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DALLAS—United
Airlines, struggling to curb losses from record fuel
prices, will become the first US carrier to stop serving
free meals in the coach cabin of some overseas flights.
Instead,
the second-largest US carrier will offer food that can
be purchased aboard trips to Europe from Washington’s
Dulles International Airport starting October 1,
spokesman Robin Urbanski said in an interview.
The
change expands the list of formerly complimentary
services airlines are charging for as they combat a
52-percent jump in the price of jet fuel during the past
year. United parent UAL Corp., with net losses of almost
$3.32 billion in the past three quarters, is eliminating
7,000 jobs and parking 100 aircraft to cut operating
costs.
“International flights have historically been sacrosanct
from these kinds of charges,” David Stempler, president
of the Air Travelers Association passenger advocacy
group, said in an interview. “This is the new era of a
fee for every service. We should get used to it.”
United
won’t eliminate free coach meals on travel from Dulles
to Kuwait because the flight is about 12 hours instead
of the typical eight to nine hours to Europe, Urbanski
said. Dulles is United’s “gateway” to Europe, with about
33 daily international flights. Food in first and
business classes will remain free.
The
carrier will charge $6 for snack boxes that include
cheese, crackers, fruit, yogurt and a pastry, and $9 for
salads and sandwiches. Salads with turkey and chicken,
which come with fruit, will be available, along with
chicken and turkey wraps and a beef, ham and salami
sandwich.
“These
changes are difficult, but necessary, and we do not make
them lightly,” the Chicago-based airline said in a memo
to employees. “However, they enable us to reduce costs
and generate additional revenue while preserving a
differentiated product for our premium cabin customers.”
The
airline will survey customers before deciding whether to
extend the change to other international flights,
Urbanski said. Spokesmen at American Airlines, Delta Air
Lines Inc., Continental Airlines Inc., Northwest
Airlines Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. said they still
provide complimentary meals on overseas flights.
Most US
carriers charge for coach-cabin snacks and meals on
longer flights in the US or North America. Continental,
the fourth-largest, still provides free meals and snacks
in all classes of domestic flights at designated times.
At
United, free snacks will be eliminated in the coach
cabin of North American flights of 760 miles to 1,149
miles, or two to three hours. They will be replaced with
snacks for sale, effective September 2, the memo said.
As of October 1, the airline also will boost prices for
fresh items sold during flights to $9 from $7; the cost
of nonperishable foods will climb to $6 from $5.
The
airline also will eliminate a second snack service
before arrival on transcontinental routes between New
York and Los Angeles or San Francisco, and replace it
with a beverage-only service.
Several
US carriers have begun charging to check bags. US
Airways has added fees to reserve certain seats and for
soda and coffee during flights. The changes are being
made as the industry’s combined losses are projected to
soar to as much as $10 billion this year, according to
the Air Transport Association. Bloomberg |
