FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Will Delta ever restore complimentary economy meal service on transcons?
Old Sep 21, 2022, 4:49 pm
  #29  
emma dog
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
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Originally Posted by dw
Yes, but I’d think Europe is probably ahead of N America in where service standards are going, and Asia behind. Europe is basically Ryanair service now; even pre-COVID BA switched to BOB where not even water was complimentary. (Understand that changed during COVID, but in large part because at the time it was deemed the BOB service kept the FAs in too much contact with the passengers.)

Spirit and Frontier have been doing fairly well it seems… because it’s been shown time and time again that a large segment of passengers will just book whatever is cheapest.
The US has gone back and forth down this road before, and it seems that soft drinks and water are pretty much expected by pax flying the big 5. US tried to charge for a can of coke starting the summer of 2007 and it lasted only nine months after taking a lot of flack.

Beyond cultural acceptance of LCCs vs what we see in the US, European flights are generally a lot shorter than US flights so there’s less backlash for diminished service.
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