US Airways ends free snacks for passengers

[brooklynite]

Source: Washington Business Journal

US Airways Group Inc. will no longer offer passengers free snacks on its domestic flights starting June 1.

The Tempe, Ariz.-based airline said the cost-cutting measure stems from the impact of rising fuel costs.

In addition to charging travelers for checking a second bag and premium-coach seating, US Airways is evaluating other fees for services.

Read more: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2008/05/26/daily9.html

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Keeping costs low to pass the savings onto you the customer...

[Doityourself]

1. I never ate them anyway...always bought my own.

[Demobrat]

2. Premium-coach?

WTF is Premium-Coach? Coach is coach no matter what it's called.

[LeftyMom]

4. Probably means they make coach even more cramped and horrible,

then charge more for what used to be coach seating.

[Lasher]

7. They charge you extra if you ask for an aisle seat near the front.

And maybe if you ask for any seating arrangement besides a center seat between two walruses with screaming babies.

[LeftyMom]

9. My one USAir flight did involve being crowbared in between two 400lbers

One of whom wanted to stay up all night plinking away on his laptop, with his overhead light on, the other snoring loudly and giving off a smell that suggested that she was decaying. Needless to say, since my seat was too damn small to begin with, and those two were both oozing well into it, I was kind of wedged in sideways and had about three molecules of buttcheek actually touching my seat, a rather unacceptable situation for a cross-country overnight flight.

[Demobrat]

32. I hope you didn't let them raise the armrests.

The same thing happened to me. All the way from Houston to SF my rowmates kept trying to raise the armrests, and I kept slamming them down. I just don't like close physical contact with strangers of the opposite sex.

[LeftyMom]

33. Oh hell no. The armrests were the only thing preserving a little room on my seat for me.

That flight was horrible.

[Demobrat]

36. All flights are horrible now.

If they ever actually leave the ground, that is.

[melm00se]

51. i'd rather go back to the

days of $800 flights and it was something very very special to fly somewhere.

[mikelgb]

30. Bulkhead and Exit rows are 'premium' because of the extra 6 inches of leg room

[NickB79]

47. Yep, we got those for free last year

Coming home from Puerto Rico, we were seated in the mid-section next to the emergency exits over the wings. Quite a difference compared to the usual seating on our flight in, and all they asked was if I was willing to help passengers exit in case of an emergency landing.

I'm pretty sure that was the last flight of my life, and I'm only 28. I don't see commercial air travel for the masses surviving much longer as oil prices rise.

[fascisthunter]

3. lol...

[SpiralHawk]

5. "Take that, you noisy, crumb-dropping proles." - Airlines

eom

[no_hypocrisy]

6. No more foie gras in First Class?!

This is an outrage!

[RaVeN_MeaD]

8. Soon they will be charging for oxygen

[HockeyMom]

12. Coin operated Johns?

I better not give them ideas. My sister-in-law works for them. Trust me they SUCK big time.

[IronLionZion]

48. You have to pay an attendant to use the restrooms in Europe

especially in train stations. The Harrod's store charges 2 British Pounds to use the restroom. Many Europeans restaurants also charge for tap water and for refills of soft drinks.

The USA is a pretty awesome place in many ways that we take for granted.

[Kittycat]

10. Gee, that will save them, what, 50 cents per passenger?

Soon they'll be ROLLING in money! :eyes:

[kay1864]

13. Let's see, that works out to...

about $400,000 a day. Pretty significant savings, really.

[kay1864]

11. I actually understand their need to do this

Many of the airlines are losing a MILLION DOLLARS A DAY. (Yes, really. Look at first quarter results if you don't believe me. In fact, Delta lost $71 million a day, and Northwest $46 million a day). Most of this is due to staggering jet fuel costs.

So it's not "Keeping costs low to pass the savings onto you" but rather "Keeping costs low to stay out of liquidation" Airlines are scrambling to cut costs (and increase revenues) just to stay afloat nowadays, anywhere they can.

So yeah, I can begrudge them a bag of pretzels.

[Habibi]

18. Yeah, I don't care about that shit, either.

I'm booked on a Jet Blue flight to JFK in July to catch a Cathay flight to China and I am *praying* that Jet Blue doesn't go under beforehand. (Well, I don't want it to go under at all, it's been a boon up here in Rahchacha. )

[kay1864]

21. Normally it doesn't happen that fast

An airline can operate for months even after filing for bankruptcy (United, USAir, Delta, Northwest all did). After that, they either emerge from bankruptcy, or liquidate (close the doors and sell their assets).

JetBlue is doing OK financially. No worries there.

[patriotvoice]

43. And sometimes they take your money the same day they close down:

http://www.boston.com/travel/blog/2008/04/airlines_cuttin.html

SkyBus closed abruptly, and passengers had to find other alternatives. I would not worry about JetBlue, but I would be prepared for the worst.

[mainer]

14. why don't they just RAISE THEIR FARES???

What's with all the nickel and diming us? They should charge what they need to to keep their airline running.

[BigDaddy44]

20. I'd rather be nickel and dimed

I don't fly because of the great peanuts and soft drinks. I fly to get from point A to point B. I say keep it cheap and cut out the crap we don't need.

[Regret My New Name]

23. Hell yeah, cut the crap we don't need...

like seat belts... or even seats... but don't touch the damn snacks.

[fudge stripe cookays]

54. Oh...they're doing that too...never fear.

I checked on a flight from Milwaukee to Spokane, through American where I have all my miles.

I made that trip 2 years ago from Dallas through Seattle. I tried the same thing this time, and from about $280, it's up to $748. And you can't tell me that's ALL the Milwaukee thing.

[Eurobabe]

15. Even though UScare flies direct from where I am to where I want to be

I refuse to patronize them anymore. Their service sucks, their long-haul planes suck, and their flight attendants have the worst 'tudes in the biz.

Oh, and take notice, they are running out the clock on your FF miles alot sooner too - I got an email that mine were going to expire if I didn't USE them by July, but even if I DID use them, my ticket price with taxes and fees is a joke.

[Auggie]

16. Screw the drinks and meals. I'm 6'4" -- I need legroom.

[kay1864]

22. Then you'll have to pay for an upgrade

Cause they're not going to increase the seat pitch anytime soon.



Edit: and oh yes, www.seatguru.com is your friend :hi:

[Auggie]

25. Oh, kay1864...

What a resource!

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!

:loveya:

[kay1864]

28. Happy to help out!

However, a few airlines (eg JetBlue) don't post the aircraft type with the flight number on their website, so you might have to call. Most of the big airlines do, though.

[Hawkeye-X]

42. Bookmarked.

I have long legs, and I prefer Jetblue (28-34 inches of space), and this helps!

[ckramer]

17. $5 to bathroom

Why not? you greedy pig

[raystorm7]

27. Haha...That would be interesting. I'll just use my barf bag thank you very much :)

[Thickasabrick]

40. Actually, some guy did that on an international flight and was

arrested when they landed.

[Jim__]

31. Don't give them any ideas!

[Hawkeye-X]

19. Why are we even flying Boeings overweight jets?

Those things eat chunks of gas. I'd rather fly a Canadair than a Boeing or an Airbus.

I'm flying to Chicago on business via AA, and we're only (3 of us) taking 1 suitcase each.

*sigh*

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

24. how much could that possibly save?

the last time I flew US Airways they gave me a little pouch of what looked like the crumbs somebody swept off a salad bar.

[kay1864]

26. About $400,000 a day

See post #13 above

[CubicleGuy]

29. Well, when you add up...

... the weight of a bazillion small bags of peanuts, doing away with them must save some portion of jet fuel, I guess.

[tblue37]

34. A tiny bag of miniature pretzels. Who needs 'em?

I hope they don't do away with free beverges, though, because I tend to fly early, and a cup of coffee, even crappy coffee, is a life-saver on the trip, since I use my travel time to read, write, or grade papers.

[Skittles]

44. when I had to make a mad dash from work to the airport

for my brother's funeral, I boarded the airplane absolutely famished. When they brought me that miniature bag of pretzels I appealed to their humanity and they gave me 12 bags. :)

Normally though I am like you - coffee is enough for me

[oedura]

35. If it's between...

...going Greyhound, Amtrak, or flying somewhere, I'm still taking the plane.

No contest.

[iamjoy]

37. Better Than What American Is Doing

American Airlines is charging to check the first bag. Now this is crappy. Not just because if you are going anywhere for longer than a weekend you need a checked bag (especially with the liquid restrictions), but I see that as causing chaos at the gate.

Flights are full now - airlines finally realized it doesn't make good sense to fly planes at half capacity. But full flights also means space in overhead bins gets tight. Now, if people know they have to pay to check a bag, they are going to try to cram everything into carry on bags. The competition for space on the plane will be just that - a competition. And people are going to fight like heck checking a bag and paying the fee.

Hey, why do you need that damn bag of pretzels or nuts anyway? Just bring your own.

[Miss Carly]

52. it doesnt start for a couple of weeks

thank goodness my trip will be over before that mess starts

Carly

[trof]

38. I'll give up my bag of 3 peanuts when...

they pry them from my cold, dead hands!
Ya gotta draw the line somewhere.
;-)

[Thickasabrick]

39. What about the free water??? I don't care about the snacks - just

the liquids that you can't take through security.

[Demobrat]

41. DO NOT drink the water!!!!!!!

Buy your water once you're through security. Please.

[Merlot]

45. Ewwwww! Ick! airplane water!

Don't drink it. Nuff said.

[IronLionZion]

49. Why? Are the plastic bottles dodgy?

It's bottled water.

[Demobrat]

55. Not the stuff in the pitchers.

There was an incident recently where passengers were given no water (I forget which airline) for an entire flight because there was an - ahem - mixup- with the water used in the toilets. Stick with the sodas or bring your own. Why take chances?

[hunter]

46. It's inevitable -- regular air travel will become too expensive for middle class Americans.

The airlines that survive will do so by catering to the wealthy, not by cutting back until safety and comfort are intolerably compromised. As fuel costs increase the market for "economy" class will evaporate. Ordinary Americans won't be traveling as much by car or by airplane.

[Blue_Tires]

50. maybe USAir can use the spare cash to keep my bags from being diverted to Philly

[Miss Carly]

53. I don't eat them anyway, there is only, what, 3 pretzels in the bag?

I bring my own, but do take advantage of their soft drinks if they offer me one


Carly