Originally Posted by
3Cforme
http://blogs.rollcall.com/the-contai...ravelers/?dcz=
“Airlines have really struggled with managing down a sense of entitlement from the consumer, which is still a problem and that’s really going to take decades to go away,” Keay told an aviation conference in Washington.
People who flew in the 1970s “think about that with fond memories. I’m sorry, but those people have to basically die” in a “multi-decade-long washing out of entitlement” until passengers expect to pay for what they get.
Hunter Keay said this about the free sodas last September:
Originally Posted by Doofus Keay
“I don’t know why we still get free sodas on airplanes,” he said, adding: “Every time I see that beverage cart coming down the aisle, it makes my blood boil.”
Makes his "blood boil?" Wow. He should get a grip.
Wonder what Pumper Keay thinks of elites who get "free" checked bags? Or elites who aren't charged for MCE/E+/EC? Or the airlines where all elites get UDU? Each of those represents tens of dollars of revenue not collected from each elite on each flight. Think of the lost revenue. Free food and booze in Business Class and First Class must really send him over the edge.
Truth be told, I wouldn't be offended if sodas cost a buck or two. PeoplExpress charged $0.50/can and that was 30+ years ago. Of course, for $2/can, the airline had better improve the selection so that my favorite is in stock. During AA's financial dark times more than a decade ago, I wrote that I'd gladly pay $20-$30 for a first class meal if it meant that AA would stop scrimping on the portions and improved the quality.
Thing is, free sodas (and free food and booze in F and J) are nickels and dimes compared to the dollars in revenue that can be attracted by improving the quality of the airline. And charging people for F and J meals and for all sodas throughout the plane isn't going to attract any high-revenue fliers.