Industry Spotlight: Can’t We Have the Pretzels Back?

Having flown on several flights for a business trip tacked onto February vacation, I have only one request. Please bring back the pretzels.

For some reason, on one of the flights, I actually listened to the flight attendant as he welcomed us on board. He told us how he wanted to make our flight as pleasant as possible. This was my fourth flight in less than 24 hours. So it didn’t ring very true to me. I looked around to see if anyone saw the irony in his comments. Most people probably tuned him out from the beginning.

Depending on how old you are, you may remember that in coach you used to get cloth napkins and real silverware with your meal—yes, I said meal. Then we went disposable. Then we went to “light” meals. Now we are down to soft drinks. No peanuts (too many people with allergies) and no pretzels. It’s like being on a bread and water diet without the bread.

The message from the airlines is that we all have to pay because no one has figured out how to make a profit at this business. As a customer, I’m not impressed.