United Airlines’ War on Pretzels
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For years, even through bankruptcy, United resisted the move to take the small things out of the cabin. They kept the blankets, the pillows, the free headphones, and yes, the packs of pretzels or “savory snack mix.”
Say goodbye to the snack mix.
In a pathetic attempt at cost-cutting, the airline is cutting these mini-packets of salty, crunchy goodness on flights less than 759 miles. Not 760, not 750… 759. For example, that means the New York-Chicago route (733 miles) is now pretzel-free.
While pretzels may not be a huge amenity, and anyone can survive a flight without crunching on snacks for 90 minutes, it’s still pathetic.
It’s one of those death-by-a-thousand-cuts moments, like American Airlines’ famous savings of $50,000 by reducing the number of olives in their first-class salads from four to three. In fact, I would have expected this from American Airlines, but United is racing to the bottom more and more every day.
So much for trying to be a premium carrier, United!
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January 11th, 2007 at 10:25 pm |
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
January 12th, 2007 at 11:17 am |
I don’t mourn the loss of fattening, sodium laden snacks.
January 12th, 2007 at 1:47 pm |
[…] 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.!) […]
January 13th, 2007 at 11:52 am |
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!
January 14th, 2007 at 11:14 am |
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
January 22nd, 2007 at 11:13 am |
[…] 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. […]