The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that United Airlines will no longer offer free snacks in coach starting September 2nd. They are also dropping complimentary meals in business class except for “premium transcontinental flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to New York.” Shockingly, this move coincides with the airlines’ expansion of their “buy-on-board” food offerings, says the Chronicle.
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.
“In the wake of high fuel prices and a challenging economic environment, we must continue to examine every aspect of our business and find new ways to improve our day-to-day operations through efficiencies that still meet our customers’ expectations,” reads the memo, titled “Catering Changes Provide Value and Options.”
“These are difficult but necessary changes,” said United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski, in Chicago. “We are looking at everything we need to do to offset fuel prices, which are still skyrocketing.”
The memo also says that United plans to do away with complementary meals from Washington D.C. to Europe.
“We’ll monitor customer feedback,” said Urbanski. “The industry is changing.”
Since they’re so interested, we think you should let them know how you feel about this change. Is “buy-on-board” food a good way to offset fuel costs without raising fares?
United Airlines to drop free snacks (Thanks, Ari!)
(Photo: So Cal Metro )
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@CaliforniaCajun: You talk about an aging int’l and domestic fleet for UA.
But you fail to mention on CO you are often on Jungle Jets (Commuters). I almost never fly an express flight on UA and they actually fly to Asia. In addition, UA runs wideboys internationally instead of 757s like CO.
My point is there are ups and downs of each airline. Southwest is automatically out for me becuase they don’t fly int’l or to NYC or to Atlanta or to Boston or to Hawaii or to …. or to any smaller cities I might need to go to. Also, if I want to fly transcon on southwest I probably have to stop multiple times. A big deal breaker
@jamar0303: Have you flown Ryan Air or other LCCs in Europe?
@savvy999: Talk with the GA about the issue before you board. Often times I have heard announcements before boarding about beinging Nuts on board due to a passanger with allergys.
@Lightmatrix:
My boyfriend convinced me Midwest was the way to go when we flew at Christmas (he’s flown them for a few years, I typically fly United). He bribed me with those larger seats and fresh, warm cookies. I dreamed of cookies, and the larger seats seemed to be a good trade to my Economy Plus seats on United.
And then, we spent five hours at our departure airport, finally had the plane arrive, no communication about what was going on from gate or desk agents, and when I got on board there were not damn cookies or comfy seats. Dinky plane, dinky seats, and when beverage/snack time came around I got a cup filled to the brim with ice and a tiny bit of soda (I’ve always been able to get a full can, no ice, from United… and on our short route from COS-DEN been able to chat the attendants out of a can or two even without beverage service) and some sort of crackers that tasted like cardboard and had about five tiny pieces in the bag. Yeah, ‘Best Care in the Air’ my arse.
Flight back was better, but still no cookies because apparently they don’t offer them unless you’re on a flight after 10 AM. Same tiny seats, a HFCS-laden Quaker Oats granola bar for ‘breakfast’ (unless you ponied up the $5 for a breakfast, which we did, and split. A muffin, yogurt, and some fruit.). I wasn’t impressed, and even with the United not having meals available except BoB, I am more inclined to fly them than Midwest again. besides, I’ve been bringing my own snacks on board since I started flying a couple decades ago.
I know, blasphemy, but I’m sticking with United.
@jamar0303: “Why is it that only US airlines have a problem providing this? I say open up the American domestic market to foreign airlines; they seem to not have a problem providing decent service for a reasonable price.”
That’s a good question, and one that I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer, since I’m no more than an armchair economist, but … I’ve got a couple of theories.
As a travel agent, I know the standard price for pretty much every routing everywhere in the world. I can tell you with absolute certainty that the airlines operating around the world are charging more money-per-mile than most major U.S. carriers.
I think that has something to do with the consumers in those countries being used to paying more for transportation. I mean, gas in Europe has ALWAYS been expensive. To them, $4.50 a gallon is a damn good deal. So, they’re more realistic about what it costs to get from Point A to Point B.
The major airlines in Europe are also, for the most part, a government subsidized industry. As such, they get money to ensure that they can keep operating at a certain level, PLUS they have more regulations that ensure the quality of the service that they provide. That’s something that we don’t have here in the US– our government won’t give us a passenger’s bill of rights, won’t mandate levels of service, and won’t step in and take control of our flailing airline industry.
Finally, the competition in other countries is with companies like Easyjet and Ryan Air. Those private companies are giving you NO service– no meals, no checked bags, no drinks, no entertainment, no blankets, no nothing. But they’re damn cheap. Crazy cheap. Ten Euros non-stop London to Paris cheap. They save money by cutting everything they can, including customer service, but their passengers are okay with that because they know what they’re getting. They know that when you pay $15 for a ticket, all you’re getting is a seat on a big flying bus., Nothing else.
But Americans… We want to pay $15 a seat AND get all of the amenities that we’re used to. It just doesn’t work like that, which is why airlines like Sky Bus have failed.
Now, why our government doesn’t allow foreign carriers, who are willing to take the risk, to give it a shot here in the US?… I don’t know, that is just B.S. as far as I’m concerned. I’d be SO HAPPY if Easyjet was an option for my domestic trips… (I was SO HAPPY about Sky Bus, but they didn’t even last long enough for me to take an inaugural flight.)
@Geekybiker: That’s what I believed
so who should we fly with?
@trekwars2000: OK, maybe I should have been a little more specific, since I’ve only been to Asia and on Asian carriers (and United for comparison).
And @Fly Girl:
“The major airlines in Europe are also, for the most part, a government subsidized industry. As such, they get money to ensure that they can keep operating at a certain level, PLUS they have more regulations that ensure the quality of the service that they provide. That’s something that we don’t have here in the US– our government won’t give us a passenger’s bill of rights, won’t mandate levels of service, and won’t step in and take control of our flailing airline industry.”
It seems that similar circumstances existed in the US as well- regulations (that were abandoned some time ago- look where we are now) and government subsidies (Ch 11). Not that I really have a point to make with this- just an interesting observation.
And why does the first mention of opening up to international competition bring Europe to mind? When I wrote my comment I was thinking more of Asian airlines (since that’s what I’m used to living where I do) such as Singapore, Thai, ANA, etc. More than once I’ve asked about my annual PVG->(insert connection(s) here)->BNA flight and have found at least once that booking ANA for most of the flight (like this- PVG->NRT->ORD) and then booking the rest on United (ORD->BNA) is cheaper than booking United all the way. And not too much hassle either- after all, at ORD I have to take out my luggage anyway for Customs and re-check it.
@SkokieGuy: Your posts on this topic are some of the most intelligent I’ve read in a long time. I’ve often thought about a one-price ticketing method like you describe, and I would certainly pay extra for that piece of mind. Imagine, getting to the airport with your paperwork and not having to worry about hidden fees, extra charges that may have gone into effect since you purchased your ticket, etc. Like you said, Satrun proved that it is a successful business model, but think of some other things that people pay extra for. Things like organic food. Organic food is certainly not cheaper than their conventional counterparts, but people will pay extra for it because it is (arguably) healthier for you. Name brand anything also comes to mind. You pay extra for that Sony TV because Sony has a better reputation than Westinghouse. You pay extra for Nike because it is supposed to last longer than the no-name shoe. I mean, there must be some reason these companies are still in business even though there are cheaper alternatives.
It all comes down to piece of mind, and I think a lot of people are willing to pay extra for that.
@silentluciditi: Anecdotal experience does not define the overall experience?
And QQ more.
@Fly Girl:
“Mandate fair and honest pricing. Base fares are basically lies.”
Hey, if the telecom companies can do it why not the airlines. Ever paid the “governmental regulation recovery” fee on your phone/cell phone bill? How does the $49.99 per month offer become $57.88?
Fear the *.
United can go f*** themselves. Any airline that steals from their employees to keep the executives on top is not worth having as an airline. United took the employee pensions. Stole that money, and screwed those employees. 20 to 30 years with the airline… and most of that was prior to 401K plans being available… most of that money was the only thing those people had for retirement… and UA took it. If I were the employees, I would have banded together and marched on the headquarters. I would have gone out on strike, telling the shareholders to replace management and the board completely. UA is a worthless, no-good steaming pile of crap.
During part of the ’90s, I used to fly UA as the airline of choice for my previous employer. Then, I proved that NWA/Delta/Continental covered more territory as codeshare partners for a lower price than UA. I’ve never had such bad service as I’ve had with UA. They cancel a flight and just walk away from the counter. They won’t rebook. They won’t find another plane. They just cancel and walk away. 3 times in a month. 150 angry people standing around with no where to go. And it wasn’t weather. They don’t care.
I see those ads on the Olympics with Robert Redford doing the voiceovers and it makes me want to puke in a bag and ship it to Redford with a note telling him what I think of him and his ability to take money from a scumbag airline. Redford spouts all of this political rhetoric, and then he’s taking money to do voice-overs for a worthless no-good filthy airline? Redford is a hypocrite.
David Puddy:(Back to the transaction) I just left out a couple of things: uh, rust-proofing…
Jerry: “Rust-proofing”?
David Puddy: (Reading off what he’s adding up on the calculator) Transport charge, storage surcharge, additional overcharge, finder’s fee…
Jerry: “Finder’s fee”? It was on the lot!
David Puddy: Yeah, that’s right. (Continues reading off the list) Uh, floor mats, keys…
Jerry: “Keys”?!
David Puddy: How ya gonna start it?
@speedwell: sorry, it’s been a while since I could reply, but here ya go:
Suck it.
See a child in anaphylactic shock, and you may change your mind. Or, if you still choose to mock and scorn people born with a (controllable, but not always) medical condition, then I would be more than happy to change it for you.
@savvy999: Try taking responsibility instead of being such a victim. Your child has a problem, I don’t. It’s not my fault your child may drop dead by being out in public where normal people are doing normal things, nor is it your child’s. You are the parent. Suck it up and deal with it.
I’ll go out of my way to avoid compromising your child if I know about their problem first, so you reciprocate by handling the problem so it is safe for your child to be in public. If you can’t protect your disabled child from deadly situations, maybe you are not cut out to be the parent of such a child. Tres simple, chum.
@speedwell: Yes, having to forego a bag of peanuts in favor of a bag of pretzel snacks is a HUGE life-circumscribing event. Why, we should have a march on Washington about it.
I’ve been on plenty of flights where the attendants announced that somebody had peanut allergies so they would serve different snacks. Nobody threw a hissy or demanded their right to bathe in peanut butter before the plane touched down.
It is all bull. united airlines treats customers that way because they can. because federal regulators are not doing their job anymore.I flew on BMI from chicago to manchester and it was wonderful. nice new airbus plane, food food, snacks and as many bottles of water as you want. also individual lcd televisions in the seatbacks with a wired remote, blankets and pillows, slippers etc etc. they did this for $200 less than what united wanted to charge me for the exact same flight. Then united leg of my journey was terrible.
They actually had to return to the gate for an hour because they overloaded the plane with cargo. when an airline cannot do basic math, that is a bad sign. get out of the USA and you will realise what an orwellian nightmare it is compared to the real world.
I just flew on a 3+ hour united flight on sunday, and didn’t get any snack already.