Ancillary revenue

Ok. Here is my take on meals and snacks on board airplanes. They kind of remind me of PEOPLE'S EXPRESS, SW AIRLINES and PIEDMONT EXPRESS. Pay for your meals or snacks. This call is beyond my pay grade, but I liked it much better when they passed along hot food or sandwiches. Having mentioned this, I see a lot of passengers breaking out their wallets and credit cards to buy a box snack. Almost like they really like it. Or are they forced to do it out of hunger? We didn't do this with CAL but under the new merger, we do. So I was wondering this. Is all the airlines here in the states doing this? Does Delta and American sell snacks on coach? Also, the fa with the drinks cart, all I hear is soda tabs opening up serving pax drinks doing not much but blocking up the aisles for pax to go use the lavs. I have often wondered. There has got to be a better way. I have often in my mind proposed a military style approach. Example. BAGGED LUNCHES. Just hand out a bag with a sandwich, chips, with a bottle of water or cold soft drink. The time it takes for an FA to open up a can of soda and pour it on the rocks. That's a lot of rocks carried on board an airplane for a cool drink. Why bother? That is, if they really want to save more money. If money is the bottom line. There is always that fine line. Is it worth sacrificing quality over ancillary revenue? At this point, pass out BAGGED LUNCHES or BOXED LUNCHES and be done with it. What is your take?

Keep in mind, Continental was by far the longest holdout in giving a meal on a domestic flight. That said, even Southwest gives those tiny little snacks (peanuts/pretzels). I really wish we could do that.

What really bugs me is this (according to the reservations system, I haven't been on either of these flights)... DUB-EWR is a 7.5 hour flight. Being an international flight, you are entitled to a meal. Great! EWR-HNL, on the other hand, is just a little bit shy of being an 11 hour flight. Ooof. And worse, that flight is considered domestic still, so if you want a meal you gotta buy it yourself! What the crap? My stomach and my passport are NOT familiar with each other, so the stomach does not get hungrier because I'm carrying the passport.

Right. Like ALASKA too. I did get a meal from HNL-GUM and GUM is U.S. territory. I still say, include a ten dollar fee on a ticket and give everyone a boxed lunch with a bottled water be done with it. Or farm it out to like Wendy's at the airport, or Subway, one of those. This back and forth with credit cards and scanners for a boxed snack which fa's seem to never get to work right or read the credit card numbers is kind of a hindrance the way I view it.

I've heard stories of more cards not working that just happen to be from our credit union (wink wink)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spongebue

I've heard stories of more cards not working that just happen to be from our credit union (wink wink)

---

OURS? Maybe yours, not mine. I use Navy Federal....wink to the wink.

our COMPANY'S credit union. You know, (or maybe you don't) the one with a picture of an airplane on front. They're actually pretty nice to work with in my experience, too. Only problem is that the branch next to my office doesn't handle cash directly, only through their ATM. But I make it work - they're in a pretty big network where I can get to my money from a teller if needed.

I'm still with Piedmont Advantage Credit union, never switched to the company's one. They give me awesome customer service, even tho I'm a continent away, and there's a credit union service center 3 blocks from my apartment. But I digress....

Totally concur with the flight times vs meal issue. 7.5 hr flight and a meal, vs 11 hour flt and NO meal. Stomach does not comprendo.

You'll often see just this sort of boxed/bagged lunches on charter flights. I arranged a service like that as recently as.........Saturday.

You'll also often get the full can, to avoid standing around blocking the aisles pouring drinks. Big majors save massive amounts of money buying less soda. Even if it only drops 10% by pouring, think about how many cokes DL goes through in a day

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spongebue

Keep in mind, Continental was by far the longest holdout in giving a meal on a domestic flight. That said, even Southwest gives those tiny little snacks (peanuts/pretzels). I really wish we could do that.

What really bugs me is this (according to the reservations system, I haven't been on either of these flights)... DUB-EWR is a 7.5 hour flight. Being an international flight, you are entitled to a meal. Great! EWR-HNL, on the other hand, is just a little bit shy of being an 11 hour flight. Ooof. And worse, that flight is considered domestic still, so if you want a meal you gotta buy it yourself! What the crap? My stomach and my passport are NOT familiar with each other, so the stomach does not get hungrier because I'm carrying the passport.

---

I had a flight a few months ago--EWR to ATL. I was totally shocked that I got first class but then they served us a meal as well! Since there were no CVG nonstops it was my only option.Turned out to be a decent one.

AAers will remember Bistro Service - yes it sounds French - it wasn’t.:rolleyes:
Bistro Service- on short flights of 2/2 ½ hours. Pax would pick up breakfast/lunch from a cooler at the boarding gate.
It was an attempt to reduce food costs, which it did, however pax just didn’t like picking up yogurt in a paper sack when they boarded.:rolleyes:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Migflanker

AAers will remember Bistro Service - yes it sounds French - it wasn’t.:rolleyes:
Bistro Service- on short flights of 2/2 ½ hours. Pax would pick up breakfast/lunch from a cooler at the boarding gate.
It was an attempt to reduce food costs, which it did, however pax just didn’t like picking up yogurt in a paper sack when they boarded.:rolleyes:

---

In the 90's I flew Egyptair to Cairo and we had cartons of 4 mini bottles of wine at the jetway. Not too bad of an idea. FAs put them in the cooler (of course, there were very few people taking advantage of the option) but nearly everyone was smoking up a storm! Even the imams...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrs767er

In the 90's I flew Egyptair to Cairo and we had cartons of 4 mini bottles of wine at the jetway

---

Mini bottles of wine, now that does sound French:cool: