Coming next for airlines: bread and water

US airline passengers might be forgiven for uncharitably thinking that after rising airline fees, their next flight will be entirely foodless and very thirsty: Add Continental Airlines to the list of those who have stopped serving free snacks to domestic passenger flying coach.
 

“We’ve removed the beverage snacks — pretzels and Biscoff — in an effort to reduce costs and align ourselves with the rest of the industry,” said Continental Airlines spokesperson Andrew Ferraro. “Our partner, United Airlines, has the same policy.”
 

The move could save the airline an estimated US$2.5 million a year. Both airlines will continue to offer complimentary beverage service (at least so far).
 

It may seem trivial but some saw it as another lowering of airline travel standards.
 

One blogger wrote: “What will they do next?”
 

“It’s been decades since airline travel was fun, but the downward spiral seems to have speeded up lately,” pointed out a blogger, who asks: ”No more pretzels? Really? Is that the secret to running a successful 21st century airline?”
 

Time Magazine makes the point that traditional “legacy” carriers such as Continental have moved away from any snacks as low-cost airlines such as Air Tran and Southwest still offer at least a “dime’s worth of twisty munchables.”
 

“Apparently, these companies haven’t forgotten that taking care of customers is still important in a low-fare world,” said the magazine.
 

“This is clearly a reflection of standardizing the onboard experience between United and Continental,” Henry Harteveldt, an airline and travel analyst for Forrester Research, told the AP.

He added:
 

“Sadly, instead of elevating the United onboard experience, Continental has chosen the lowest common denominator.”
 

Harteveldt suspects the move may also be tied to — or blamed on — rising fuel costs.
 

“With fuel costs surging, once again we see an airline take its business problems out on its passengers. I’m sure Continental hopes that by removing the complimentary snacks, more people will buy the snack items the airline sells onboard.”
 

This is clearly a trend.
 

In addition to Continental and United Airlines, American and US Airways are among the other major domestic US carriers that have already dropped complimentary in-flight snack service.
 

Not all airlines are rushing to follow this trend.
 

Yet.
 

Alaska Airlines continues to serve a variety of complimentary snacks on its morning and afternoon flights, says the AP.
 

Air Tran Airways serves complimentary Biscoff cookies and pretzels in coach.
 

Delta Air Lines currently offers complimentary peanuts, pretzels or Biscoff cookies to passengers on flights of 250 miles or more.
 

Southwest Airlines continues to serve free snacks. According to its latest corporate fact sheet, in 2010 the airline served 19 million complimentary bags of pretzels, 87.6 million bags of peanuts, 18.4 million Select-A-Snacks and 29 million other snacks.
 

“We’re always looking at enhancements and new offerings,” said spokesperson Brad Hawkins.
 

JetBlue Airways also continues to offer coach passengers unlimited, complimentary snacks.

During 2010, the airline handed out more than 4 million bags of complimentary chips, said JetBlue spokesperson Allison Steinberg.
 

And some airlines still offer cookies.
 

Continuing a tradition begun by Midwest Airlines, Frontier Airlines still bakes and serves complimentary chocolate-chip cookies to all passengers after 10 a.m.
 

As recently as six years ago, most airlines were trying to lure passengers by not stopping snacks but by expanding them. As airlines stopped in-flight meals, Delta and others said they were coming up with alternatives such as expanded snack selections.
 

By David Wilkening