5 ms·

Airlines taking away free snacks for customers feels like companies taking away free snacks for employees: it doesn't really matter much by itself for anyone in

by zyxley 11y ago

Airlines taking away free snacks for customers feels like companies taking away free snacks for employees: it doesn't really matter much by itself for anyone involved, but it's an obvious signal that the management involved can't bother to even put a fig leaf on the matter of your personal comfort.

hellofunk 11y ago
What is odd is that even the cheapest budget airlines of Asia, and there are many, many of them, nearly all provide not just free snacks, but free hot meals.
- yinghang 11y ago
  Except for Air Asia
  - maxxxxx 11y ago
    The stuff they sell is quite good. I much prefer paying form something decent than getting crap for free.
    - jsprogrammer 11y ago
      That crap isn't free (you did buy a ticket, right?).
- ghaff 11y ago
  I imagine I'm the minority opinion--and Asian airline meals are generally better than US ones but that probably just reflects my preferences--but I actually don't especially regret the general demise of hot meals on most flights. They were always horrible in coach to the degree that I can recall joking cartoons about them. Serving the meals was disruptive and often stunk up the cabin. Now, when it comes to passing out cold snacks, by all means.
  - rconti 11y ago
    Yeah. To be honest, I almost looked forward to layovers during air travel for my once- or twice- yearly McDonalds visit. The food options in airports, as dismal and overpriced as they tend to be, are gourmet fare compared with what's served on the airplane. I'd just as soon not have to shuffle my laptop or book around to make space for lousy food.
    - ghaff 11y ago
      Many airport options have improved quite a bit--though most are still hardly cheap. At some point, the message seems to have gotten out--for at least some terminals--that very few people want pseudo-fine dining at airports but many want good, relatively fast food.
- CyberDildonics 11y ago
  They give snack but they sell meals.
- pcurve 11y ago
  I've flown on couple dozen airlines. Yes, Asian carriers are almost always better in terms of food. I was actually served medium cooked steak on Asiana. But the real difference is in their cabin attendants. x10 better. But what I hate flying about isn't the food or CA service. It's flying into and out of JFK. Everyone working there is f'king miserable. They treat people like live stocks. And their customs and immigration are incredibly inefficiently run.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    >But the real difference is in their cabin attendants. x10 better. At least some of which is for reasons that, properly, wouldn't fly in the US. They hire young, attractive, college-educated women who are enjoying flying the world for a few years before they settle down and get married. And who are not expected to stay on once they've enjoyed those few years.
    - GVIrish 11y ago
      I'm sure that's some of it, but I suspect the bigger factor is that some of the other international carriers put a bigger emphasis on customer service. I don't thing being young, college-educated, or female matters nearly as much as working for an organization that prides itself on customer service.
      - ghaff 11y ago
        That's certainly fair. Although it's probably easier to implement that emphasis on customer service with young, enthusiastic people as opposed to a 25-year veteran who has been through various downsizings and contract disputes.
        GVIrish 11y ago
        Yeah I think a big component of the poor customer service with United is being beat down over years of cost-cutting. I've seen firsthand how they've drastically cut down the number of gate agents which leaves almost a skeleton crew to deal with customers. In that environment I'm sure it's hard for someone to be chipper and helpful.
- mtanski 11y ago
  The competition is Asian for Airlines is a lot more intense then in North America. Almost every country has a Carier or 2 or 3. They all fly to each other countries so there is a lot of choice. Every country has been expanding its airports for the 20 years. And competition is driving the use of brand new planes and perks. Now look at North America. There are only 3 countries here. United States airlines are the largest carriers. In the past 20 years consolidation has reduced the number of airlines. That's why despite the huge drop in oily our not seeing ticket prices go down. In most cities / airports there is one dominating airline and they know chances are you will take their flight. There's times of the year (not holiday) when it's marginally more expensive for me to to Vietnam for a vacation then to visit my family living in Austin. This is from NYC.
Karunamon 11y ago
"Very many little things" is a great way of describing how bad air travel is. None of the issues are all that bad taken individually, but taken together, the experience is worse than the difference of its parts. * Security (a stressful PITA) * Boarding (never goes smoothly) * Environment (tiny seats, loud, sick passengers, babies, etc) * Service (rude/inattentive FA's, overpriced small extras that feel insulting) * Delays (taking off, getting there, getting your bags) And then then there's the one-offs. A bag gets lost, a connection gets missed, mechanical problems.. Most of this stuff can be addressed directly.
- CyberDildonics 11y ago
  Need to be humbled and reminded how small you are? Fly United.
- scottkduncan 11y ago
  There are also a few great things about modern air travel. For one, it has gotten considerably cheaper (and thus more accessible to a broad spectrum of consumers) over time. It's also amazingly safe for travel in a metal tube at 550 MPH 35,000 feet above the earth. There are market-based products that would address many of your concerns if you are willing to pay. Prefer a larger seat or priority boarding? Try economy plus, which will also decrease the likelihood of sitting next to a baby and may get you more attentive service. The reality though is that collectively we prefer lower prices and choose flights almost exclusively by this metric, but then gripe about all the ways air travel could be better. One study on the cost of airfare over time: https://www.aei.org/publication/the-cost-of-air-travel-in-the-us-has-been-remarkably-stable-for-the-last-decade-and-17-cheaper-than-20-years-ago/ https://www.aei.org/publication/the-cost-of-air-travel-in-th...
  - Zigurd 11y ago
    Making a product horrible in order to sell "less horrible" is not a great example of a market success.
    - ForHackernews 11y ago
ams6110 11y ago
Free snacks (or meals) for employees is a quirk of tech employers. Or McDonald's. At most employers you're lucky if they provide coffee (mine currently does not).

by zyxley 11y ago

hellofunk 11y ago

What is odd is that even the cheapest budget airlines of Asia, and there are many, many of them, nearly all provide not just free snacks, but free hot meals.

yinghang 11y ago
Except for Air Asia
- maxxxxx 11y ago
  The stuff they sell is quite good. I much prefer paying form something decent than getting crap for free.
  - jsprogrammer 11y ago
    That crap isn't free (you did buy a ticket, right?).
ghaff 11y ago
I imagine I'm the minority opinion--and Asian airline meals are generally better than US ones but that probably just reflects my preferences--but I actually don't especially regret the general demise of hot meals on most flights. They were always horrible in coach to the degree that I can recall joking cartoons about them. Serving the meals was disruptive and often stunk up the cabin. Now, when it comes to passing out cold snacks, by all means.
- rconti 11y ago
  Yeah. To be honest, I almost looked forward to layovers during air travel for my once- or twice- yearly McDonalds visit. The food options in airports, as dismal and overpriced as they tend to be, are gourmet fare compared with what's served on the airplane. I'd just as soon not have to shuffle my laptop or book around to make space for lousy food.
  - ghaff 11y ago
    Many airport options have improved quite a bit--though most are still hardly cheap. At some point, the message seems to have gotten out--for at least some terminals--that very few people want pseudo-fine dining at airports but many want good, relatively fast food.
CyberDildonics 11y ago
They give snack but they sell meals.
pcurve 11y ago
I've flown on couple dozen airlines. Yes, Asian carriers are almost always better in terms of food. I was actually served medium cooked steak on Asiana. But the real difference is in their cabin attendants. x10 better. But what I hate flying about isn't the food or CA service. It's flying into and out of JFK. Everyone working there is f'king miserable. They treat people like live stocks. And their customs and immigration are incredibly inefficiently run.
- ghaff 11y ago
  >But the real difference is in their cabin attendants. x10 better. At least some of which is for reasons that, properly, wouldn't fly in the US. They hire young, attractive, college-educated women who are enjoying flying the world for a few years before they settle down and get married. And who are not expected to stay on once they've enjoyed those few years.
  - GVIrish 11y ago
    I'm sure that's some of it, but I suspect the bigger factor is that some of the other international carriers put a bigger emphasis on customer service. I don't thing being young, college-educated, or female matters nearly as much as working for an organization that prides itself on customer service.
    - ghaff 11y ago
      That's certainly fair. Although it's probably easier to implement that emphasis on customer service with young, enthusiastic people as opposed to a 25-year veteran who has been through various downsizings and contract disputes.
      - GVIrish 11y ago
        Yeah I think a big component of the poor customer service with United is being beat down over years of cost-cutting. I've seen firsthand how they've drastically cut down the number of gate agents which leaves almost a skeleton crew to deal with customers. In that environment I'm sure it's hard for someone to be chipper and helpful.
mtanski 11y ago
The competition is Asian for Airlines is a lot more intense then in North America. Almost every country has a Carier or 2 or 3. They all fly to each other countries so there is a lot of choice. Every country has been expanding its airports for the 20 years. And competition is driving the use of brand new planes and perks. Now look at North America. There are only 3 countries here. United States airlines are the largest carriers. In the past 20 years consolidation has reduced the number of airlines. That's why despite the huge drop in oily our not seeing ticket prices go down. In most cities / airports there is one dominating airline and they know chances are you will take their flight. There's times of the year (not holiday) when it's marginally more expensive for me to to Vietnam for a vacation then to visit my family living in Austin. This is from NYC.

Karunamon 11y ago

"Very many little things" is a great way of describing how bad air travel is. None of the issues are all that bad taken individually, but taken together, the experience is worse than the difference of its parts. * Security (a stressful PITA) * Boarding (never goes smoothly) * Environment (tiny seats, loud, sick passengers, babies, etc) * Service (rude/inattentive FA's, overpriced small extras that feel insulting) * Delays (taking off, getting there, getting your bags) And then then there's the one-offs. A bag gets lost, a connection gets missed, mechanical problems.. Most of this stuff can be addressed directly.

CyberDildonics 11y ago
Need to be humbled and reminded how small you are? Fly United.
scottkduncan 11y ago
There are also a few great things about modern air travel. For one, it has gotten considerably cheaper (and thus more accessible to a broad spectrum of consumers) over time. It's also amazingly safe for travel in a metal tube at 550 MPH 35,000 feet above the earth. There are market-based products that would address many of your concerns if you are willing to pay. Prefer a larger seat or priority boarding? Try economy plus, which will also decrease the likelihood of sitting next to a baby and may get you more attentive service. The reality though is that collectively we prefer lower prices and choose flights almost exclusively by this metric, but then gripe about all the ways air travel could be better. One study on the cost of airfare over time: https://www.aei.org/publication/the-cost-of-air-travel-in-the-us-has-been-remarkably-stable-for-the-last-decade-and-17-cheaper-than-20-years-ago/ https://www.aei.org/publication/the-cost-of-air-travel-in-th...
- Zigurd 11y ago
  Making a product horrible in order to sell "less horrible" is not a great example of a market success.
  - ForHackernews 11y ago

ams6110 11y ago

Free snacks (or meals) for employees is a quirk of tech employers. Or McDonald's. At most employers you're lucky if they provide coffee (mine currently does not).