Comments on: United Airlines’ War on Pretzels

By: Upgrade: Travel Better » Blog Archive » United cuts the lifespan of frequent flyer miles

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 17:13:59 +0000

[...] And I don’t just mean the pretzels they eliminated. The latest lap in the ongoing race to the bottom is in the Mileage Plus program. The airline is cutting the lifespan of its miles in half, from 3 years to 18 months, for accounts without any activity. [...]

By: dacholo

dacholo — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:14:44 +0000

heh, all air travel will now include a trip to Costco to “invest” in a package of these
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11152209&search=snack&Sp=S&Mo=21&cm_re=1-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&N=0&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=snack&Ntt=snack&No=15&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1)…or better yet, one of these babies –
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11116587&search=snack&Sp=S&Mo=21&cm_re=1-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&N=0&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=All&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=snack&Ntt=snack&No=1&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

By: Mark Ashley

Mark Ashley — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 17:52:49 +0000

Oliver, I’m lovin’ the idea of passengers selling snacks in flight. Like long-distance buses in less-developed countries that stop for roadside vendors, only the roadside is on board!

By: Upgrade: Travel Better » Blog Archive » Short hops — January 12, 2007

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 19:47:47 +0000

[...] Charlie Trotter and United Airlines reunited and it feels so good This is where the cost savings from eliminating pretzels in coach must have gone. United Airlines is jazzing up the food in business and first class. They’re bringing back uber-chef Charlie Trotter, whom they ditched after 9/11. Bet you a bag of savory snack mix that it’ll still taste like airline food… (Thanks to Mark L.!) [...]

By: Sam

Sam — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:17:43 +0000

I don’t mourn the loss of fattening, sodium laden snacks.

By: Oliver

Oliver — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 04:25:47 +0000

It’s really more of a bad marketing move than a true loss of customer service. After all, who could honestly claim that the pretzel bags were worth more than 2 or 3 cents. Certainly the cost of stocking them, handing them out, and later cleaning the discarded bags out of the seat pockets or from the floor is much more expensive than the actual product cost.

That said, I had hoped that one of these days an airline would try to use these low-cost items to their advantage, i.e., distinguish themselves from the other carriers by offering a decent-sized bag that’s actually a meaningful snack. The product cost of a bag with 10 times the content of the current bags would still be negligible, yet it would be a great way (IMO) to get positive press.

Maybe this is a market opportunity for an entrepreneurial 3rd party: is there any law or rule against a passenger walking up and down the aisle and offering snack bags for sale? Might be a way to finance mileage runs and avoid blood clots at the same time