no more pretzels

[wong name]

no meals, no snacks, northwest is probally just the first to start this trend..........

[wong name]

heres the link

whats next

[LaurieL622]

From what I've read, American airline companies are loosing their shirts!!!! Delta lost up to 1 billion in the last few quarters.....America West recently merged with AA I believe.

The only carrier doing well is Southwest...and I can imagine why...cheap planes, yucky peanuts, and UGLY stewardesses! jk about the last one....

Everyone needs to lower their prices and I'd give them some of my business...

[bookofkels]

when ever i flew within the US, the service on the planes sucked. I flew from here back to Philly in Jan, i got an hour flight from Belfast, N,Ireland to Manchester..... i got free breakfast (sauages and scrambled eggs)....then i got on an 8 and a half hour flight to DC ( i got a choice of 3 different kinds of meals, then all the free drink i could handle.....then 6 hours into the flight i got pizza!!!! ).... then i had to fly up from DC to philly and the plane was delayed (not even a glass of water) ....

These companys make a fortune of us they should give us something

Kel

[beergal]

i dont expect any freebies on an aeroplane, i much perfer to take my own snacks anyway the amount of preservatives that must go into that stuff just makes me shudder.

[omisan]

Actually, Southwest has more young, attractive flight attendants than most other US domestic airlines - fly Continental or Delta and you'll wonder "Do they put an age limit on these jobs?"

No offense to the oldies in the air, though - the experience really counts for a lot when dealing with unruly or nervous passengers, and when you're next to one of them, you can be really thankful for them. (Although I'm still always most pleased w/ the hot-ass FA's on Virgin-Atlantic.. *drool*)

Anyway, Northwest isn't the first to cut out meals. A couple of airlines have done this. Southwest has never served meals - they do "snack boxes" for more long-haul flights, but they actively encourage passengers to brown-bag it. America West stopped serving meals ages ago, but they have the SkyCafe thing where you can order sandwiches (warm or cold) on your flight, sometimes beforehand - the drawback is that the food is usually far from good, and at $5, you may as well pick up a sarnie at the airport cafe, anyhow. Still, it's nice to have the option.

I was listening to NPR yesterday and they were talking about airlines, bailouts, etc. The reason Southwest is so profitable isn't only their budget-level service and the fact that they keep most of the flights full - if you've ever flown them, you'll notice that everyone fills multiple positions. Gate agents also handle a zillion other duties, they don't have cleaning crews - rather the FAs go through and clean the plane.. basically, everyone multi-tasks. A lot of other airlines are starting to pick up on this, so hopefully the industry won't be as big a mess as it is...

In the meantime, I really hope the bailouts end and that actual economy will take its course and let the shitty airlines die. I hate it when people are discouraged from traveling, saying "I hate flying" just because they had one or two crappy experiences on a shoddy airline.

[worldwidemike]

Actually, America West (the company I work for) is merging with USAirways. Although we are about 1/3 to 1/2 their size, we're the ones kind of driving the deal, from what I can tell. We assembled the financing, it'll be our senior management in charge, the headquarters will be in Tempe, AZ (our site), and so on. And by the way, Southwest wasn't the only airline to make a profit last quarter...we did, too.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure where the merger is going to leave ME and all the other line level workers (I am a loadmaster -- a baggage handler who also does the weight and balance for the aircraft). USAirways has done so many layoff recently that all that is left is senior people. For example, in Columbus, the least senior ramper (baggage handler) has 20+ years in. The MOST senior America West ramper in Columbus has 15 years. So, when they "consolidate" does that mean all the America West folks are out the door? What about us being the "dominant partner" in arranging this merger thing?

I know this stuff doesn't concern you guys, and for that matter, isn't even what the topic is about! Just venting a little, I guess.

Color me worried here in Columbus. I'd hate to have it come to that "you must relocate to keep your job" question...I finally bought a house last year!



worldwidemike

[The Monsignor]

Honestly, though... How many industries get a multi-billion dollar bailout on the heels of another multi-billion dollar bailout?

Nothing against the airlines, but if the government keeps bailing them out, they will never become competitive... it's like rewarding bad management practices...

Southwest, despite the lack of bailouts, ever, still maintains adequate service at a much more competitive price. You gotta wonder what the others are doing wrong...

[worldwidemike]

Southwest has a good "game plan" and sticks to it. One of these is ONE type of aircraft...the Boeing 737. So, they save lots of money on training, parts, etc., not having to teach/stock/etc. for the myriad of planes the others have.

What are the others doing wrong? Well, the "legacy carriers" -- as those pre-regulation airlines are called -- got themselves into trouble with their labor costs. It's a cyclical industry, and the union contracts that were negotiated during the "boom" times, still had to be paid in the "bust" times. Fuel costs have skyrocketed, too, and this business consumes fuel at a pretty high ratio to move people.

They've also been subject to the same evils the rest of U.S. business has: Egotistical Corporate executives that actually believe their services are worth tens (and even hundreds with stock options) of millions of dollars per year. These modern robber barons come in, raid a company by paying themselves outrageous amounts, then jump off, inflating their golden parachute. If you asked me to name one ill that is symptomatic and pervasive in American business in general right now, it is corporate greed.

Anyway, the airlines as a business are also very subject to the fears and paranoia of the traveling public: The first Gulf War ripped the guts out the industry, and 9-11 nearly finished it off. Southwest would have been in the same shape, but it cleverly sells off airplanes, facilities, etc., when it sees a losing quarter coming to make it look like they don't take hits. Don't get me wrong: Southwest is a great airline with an awesome, much-imitated business plan. But don't forget they, too, have had government help. Ask the residents of Texas about friendly state laws restricting where flights may land or not land to promote the growth of their hometown airline...

The airlines are a funny business, and at times, don't seem like a BUSINESS at all, but instead a service like AMTRACK propped up by politicians who don't want to see their constituents lose jobs and airline service in their area when an airline fails.

worldwidemike (hoping his own job doesn't go missing with the USAirways/America West merger...)

[pinion]

Hope everything goes well for you WWM!!

Eliminating complimentary pretzels will save Northwest $2 million annually

Man! Thats alot of pretzels!!

[omisan]

Yeah, here's hoping your job is secure!

You know, we, too, rely on your travel perks so you can go all over and give us the straight poop on various parts of the world

[agriadam]

Originally posted by pinion@May 31 2005, 02:09 PM
Man! Thats alot of pretzels!!

alot of pretzels is right.

I found out that a Summer Harvest Mini Pretzels (25 Airline Size Bags) are $3.50 for 25 so let's do the math

$2,000,000/$3.50 = 571,428.57(25pks) = 14,285,714.28 bags of pretzels in 1 year and that is just on domestic flights.... good thing I will still get my pretzels on my international flight with NWA.

oh and that is a low estemate do you think the airlines really pay 3.50 for those.... I don't.