Wall Street analysts are killing companies with their stupidity. Its all about cost cutting (and mass firings) not about product or service quality. I've meet many of them in my former job in NYC. They are idiots. Most of them have never run anything more than a lemonade stand. On my soapbox here, but our failed our government should have put Wall Street back in its place in 2009.

JetBlue had a great product until they kotowed to the Wall Street gods. Its sad.

I really liked America West but switched my flying to WN and UA after Doug Parker implemented the soda charge. Even though those were business trips, I still didn't like what they did.

What I heard from US/HP employees was that Management knew pretty quickly charging for water/soda was a mistake and reversed it.

I can say with certainty, even as a personal/business traveler that does 90% + in F/J, I would cease flying AA if such a change were to be made. At some point, enough is enough.

I think that the CEO of Ryan Air had suggested it first. but then decide not to follow through. But if the problem was that the aisles needed to cleared so that people could go to the toilet, why not charge for using the toilet on the plane. I am sure some analyst can calculate the extra profit that can be earned and then demand it be implemented.

I remember traveling with my then young son and he wanted water and I had to buy a bottle on US when they decided to charge for water (not just soda, even water was not free). I hope that saner heads prevail and that these wall street types who only travel first, do not dictate how airlines should treat customers even worse than it is today.

Must have been the twin of the other highly untalented analyst who suggested to United to start charging for meals on long-haul Y and United failed miserably, same way US Airways did poorly when it tried charging for water and soft drinks several years ago.

So they considerably cheapened the premium experience without actually saving any money. Great work.

When it was first suggested that Ryanair charge for using the toilets it was also suggested that they could combine it with giving out free jumbo sodas. People don't have to buy sodas and don't need to use the toilet on most flights but they can't resist a freebie, and then ...

+1 - he is a total tool lacking common sense...at least one notoriously "savvy" poster in the UA forum (unbelievably) champions his beliefs

I was doing a lot of 1 hour flights back then on US/HP. The water thing pushed me over to WN for shorthaul and UA for long haul.

I had talked to a US FA (flying nonrev on UA) after that. She said "It was great when they discontinued inflight entertainment - we did not have to deal with any related problem. It was even better when they started charging for water - we had a lot less work." I was thinking it would be best if all your customers leave you then you really don't have to do anything.

Then I did do US a few times when they were still in *A. I actually liked it. Unfortunately, by then I was too deep into UA. Even living at a US hub, I am sticking with UA.

The bright side of that episode is that Doug Parker's management showed they can reverse bad decisions quickly. US did get turned around. Giving these, I think AA/US will end up being a pretty good airline.

It's harsh, but there is some truth to Keay's comments.

When you go to a movie theatre, you don't expect to get a drink and snack for free. If you want them, you have to pay for them -- at an inflated price, no less.

But we're all accustomed to getting at least a beverage for free when we fly. If we never received these before, we wouldn't be surprised to pay for them.

This said, there's no question that implanting a soda charge now would bother many travelers -- myself included. Given how many other awful changes have occurred in domestic USA airline travel, I'd be a little surprised if the industry wanted to make such travel even less desirable -- especially given how flush with profits these airlines currently are. I don't see this as a priority item for Parker. Frankly, I think he'd rather just raise fares a bit higher (or if fuel prices are going to stay this low, he'll be happy just keeping fares where they are).

There's no such thing as a free lunch, is there? It's priced in and I can't imagine any savings from that would be worth the bad P.R. And it's not like lowering ticket prices by the average saving per pax would even be noticed either. If your company with 27 billion $ revenue p.a. was that desperate to save 20 million, you've got much bigger fish to fry.

I remember when US Airways started this ridculious charge for soda. They had all these marketing posters made up and displayed in airports trying to show it was a good thing, by misleading you into thinking all drinks were $2 , while it said "from $2 up" in small print of course. They showed beers, wine, mixed drinks, and sodas, implying that drinks were only a couple bucks, when in reality they were now charging for sodas, and the beer, wine, and mixed drinks were $7. I see that didn't last long.

I actually sneak them in from home - that a and a box of Milk Duds obtained from CVS for $1.25

Tougher to do that at the airport since TSA confiscates liquids - leaving you with the option of only the airplane or Cibo/Sbarro/Hudson News at $3.25 a pop.

It didn't last long.

But... they've unbundled, become only three legacies and cartelized with their ATI and JBA. In the monkey see, monkey do airlines world, the only interesting bet isn't whether they'll do this or not, it's which airline will go first.

I can sneak a soda and twizzlers into a Movie Theater. I can't exactly sneak a BigGulp through security, and forcing people to purchase water/soda airside only makes the airport more money while increasing cleanup costs and turnarounds for the airline: "oops, sorry I dropped 32oz of soda on the seat and floor next to me. I've only got 2 hands, and I needed them to stuff my bags in the overhead because the $25 checked baggage charge is already an insult!"

On a TCON in Y, I'm captive for 4+hours in a stiff, 17" wide seat with my knees crammed against my face. The least they can do is give me a soda that costs them $0.20.