More Top Picks Best Noise Reducing Earmuffs For Kids
player ready...Airline food is nothing to brag about, at least the airline food that has been served for the past decade.
For the most part, many coach passengers believed they were being treated to little more than leftovers, while first-class passengers frequently believed the food they were offered to be largely indifferent.
This week, United Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy last month, decided it could do better by offering less.
The decision to eliminate hot food on most flights of less than three hours was driven in part by the airline’s need to reduce costs to meet loan covenants imposed by lenders, who agreed to fund the carrier’s operations while in bankruptcy.
But most other carriers had taken similar action months ago.
Now those other carriers are exploring alternatives to the formerly complimentary, but bland, food that had been offered.
At least two are exploring a program introduced in Australia by Virgin Blue, a discount carrier owned by Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Blue offers passengers deli-style sandwiches they can purchase from flight attendants.
America West Airlines is testing the concept on a handful of its flights, and Northwest Airlines says it is exploring a similar idea.
“The idea is very embryonic at this time, and the entire concept is being driven by the airline catering industry, anxious to put their underutilized kitchens and production capacity to work,” said Kurt Ebenhoch, a spokesman for Northwest. He said a 30-day test on a handful of flights will begin Jan. 15.
Sharing flights: US Airways and United have begun sharing flights to 24 destinations–14 on US Airways flights along the East Coast and Southeast, and 10 on United. Airline flight sharing, termed code shares, is permitted to sell seats on each other’s flights and book some of the revenue from those tickets.
A decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation on a similar flight-sharing alliance that would permit Delta Air Lines to join an alliance operated by Continental Airlines and Northwest is expected this month. The antitrust division of the Justice Department has cleared the expanded alliance.
The alliance between the three carriers was proposed in reaction to the United-US Airways alliance.
However, it is being opposed by a group of regional carriers, including Southwest Airlines, that have argued the new alliance would create the nation’s largest airline network, with a 35 percent market share. It could harm the regional carriers’ efforts to attract corporate customers.
In contrast, American Airlines, the world’s largest carrier, has a 20 percent market share.
Northwest has dismissed the market-share argument as a “red herring,” noting it aggressively battles Continental even though the two share some flights.
Passengers wanted: United Airlines, which this week reduced the price of tickets typically purchased by business travelers by up to 70 percent, is going further to lure its most lucrative passengers back on board.
The airline will offer double frequent-flier miles, which used to be highly coveted by business travelers because of the status they carried, on tickets purchased by Jan. 24.
Moving on: Robert Allegrini has changed addresses. Allegrini, the longtime spokesman for the Chicago Hilton & Towers Hotel, has been named assistant vice president for corporate communications of Hyatt Hotels Corp.
———-
More Top Picks Best Selectorized Home Gyms For Home Use