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www.AirGuideOnline.comFor Immediate Release
Pack a snack or buy meal in-flight? Alaska Airlines is one of the last to charge for food in flight.
New York, July 21, 2006 - Starting in August, if you fly Alaska Airlines to the Lower 48, you'll have to bring your own meal or bring five bucks. Alaska will join nearly every other U.S. airline by charging coach passengers for in-flight meals starting Aug. 1. Breakfast, lunch and dinner meals will all cost $5 on any flight over three hours, except for those to the East Coast.The program, which the company calls "Northern Bites Meals-for-purchase," has been the only option for food on Alaska Airlines flights to and from Mexico since last year, and company officials say about one-third of those passengers typically buy the meals.
All flights connecting Alaska and the Lower 48 will fall under the plan, according to Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Amanda Tobin Bielawski. The airline expects to save "several million dollars" a year with the new program, she said, though when asked if Alaska would cut air fares by $5, Bielawski offered a one-word reply: "No."
"Our research shows that the meals for purchase is a positive option for passengers," she said. "Our goal is always to provide the best value for our customers."
"That's just P.R. blah blah," said Aram Gesar, a longtime industry observer and editor of AirGuide Magazine & AirGuideOnline. "The reality is passengers don't care for it. This is a move to save money. Alaska is known as a very good airline. They have a good reputation but are forced to take this measure."
According to the federal Department of Transportation, the price of jet fuel, like that of gasoline, has nearly doubled since 2003. Airlines save twice dropping meals: once in buying less food and again in fuel costs for a slightly lighter airplane.
"It costs airlines eight to twelve dollars per meal in economy, 15 to 25 in business, more in first class," Gesar said. "This is the trend of all U.S. airlines. Alaska is one of the last to charge for food." For more.... http://www.adn.com/money/industries/aviation/alaska_airlines/story/7981912p-7875231c.html
By Matt White of Anchorage Daily News
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