...This past weekend: DTW-SFO (4 1/2 hours) NW A320 -Mini Turkey Sandwich (finished even before the drink cart got there, and 2 Oreo Cookies. NO second run-thru with beverage service! Piss-poor for an afternoon flight! SFO-DTW (Breakfast Flight) NW B757 A bit better. Total Cereal, Bagel, Creme Cheese, Banana........Yes, second beverage service! --- Roger & Amanda La France <lafrance@verizon.net> wrote: > This is a multi-part message in MIME format. > > ------=_NextPart_000_0007_01C26C38.7209ABC0 > Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="Windows-1252" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > Airlines cutting food quality and quantity, critics > say > > <http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/default.asp?siteid=excite&dist=excite> > > <http://custom.marketwatch.com/1.gif> > > Airlines cutting back on quality and quantity, > critics say > > By Barbara Kollmeyer, CBS MarketWatch > Last Update: 12:01 AM ET Oct 4, 2002 > > LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -When it comes to air travel > these days, > coach-class passengers are getting poorer menu > offerings from an > industry struggling to pare its grocery bill. > > Airlines already eliminated most meals, and they're > now scaling back on > quality, consumer advocates say. Sandwiches replace > meals, and tiny > snack bags are replacing sandwiches. > > "The quality has changed and the amount has > changed," said Barbara > Beyer, president of Avmark, Inc., an > aviation-consulting firm. "You used > to have real meat, now it's pasta and salad. It's > been an enormous > amount of annoyance to the passenger." > > Most airlines stopped offering meals late last year > in coach for most > flights under four hours and in business for less > than two hours. > > "After 9-11, there was a tremendous cutback in the > amount of food being > served in cabins. They brought it back on Jan. 1, > then as part of cost > cutting moves, they started cutting back on food," > said David Stempler, > president of Air Travelers Association. > > Of course, airlines say their quality and quantity > hasn't changed for > the meals themselves. "If you were getting steak and > potato on a 2000 > mile flight, a similar type of food would be served > today," said John > Kennedy, Delta Air Lines ( > <http://money.excite.com/jsp/qt/full.jsp?symbol_search_text=DAL> > DAL: > <http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/newsheadlinebysymbol.jsp?symbol_search_t > ext=DAL> news) spokesman. > > Slim pickings > > Yet, the quality of food is going up for passengers > the airlines are > courting hard again -- business travelers. Food > prepared under the > supervision of top New York chefs will soon grace > the menu for > BusinessElite passengers flying Delta between New > York's John F. Kennedy > Airport and Los Angeles or San Francisco airports. > > Featuring a different chef every quarter, it's an > effort to grab > business passengers in the cross-country market. > "That northeast > corridor is the world's most lucrative aviation > market. Obviously, we're > all looking for an edge," Kennedy said. > > If you do get a meal, though, who is serving the > best six-mile-high > grub? Continental Airlines ( > <http://money.excite.com/jsp/qt/full.jsp?symbol_search_text=CAL> > CAL: > <http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/newsheadlinebysymbol.jsp?symbol_search_t > ext=CAL> news) this year snagged Conde Nast's best > major U.S. carrier > title based on comfort, reliability and value. Food > was an important > element -- Continental was commended for still > providing meals on > flights under four hours. > > Other notables can be found at www.airlinemeals.net > <http://www.airlinemeals.net/> . The Web site is > dedicated to in-flight > food and contains pictures of hundreds of meals from > over 100 > international airlines, snapped by passengers > themselves, along with > tips on where to get the best food at airports. > > Continental and United Airlines ( > <http://money.excite.com/jsp/qt/full.jsp?symbol_search_text=UAL> > UAL: > <http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/newsheadlinebysymbol.jsp?symbol_search_t > ext=UAL> news) are receiving high marks on the site > lately, says owner > Marco t'Hart of Rotterdam, Holland. "Also, I noticed > that marks for the > more recent meals of United are higher than those > for the older pics." > > Peanuts, really > > How much are airlines saving with the frugal gourmet > approach? > Apparently, not that much. > > Food is a minute part of airline operation costs, > though every bit helps > in the current climate, says Ray Neidl, airline > analyst with Blaylock & > Part. "The only way it would be really a big savings > is if they > eliminate the galley altogether and put in more > seats." > > Down the road, Stempler says passengers may be lucky > to get any > complimentary food at all. "It may be dependent on > what kind of ticket > you buy. The more expensive the ticket, the more > likely you are to be > fed." > > > ------=_NextPart_000_0007_01C26C38.7209ABC0 > Content-Type: image/gif; > name="1.gif" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64 > Content-Location: > http://custom.marketwatch.com/1.gif > > R0lGODlhAQABAIABAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw== > > ------=_NextPart_000_0007_01C26C38.7209ABC0-- __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com
