TRAVEL TREND: WHY AIRPLANE SODA IS STILL FREE

McClatchy Newspapers

Published Sunday, September 21, 2008

One by one, the nation’s airlines have snatched back freebies that fliers once took for granted — baggage checks, meals. But one service remains relatively unscathed: the complimentary beverage. So why haven’t the airlines zapped this perk with the same miserly zeal?

True, US Airways started charging passengers for coffee, tea, sodas and juices this month. But a host of other airlines, including United, Continental, Delta and American haven’t followed. Industry experts said customer service and secondary security concerns have kept the drinks flowing.

And to take them away would be the last straw.

“It seems mean-spirited to deny passengers a beverage,” said Joseph Schwieterman, a public service management professor at DePaul University. “Airlines still need to go through the motions of appearing they have some onboard service. And it’s the only time in the flight a passenger talks to an airline employee, the last remnant of personal touch in airline travel.”

Schwieterman pointed out that as the beverage cart crawls through the aisle, attendants can check on passengers. “It’s a chance to solve problems and for the attendants to assess what’s going on.”

What is more, federal law requires attendants on all flights, said Jan Brueckner, an economics professor at the University of California, Irvine. “If all food and beverage service were dropped, the attendants would sit around with nothing to do.”

That hasn’t stopped Spirit Airlines or US Airways from pulling free drinks. The new policy hasn’t negatively affected the flight attendants, said US Air spokeswoman Michelle Mohr: “They’ve told us they are able to move through the cabin more quickly, which provides more time for them to monitor the cabin.”

American thinks otherwise. “Free beverage service allows our flight attendants to go through the aircraft, interact with customers and meet their needs,” American spokeswoman September Wade said.

Not that industry experts believe free drinks will stay. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see the airlines charge for those beverages, and probably sooner rather than later,” said Henry Harteveldt, an analyst with Forrester Research in San Francisco.

“Even though” air travel “has been a historically all-inclusive product, now it’s like going to the movies. All your ticket buys is a seat. Everything else, you’ll have to pay for.”