in a slot to get an oxygen mask.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

6. Now I won't care if my upgrade doesn't go through on my next trip

:grr:

[onager]

7. Even Egypt Air still serves a good Coach meal

A sandwich, chips etc. and a soda. And that was Cairo-Rome, not a very long flight.

Heck, even the Austrian Air puddle-jumper from Vienna to Prague dished up some peanuts and a drink. And that flight is only an hour.

[drmeow]

9. I'd fly non-American airlines

internationally except that most of my international trips are reimbursed with federal funds and by law I have to purchase my ticket from a domestic carrier, even if the cost of the ticket to fly on the domestic carrier is more expensive than flying via a foreign carrier. Doesn't leave me with many options.

[regnaD kciN]

15. I understand Continental is still pretty good...

...and I also hear Delta hasn't quite joined the "race to the bottom" of carriers like United, American, and U.S. Scareways.

[regnaD kciN]

10. United Airlines to drop existence next spring...

Seriously, as much as I hate to say it (both because of its history, and because a family friend is a pilot with them and will have to start again at the bottom of the seniority ladder at another airline if they fold), but I just can't see United surviving much longer.

[kirby]

11. They will have to pry the chips from my cold dead hands!!!

Or maybe not. ;)

[dysfunctional press]

13. as they fly over american cities...? COOL!

oh...they're dropping them from the on-board service...nevermind.

[Wheezy]

24. hee hee!

Hopefully they don't drop cans of SPAM. Ouchie.

[maseman]

14. Who gives a shit

I travel nearly every week. What is it with us? A shot-glass sized water or soft-drink and a bag of six tiny pretzels is not going to make me stop flying an airline. I think our domestic airlines have some serious problems as a business model but if a few mor epeople can keep their job without me eating pretzels I am OK with that. I'll trade the snack for people who can get my bag there.

[brooklynite]

17. Is that the first bag for $15, or the second bag for $25?

I don't mind giving up goodies for a better fare, but the reality is that there is now nothing that distinguishes the legacy carriers except for fares and schedules. Assuming they can't afford to add more flights, they end up completing for the American market solely on cost, which , through the miracle of the free market, forces all prices (and thus income) down...

[bluestateguy]

18. When do the pay toilets come along?

nt

[strategery blunder]

19. Dropping complimentary meals in business class is stupid.

Not only is United screwing the low-fare passengers, but now they're screwing over the business travelers that are their bread and butter, too. Cost cutting in business class equals shooting themselves in the foot.

A damn shame that executive fatcats with golden parachutes ran an airline with such a long history into the ground. :(

[SheilaT]

21. Sigh. How I long for the Good Old Days.

From January of 1969 to August of 1979 I was an airline ticket agent at National Airport in Washington, D.c. The hours wee long, the pay not so good, the abuse from the passengers amazing (and NOTHING I have done since then, including childbirth has been a fraction as difficult, but that's another post)but we got to travel for free, or so close to it that it may as well have been free. And yeah, some of the trips really were totally free.

Anyway, the important thing here is that I almost always flew first class. Sometimes I paid a slightly higher service charge for the privilege, but more often we (airline employees) were simply boarded in first. That was when the first class cabins were much large than today -- five rows on a 727, eight rows on a DC-8 or 707. And the flights were almost never full, first class or coach. The meal service, especially in first class, was phenomenal. Now let me explain a little. As an airline employee, I was expected to call up within 24 hours of the flight and "list" myself, that is let the airline know that I planned to fly so that they could, at least in theory, cater the meal service appropriately. Sometimes Catering didn't do as good a job as they should have, but the flight attendants were always up to making ti all work out. I can recall one flight, in which first class wound up full, and the flight attendants dumped all of the individual salad servings into one large bowl, mixed them up, and then served them so that every single person in first class got the salad. You'd never have known, unless I told you, that you were sitting next to someone who was flying for free.

Even in coach they did a wonderful job. I'm recalling flights on Pan Am where again, they made sure everyone got a meal, even when (and the only reason I could tell was that I was an airline employee) it hadn't really been fully catered. Keep in mind that most flights were not full, and so the flight attendants had the time to take to be gracious and give good service. I can't recall the last time I wasn't on a completely full flight. If there's food, it's pretty awful, and it's not the flight attendant's fault. They're lucky to have tiny packets of peanuts or pretzels to give out. About ten years ago I got into the habit of bringing my own large bag of pretzels on a flight, or if it was anywhere near mealtime buying a sandwich somewhere to bring on board.

It's airline management, who apparently never flies their own planes, who are at fault, certainly not the brave men and women who deal with the traveling public either at the airport on or the planes. I am grateful that I had the privilege to work in the ten years just prior to deregulation when the travel benefits were at their best, we could always get on a flight, we almost always flew first class, and the in-flight service was still very good. By the last two years of my time things had started to change. Deregulation had started, and in-flight amenities were decreasing. I can recall some time in early 1979, on a flight to Florida on National Airlines, the first class stewardess being apologetic and perhaps a little angry at how crappy the food was. She commented, A year ago I'd have been ashamed to serve this in coach.

Some years back I used to tell people that my goal in life was to be rich enough to be able to afford to fly in first class all the time. Now I say that my goal in life is to be able to fly on a private charter or jet everywhere, and totally avoid the hassles of commercial travel.

[Turbineguy]

23. I made a cross country flight

without drinks or snacks. Just the free water.

I felt great at the other end. Much better.

[GoesTo11]

25. Can I buy snacks with miles?

Why are they offering me 25,000 free miles with a credit card (I get a mailing every week) if they can't even give a bag of pretzels?

[Coventina]

39. Yes, you probably can

Miles are becoming more and more useless. The airlines have so many restrictions on them, plus fees, etc. that it's pretty much impossible to get actual free flights with miles anymore.

Instead, they want you to THINK you can, and instead use your miles for upgrades & Reader's Digest subscriptions.

[2Design]

27. get rid of the horrid TA and snooping in my private bags and they can save lots of money

the BS of all the checks - 90% expense for so little return when we know the terrorist are in the wh and they let them through - I don't fly anymore because they have made it ridiculous because 4000 people died which is less than die on the highways and because ****** and *enedy were not doing their job and let this happen on purpose

[Beregond2]

28. I haven't gotten

a free snack in the air in years. this is news?

[olddad56]

30. that ought to solve the airline industry's problems.

next they will charge extra for people who are overweight. Then an extra fee if you want a seat, windows, of course being more. Then valet luggage, unless you want to unload your own.

I don't need to fly for business and I don't need to go anywhere I can't drive. I quit flying when they manned the airports with the nazi soldiers.

The sooner the airlines go under, the sooner we get ultra high speed trains. Neccessity is the mother of invention.

End of rant.

[Coventina]

35. A few months ago when I was in Cambodia I flew

from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh on Siem Reap Airlines. It was a small, propeller plane with about 50 seats maybe. It took 35 minutes from gate to gate. During that flight we were served complimentary lunch and beverages.

I've come to the conclusion that Americans get the worst customer service in the world. We need to start demanding better.

[high density]

36. I don't mind that

Just do away with that insane baggage fee. Raise the fares $15 if it's that much of a drain.

[bikebloke]

37. Foreign carriers are better

When I was hopping across Asia, I looked forward to the flights for a proper meal. Being a frugal traveler, I didn't always eat properly on the ground. Or in the case of some countries, I could be sure the airline food wouldn't give me the local version of Delhi Belly. It felt like luxury compared to american carriers.

I'm flying United this Autumn internationally...if they're still in business. They say a meal is provided. I'd better pack a sandwich to play it safe.

[slackmaster]

40. Passengers are going to turn to cannibalism

:scared:

[FredStembottom]

41. I hope they drop the free snacks over my neighborhood!

... oh....wait a minute...........

:blush:

[NJCher]

42. Pack your own

It's the best thing you can do since your chances of getting anywhere on time with them are practically zilch. I quit traveling because their record is so horrible and becauase I can't stand the so-called security precautions, which I find utterly ridiculous.

I have to take one trip a year to see my parents. They are in their late seventies, so who knows how long they will be around. That is the only reason I go.

On this trip, I packed crudite and apples. Also a sandwich. Thank heavens I did because we were trapped in the aircraft for four hours before we took off. By the time we got to our destination, it was a full eight hours on the airplane. Eventually they served a snack but the only thing worth eating from it was the carrots.

On the way back, it was the same thing. They dumped me off at the airport at 2 a.m. and my ride had long since left.

I even came back with money in my purse which would not have happened if I had to buy their expensive airport food.

Both ways on that trip I found that the smartest thing I did was pack some healthy, fresh food.



Cher