No Snacks

Old Jun 1, 2010, 3:48 pm
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Colorado
Programs: UA Premier Silver, AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 813
No Snacks

DEN-MDW flight #531 today the crew offered beverage service, but didn't offer snack service.

I was flying on a Classic Plus ticket over the lunch hour, so an hour into the flight I decided to ask the flight attendant what was up and she said they'd get me whatever I wanted.

So, in the end, no big deal for me as I was able to get a little lunch. But, I wonder if folks flying on Classic Plus even realize they are supposed to get a free premium drink and snack when they purchase that fare. I'd think there would be other folks on board that would have purchased food if it was offered since it was an 11:50a out of Denver.
Stumblefoot is offline  
Old Jun 1, 2010, 10:34 pm
  #2  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Northeast Kansas | Colorado Native
Programs: Amex Gold/Plat, UA *G, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Gold, NEXUS, TSA Disparager Unobtanium
Posts: 21,558
Originally Posted by Stumblefoot
DEN-MDW flight #531 today the crew offered beverage service, but didn't offer snack service.

I was flying on a Classic Plus ticket over the lunch hour, so an hour into the flight I decided to ask the flight attendant what was up and she said they'd get me whatever I wanted.

So, in the end, no big deal for me as I was able to get a little lunch. But, I wonder if folks flying on Classic Plus even realize they are supposed to get a free premium drink and snack when they purchase that fare. I'd think there would be other folks on board that would have purchased food if it was offered since it was an 11:50a out of Denver.
The last F9 flight I was on, FAs came down the aisle with snacks immediately after the drinks. They made sure to give the snacks to the pax with Classic Plus.. Maybe you should let F9 know, so they can avoid this happening in the future.
FriendlySkies is offline  
Old Jun 2, 2010, 10:21 am
  #3  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,653
My experience with the inflight food sales is limited (so far) to flights primarily operated as Midwest (like MKE-LGA), but since the food was standardized months back, I dont think Ive witnessed any F/A ask passengers if theyd like to buy.

What YX passengers are used to was an announcement of what was available for sale, and then on the drink pass the F/A asked if you wanted to purchase food when they asked if youd like something to drink.

Now, on some flights they dont say anything and on other flights they say that the service guide in your seatback pocket details food available. As a passenger, when youre asked what youd like to drink in rapid-fire order, you have to then interrupt and ask if they have anything to eat for sale.

Id suspect theyd have a whole lot more uptake on food purchases if they asked passengers would you like to purchase a snack when they did the beverage pass . If that was too time consuming, they could at least make a slightly more involved announcement such as We have a variety of snacks and a limited number of sandwiches available for purchase on this flight. More details can be found on the service brochure in your seatback pocket. If youre interested, please notify the flight attendant during the beverage service.

The way Ive witnessed it most often is that passengers are left to wonder what if anything might actually be for sale on this particular flight, and then they must interrupt the rhythm of the beverage pass to ask the F/A. That is not exactly encouraging sales.

I would guess the onboard food sales are probably not a big revenue source in general, but if youre going to promote it on the brochure and website and go to the bother of doing catering, you might as well encourage people to use it.

And for Classic Plus people to not get what they have purchased, thats not going to win friends and influence peopleat least not in a good way.


Originally Posted by FriendlySkies
The last F9 flight I was on, FAs came down the aisle with snacks immediately after the drinks. They made sure to give the snacks to the pax with Classic Plus.. Maybe you should let F9 know, so they can avoid this happening in the future.
I hope this is or will become the norm!
knope2001 is offline  
Old Jun 2, 2010, 5:22 pm
  #4  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Colorado
Programs: UA Premier Silver, AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 813
Originally Posted by FriendlySkies
The last F9 flight I was on, FAs came down the aisle with snacks immediately after the drinks.
I rarely fly on Classic Plus, because as a Summit flyer, I get all of the benefits (except free food) of Classic Plus on an Economy fare. But, like you, my previous experience was as you described.

Originally Posted by knope2001
What YX passengers are used to was an announcement of what was available for sale, and then on the drink pass the F/A asked if you wanted to purchase food when they asked if youd like something to drink.
That makes a ton of sense. Sell the food when the pax's get their drinks.
Stumblefoot is offline  
Old Jun 7, 2010, 11:09 pm
  #5  
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Have Amex, will travel...
Programs: HHonors Gold
Posts: 91
Same - I generally don't fly Classic Plus as Summit member, but when I have, I've experienced the same, at least on shorter flights where no snack service is offered. If I don't ask, I don't get the benefit.

That being said, on longer flights (PHL to DEN, for example), the attendants have come down the aisle prior to takeoff and personally taken food and drink orders from each Classic Plus member so they get first pick before anything sells out.
rhinok is offline  
Old Jun 8, 2010, 9:23 am
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Colorado
Programs: UA Premier Silver, AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 813
Originally Posted by rhinok
That being said, on longer flights (PHL to DEN, for example), the attendants have come down the aisle prior to takeoff and personally taken food and drink orders from each Classic Plus member so they get first pick before anything sells out.
That's nice!
Stumblefoot is offline  
Old Jun 10, 2010, 8:52 pm
  #7  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Programs: UA-Premier Exec, F9-Summit, Delta Skymiles, SW RR, Alaska MP, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 11
No Snacks

I had the same happen 2 weeks ago, SAN to DEN, however unlike you, I just let it slide. I didn't even realize I was Classic Plus until I printed ticket. It did bother me that FAs never even checked, and I wondered if other Classic Plus pax's were shorted as well. Flying F9 Classic Plus tomorrow-we'll see what happens.
Raddmann is offline  
Old Jun 12, 2010, 8:35 am
  #8  
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 185
Flight attendants are supposed to have a list with all Classic, Plus, Ascent and Summit members. However, they don't always carry the list with them down the aisle and sometimes fail to provide the snack or meal that Plus passengers are entitled to. You should contact Frontier Airlines customer relations department because this, apparently, happens too frequently.
azstar is offline  
Old Jun 12, 2010, 8:47 pm
  #9  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Northeast Kansas | Colorado Native
Programs: Amex Gold/Plat, UA *G, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Gold, NEXUS, TSA Disparager Unobtanium
Posts: 21,558
Originally Posted by azstar
Flight attendants are supposed to have a list with all Classic, Plus, Ascent and Summit members. However, they don't always carry the list with them down the aisle and sometimes fail to provide the snack or meal that Plus passengers are entitled to. You should contact Frontier Airlines customer relations department because this, apparently, happens too frequently.
+1

During the Frontier Experience that I was a part of four years ago, Frank, the Director of Inflight Training, was mentioning to us that F9 was thinking about recruiting some Ascent & Summit members to "grade" the FAs on what they did correctly, and what they needed to improve upon. Perhaps they should do this, as it would help iron out some of these problems...
FriendlySkies is offline  
Old Jun 13, 2010, 6:03 am
  #10  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,653
Originally Posted by FriendlySkies
+1

During the Frontier Experience that I was a part of four years ago, Frank, the Director of Inflight Training, was mentioning to us that F9 was thinking about recruiting some Ascent & Summit members to "grade" the FAs on what they did correctly, and what they needed to improve upon. Perhaps they should do this, as it would help iron out some of these problems...
Midwest did this for many years, and in recent times there were employee incentives tied to the customer scorecard. All sorts of touchpoints of the customer experience from call center to curbside check in to pilots and inflight were regularly scored.

Perhaps that's something they'll bring to the combined airline It's not a panacea, but it may make a difference.
knope2001 is offline  
Old Jun 13, 2010, 9:19 pm
  #11  
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Programs: UA-Premier Exec, F9-Summit, Delta Skymiles, SW RR, Alaska MP, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 11
Took my Classic Plus flight Friday night (what a nightmare with the t-storms), but I did indeed receive my peanut M&Ms as I should have. The FA came through with the snacks prior to beverage service in this case.
Raddmann is offline  
Old Jun 14, 2010, 10:29 pm
  #12  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Colorado
Programs: UA Premier Silver, AA Executive Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 813
Originally Posted by Raddmann
Took my Classic Plus flight Friday night (what a nightmare with the t-storms), but I did indeed receive my peanut M&Ms as I should have. The FA came through with the snacks prior to beverage service in this case.
Now that's the way it should be done. Get chowing on those goodies before the drink arrives. By the way... great choice on the snack.

On a totally off-topic subject, the storm you mentioned Friday must have been one heck of storm. I left town Thursday and just returned this evening to a complete mess in our yard. Looks like hail damage to me here in Evergreen.
Stumblefoot is offline  
Old Jun 19, 2010, 7:35 am
  #13  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 2,653
Full food pass MKE-LGA

Finally flew a 319 flight yesterday, and I'm pleased to say there was a full food for sale pass -- something I have not seen.

The crew actually made six service passes through the cabin excluding garbage pick-up. Considering ths was a full flight and only about 1:40 in the air, the F/A really worked hard.

1. Identify Summit/Midwest Exec members and activate their TVs (preflight)
2. Pass out headseats and assist passengers with TV (after takeoff)
3. Full beverage pass
4. Food for sale pass
5. Full beverage pass (not just water or coffee)
6. Cookie pass (warm)

Of course the energy and attitude of any specific inflight crew makes a big difference in the perceived level of service, and I might have just lucked out. However this was definitely a very positive experience.

Getting back to the food part, we were in row 10 and the food sales in the first ten rows seemed relatively brisk. They sold 1 M&M, 3 chips/salsa, 1 chex mix, 2 cheese curds, 1 salad, 1 sandwich, 2 more unidentified items. I did not see anyone who got a free snack, however I don't think that anybody can purchase Classic or Classic Plus on this flight because it was operated as YX...and any flight premiarily operated as YX only has economy. So I don't think anybody who was entitled to the free snack was onboard. However considering the crew went through the cabin to identify who qualified for the free TV, I suspect they would have also been flagged for the free snack.
knope2001 is offline  
Old Jul 2, 2010, 10:13 pm
  #14  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Denver, CO, USA
Programs: Sometimes known as [ARG:6 UNDEFINED]
Posts: 26,625
Originally Posted by azstar
Flight attendants are supposed to have a list with all Classic, Plus, Ascent and Summit members. However, they don't always carry the list with them down the aisle and sometimes fail to provide the snack or meal that Plus passengers are entitled to. You should contact Frontier Airlines customer relations department because this, apparently, happens too frequently.
And it happened to me this evening, AUS-DEN, as a Classic Plus. The whole flight was odd - the E190 was in Republic paint and didn't match the seat map from ticketing on; my seat was arbitrarily assigned from 12D to 2A to 21D(!) and I was lucky enough to have 2A still available when I did online checkin; of course no TVs on the Republic plane; and then the FA didn't provide any snacks to Plus or elites. I didn't even think about it until reminded when I was riffling through the "entertainment" brochure, and by then we were 15 minutes from landing.

I'll try to remember next time, but it's very bad form to make the passenger the primary person responsible for ensuring this benefit happens.
DenverBrian is offline  
Old Jul 3, 2010, 12:59 am
  #15  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: MKE
Programs: Delta Skymiles, Frontier EarlyReturns Summit
Posts: 766
I was under the impression an A319 usually flies AUS-DEN. Sounds like it might have been a spare aircraft replacement for mechanical reasons and the crew had to be put together last minute. Obviously it should have been better service but they are working on it. I think policies are supposed to be standardized by the 15th.
MikeFromMKE is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.