Airlines hungry to please passengers with food sales CHICAGO (Reuters) =97 Susan Kraut might be willing to buy another $10= chicken=20 sandwich on her next flight =97 but only if she can't find her favorite $7= =20 salad in the airport terminal before she boards the plane. "In a bind, I=20 would do it," said Kraut, a software analyst from Washington, D.C., who=20 flies Midwest Airlines to Kansas City every six weeks and has bought=20 sandwiches onboard twice recently. "(But) I wouldn't fly based on the=20 food," she said. "I buy a ticket based on the best price. I fly for=20 convenience." Charging passengers for in-flight meals may sound like a way= =20 for cash-strapped U.S. airlines to restructure costs. But analysts say the= =20 strategy is not likely to sell airline tickets and could bring on a case of= =20 indigestion for airlines at a time when they can least afford it. With the industry facing its worst financial crisis ever, most U.S.=20 carriers eliminated standard meal service for coach passengers on domestic= =20 flights months ago. Some airlines still offer snacks, but only on their=20 longest coast-to-coast flights. The experiments on certain routes allow=20 passengers to buy breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack for $3 to $10 =97 not= =20 much more than local delicatessen prices. Airlines have tested menu items=20 from TGI Friday's Inc., Einstein Bros. and other sandwich shops =97 with=20 choices such as roast beef with caramelized onions and horseradish spread,= =20 or turkey breast with fontina on focaccia bread. While carriers say=20 passengers generally have praised the food trials, many airlines are facing= =20 logistical problems that would have to be resolved before in-flight food=20 sales could become permanent. Managing inventory to meet demand and keeping= =20 track of cash collected on board are sticking points =97 and some= consultants=20 say airlines will have a difficult time overcoming them. "Unless an airline= =20 wants to do it on a complementary basis, it's not going to work," aviation= =20 consultant Michael Boyd of The Boyd Group said. "You're opening yourself up= =20 to huge consumer problems." KEEPING CUSTOMERS CONTENT America West Airlines, which began experimenting with charging for meals in= =20 January, said it is still trying to find the right balance between supply=20 and demand. "One of the complications we found on the test is that there is= =20 a lot of variability around demand," Chief Executive Douglas Parker said in= =20 a recent conference call. "Same flight, same day of week, same load factors= =20 may have twice as much demand one week as the next." Having more perishable= =20 food on hand than passengers want to buy is costly for carriers. But the=20 risk of not having enough meals for sale could make passengers unhappy =97= =20 exactly what airlines want to avoid. Balancing those risks =97 and deciding= =20 whether airlines or in-flight catering partners should bear the cost =97 is= =20 under review, several airlines said. But J.P. Morgan analyst Jamie Baker said affordable fares and convenient=20 flight scheduling factor into airline ticket sales more than onboard food.= =20 "We are confident that the way to a business traveler's wallet is not=20 through his stomach," Baker said. "All else being equal, we expect leg room= =20 to consistently trump food, and TV to consistently trump leg room. Food=20 doesn't enter the equation, nor do we expect it to." Continental Airlines=20 Inc. is one of the few major carriers that still doesn't charge for meals=20 on most flights and says it does not intend to test food sales onboard.=20 Delta Air Lines offers meals for sale on its new low-cost subsidiary, Song,= =20 but has not yet decided if it will do so on its mainline flights,=20 spokeswoman Peggy Estes said. A new online service, Carry-On Cuisine, is trying to fill the void by=20 allowing passengers to place Internet orders with airport restaurants that= =20 are ready for pick up when passengers arrive at the airport. For her part,= =20 Susan Kraut said she is crossing her fingers that her favorite $7 chicken=20 and mozzarella salad with sun-dried tomatoes is available in the airport=20 terminal before her next trip. "Ten dollars is a bit much," she said,=20 referring to the price of some onboard sandwiches. "It was a shame that=20 they cut out their (free) meals. Midwest used to have such wonderful meals= =20 on the airline." *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx 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.cso.gov.tt TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************