<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Also as a European I found it odd that a full service airline did not include alcohol with the meal, there was a surcharge for a glass of wine of USD5</font>
Obviously this dude is from "Old Europe" and don't appreciate the concept of
enhancement . Continental is spending $4,000,000 annually to
improve transatlantic coach meals and this dude complains about spending €4 for a glass o' grog!!!
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Continental Airlines Announces Changes to Coach Service on International Flights
HOUSTON, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) today announced that the airline will spend approximately $4 million annually to improve coach class meal service on trans-Atlantic flights beginning July 1. Continental will upgrade the hot entree offered as part of the main meal, improve the second meal served prior to arrival, and have a variety of snacks available to customers throughout the flight. On longer-haul routes such as Amsterdam to Houston, the airline will also enhance the salad at the main meal and add a new, mid-flight snack service.
Concurrent with upgrades to its meal service, Continental will standardize its onboard liquor policy throughout its system worldwide. Beginning July 1, and consistent with its domestic main cabin service, the airline will implement a $4 charge per alcoholic beverage served in coach class on international flights. All revenue from the liquor charges will be reinvested to help offset significantly increased costs of the enhanced meal service.
"This reallocation of our investment in our inflight product benefits every customer, rather than the few who enjoy complimentary liquor," said Eric Kleiman, director of product marketing.
In addition, Continental will expand its inflight entertainment program with more video games and HBO original programming. The airline is nearly doubling the number of video games for customers in coach class offered through its onboard interactive Personal Entertainment System, increasing the number of game selections from six to 10. The entertainment systems are available at every seat on the Boeing 777 and 767 aircraft flown in international markets. In August, the airline will also add HBO programming to its personal inflight video entertainment in the BusinessFirst cabin, allowing customers to choose popular programming such as The Sopranos and Sex and The City.
Continental's investment in coach service complements its recently announced enhancements to its BusinessFirst product. The airline is installing new sleeper seats in its BusinessFirst cabin on Boeing 777 aircraft that serve trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes.
Continental Airlines is the fifth largest airline in the U.S., offering more than 2,100 departures daily to 120 domestic and 91 international destinations. Operating hubs in Houston, New York, Cleveland and Guam, Continental serves more international cities than any other U.S. carrier, including extensive service throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit continental.com.
Continental was named the 2001 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World, as well as the 1996 Airline of the Year, making it the only carrier to receive this honor twice in five years. For the fourth consecutive year, Continental was named one of the 100 Best Places to Work For by FORTUNE magazine, and is ranked the nation's No. 1 airline in customer satisfaction for long and short- haul flights by Frequent Flyer Magazine and J.D. Power and Associates. Continental has received numerous awards for its BusinessFirst premium cabin (Conde Nast Traveler, OAG, Entrepreneur and SmartMoney magazines), OnePass frequent flyer program (InsideFlyer's Freddie Awards) and overall operations and management (FORTUNE magazine). </font>