Message: | The airlines have been deliberately lowering the standard of coach service for some time in order to encourage business flyers to pony up the extra money. This is just a further acceleration of that strategy. The meals on a flight actually cost very little; the last table I saw showed coach class lunches at about $2.00 per passenger, dinners at less than $4.00. There is a range, with Midwest Express and Alaska Airlines spending the most, Continental the least among airlines that offer food, and Southwest spending nothing...
I doubt that this decision by American will hold, since I doubt that their competitors will follow suit. If they do not then American will be at a competitive disadvantage, which they will not allow. American is cutthroat about costs but also about competition. It's a shame, they used to be a great airline, but my friends and clients who have flown them lately have had terrible experiences. |