United yanks meals from first class on many flights=0ABy Chris Woodyard, USA= =20 TODAY =0A=0AUnited Airlines' new round of belt tightening is going to hit= its=20 best customers =97 first- and business-class passengers =97 in their empty= =20 bellies.Starting Tuesday, United is dramatically scaling back food service= =20 on many domestic flights. Some high-paying first-class fliers used to steak= =20 dinners on fine china may wind up flying several hours without more than a= =20 snack.The new cutbacks mark an escalation in United's fight for survival in= =20 bankruptcy court. The airline has already endured layoffs, including 1,500= =20 management employees Friday, and the closing of 32 city ticket offices. Now= =20 it will defy industry dogma by laying a glove on the cash cows =97 high-fare= =20 fliers.Those passengers aren't as lucrative as they once were. In the=20 second quarter of 1999, United got 41% of its domestic revenue from the 22%= =20 of passengers who paid first-class, business-class or unrestricted coach=20 fares. That group accounted for 10% of United's passengers and 20% of=20 domestic revenue in the same quarter last year. Some may go hungry:=95 United is eliminating first- and business-class meal= =20 service on flights of two to three hours to the USA and Canada outside=20 normal meal hours. Only beverages will be served on flights that aren't=20 during the most popular breakfast, lunch or dinner times.=95 On all U.S. and= =20 Canadian flights except coast-to-coast routes, deli plates or salads will=20 replace hot lunches and dinners in first- and business-class.=95 Coach=20 passengers on the five-hour flights between the West Coast and Hawaii will= =20 no longer receive a sandwich.=95 Coach passengers on morning flights of two= =20 to 3 1/2 hours in the USA and Canada will receive a snack mix instead of a= =20 hot breakfast sandwich.United is not saying how much it expects to save.=20 Spokeswoman Chris Nardella says United is selectively paring to match=20 rivals. "We need to reduce costs," she says. "We're looking at cutbacks=20 that allow us to be competitive.""It's a helluva shot," says Michael=20 Sommer, a Jacksonville consultant who always upgrades to United's first=20 class. "All that seems to be left is the larger seat. What are they going=20 to take away next?"Most carriers have slashed food spending since business= =20 travel began declining more than two years ago, and some are looking for=20 ways to save more. America West starts a three-week test today of selling=20 meals on 12 flights. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) : escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.hilofoodstores.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************