Northwest Airlines to test sale of meals on flights EAGAN, Minn. (AP) =97 Northwest Airlines plans a test run to see whether=20 passengers would be willing to pay for food from a popular restaurant chain= =20 now that the airline no longer serves meals on many flights. The=20 Eagan-based airline will offer food from D'Amico & Sons for one month=20 starting Jan. 15. To cut costs, Northwest dropped meal service on many=20 flights following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Northwest will sell a=20 cinnamon streusel twist breakfast for about $7 and a turkey club sandwich=20 basket for about $10 for lunch and dinner. LSG Sky Chefs, a Northwest=20 caterer, worked with D'Amico & Sons to develop the food options. After=20 surveying 450 frequent fliers across the United States, LSG Sky Chefs=20 approached Northwest about testing the "In-Flight Cafe." "It is high=20 quality, fresh food," said Dalene Nichols, a spokeswoman for Texas-based=20 LSG Sky Chefs. "It is not what Americans typically think of as airline=20 food." Northwest provides complimentary meals to Twin Cities passengers who= =20 fly around meal time on long flights to the West Coast, Alaska and Hawaii.= =20 After the terrorist attacks, Northwest and other airlines lost passengers=20 and fell into a financial tailspin. They eliminated meals on many domestic= =20 flights to save money. In a recent survey conducted for LSG Sky Chefs, 73 percent of travelers=20 wanted a food option if complimentary meals are not offered. Northwest=20 would not reveal which routes will be used for the paid-meal test, but it's= =20 likely that some of the flights will originate in the Twin Cities and=20 Detroit, where Northwest has large hubs. "The concept being studied would=20 not involve traditional airline food, but would instead involve gourmet=20 salads and sandwiches," Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said. *************************************************** 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 *********************************************************