AA testing BOB of Soda, may expand to mainline fleet

[chrisburns]

Starting next month, American Airlines’ regional affiliate American Eagle will begin charging customers $1 for a 12-ounce soda on flights into and out of Los Angeles. The airline tells Keith L. Alexander, Business Class columnist for The Washington Post (free registration), that the pay-for-soda strategy could be expanded to American’s mainline fleet if the experiment goes well. "That's one of the reasons you test something, to see what kind of impact it might have," American Eagle spokesman Dave Jackson tells Alexander. "There's a potential for it to go negatively. We also want to see what customers value." The carrier may also experiment with charging for snacks, pillows and blankets.

Travel expert Terry Trippler of Cheapseats.com says this may be the future of airline travel. "Eventually it's going to be 'This is how much you pay for your ticket and that just gets you transportation.' You will need to pay for everything else," he predicts. USATODAY.com columnist David Grossman echoes that sentiment, saying travelers may soon have to pay extra for "perks" like a window seat or an advanced seating assignment. "Airline pricing is going a la carte," he says.

Wow, even Northwest hasnt gone this low with service.

[DAL767-400ER]

Paying for a 12-ounce can of coke on a non-LCC? Damn, the service quality gap between Texas' two Legacy Carriers is getting bigger by the day. Way to go AA .

[ATrude777]

Wow, even Northwest hasnt gone this low with service.

This just pushes me farther and father away from AA and into Southwest. Half the time I end up paying 1 dollar or 2 for a 20 ounce Coke, and bring it on the plane, and it saves me the hassle in the long run.

As for your comment with NWA, NO Airline has ever gone that low, except Allegiant, they charge for soda.

As for blankets, pillows and such, dress warmely for the flight, I always do.

Alex

[ptbodale]

Why does it bother you to pay for your pop? Was the ticket price similar to Southwest's?

Quite often the legacy carrier has fare's close to or cheaper than a LCC (at least in Canada they do).

When you travel Greyhound or on Via/Amtrack (unless 1st Class) you have to pay for food and drinks.

[A332]

Why does it bother you to pay for your pop? Was the ticket price similar to Southwest's?

Quite often the legacy carrier has fare's close to or cheaper than a LCC (at least in Canada they do).

When you travel Greyhound or on Via/Amtrack (unless 1st Class) you have to pay for food and drinks.

I agree!

Given the fare structures seen today and that most airlines are just barely breaking even on many routes, it makes sense to further scale back the 'luxuries' in order to cut costs, most notably on domestic pairings. Today's margins leave little room for such expected amenities.

In the end, the job of the airline is to safely transport you from A to B... nothing else should be expected unless you're prepared to pay for it.

[AA 1818]

In the end, the job of the airline is to safely transport you from A to B... nothing else should be expected unless you're prepared to pay for it.

Although I hate to hear that AA is doing this, I agree with you 100% on that statement. For all those that bellyache and decide to compare LCCs to Legacy carriers need to understand that it is the LCCs that are causing these problems for the Legacy carriers to begin with. Also, it's very important to understand most of the time, if you want to fly internationally you will need to fly on a Legacy, not an LCC!

[Crunk415balla]

Even Sun Country which is an LCC offers FREE sodas AND hot sandwiches, usually you get as many as you want. When someone picks a legacy carrier, they expect it to offer more then the LCC's.

[TAP-A343]

As a passenger, I hope that this experiment fails miserably.

Regards.

[ATrude777]

Although I hate to hear that AA is doing this, I agree with you 100% on that statement. For all those that bellyache and decide to compare LCCs to Legacy carriers need to understand that it is the LCCs that are causing these problems for the Legacy carriers to begin with. Also, it's very important to understand most of the time, if you want to fly internationally you will need to fly on a Legacy, not an LCC!

Not true...

FL, NK,and F9 all fly intl flights. All are LCC, none are Legacies.

Alex

[DAL767-400ER]

FL, NK,and F9 all fly intl flights. All are LCC, none are Legacies.

Alex

Perhaps, but neither can fly you to Europe, Asia, Africa or South America.

[ATrude777]

Perhaps, but neither can fly you to Europe, Asia, Africa or South America.

Then he should say overseas, truth is they are all LCC and can fly you to intl destinations beyond the land of the USA. Overseas, they cannot.

Alex

[chrisburns]

Either way I hope that it fails, otherwise were going to have more people bitching about no service. I dont expect anything on a flight, but the cuts are going a little far.

[MaxPower]

Either way I hope that it fails, otherwise were going to have more people bitching about no service. I dont expect anything on a flight, but the cuts are going a little far.

The faster, the better. I agree with you.. Silly LCC

[stlgph]

You all just need to chill the hell out.

Key word: E-X-P-E-R-I-M-E-N-T


If you all were business owners, you'd be trying out tricks of the trade all the time just to see what the results were.

[AA 1818]

Then he should say overseas, truth is they are all LCC and can fly you to intl destinations beyond the land of the USA. Overseas, they cannot.

Alex

Rather than critisizing my diction, read my original post and you will see the word MOST. Found it yet? "MOST OF THE TIME". Would you like a defination of the word "most"?

Anyway, I am fully conscious of the fact that there are LCCs that fly to International destination, but remember that these destinations are severly limited. Apart from Mexico, the Bahamas and very few Caribbean destinations, American LCCs do not serve International destinations. My point was that for the MOST of the time, a passenger will need to rely on a Legacy carrier to take them on their International travels.


As a passenger, I too hope that this fails. I would hate to have this happen to me.

But as an observer, I understand why this needs to work for AA. I think that we have also come to expect quite alot from airlines in the past. I do not expect AA to become another RyanAir, but I hope that it does somehow use this propel them back to the glories of past days and then be able to do away with the program...