Customer Experience
Feeding Budget Airline Passengers
In an age of rising fuel prices, and having recently flown on a Northwest flight where snacks could be purchased for $5, rather than being included in the price of the flight, it occured to me that the airline could still provide snacks, and do so at almost no cost.
The way to do this would be to use the flight as a targeted sample for snack products. By providing free snacks on an otherwise snack-less flight the snack company gets exclusive access to a specific passenger feedback either by completing cards before exiting the aircraft or by going online post-flight and completing a survey for a chance to win a prize. On an even more recent flight with Porter Airlines, Terra Chips were offered as a snack option, and I upon landing tried three different grocery stores before finally securing a bag. They were that good. What do you think? Is in-flight try-vertising a viable solution for airlines intent on cutting costs? Let me know in the comments.
As a somewhat related aside, here’s a clip from Mad TV on budget airlines…
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4 comments for “Feeding Budget Airline Passengers”
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I like the idea….would be good to see it, but i am sure that they will find something else to charge if not the food.
LOVE this idea!!
In theory, this is a great idea. Practically though, things have really changed in the last few years. With the cost of fuel almost tripling in the last 8 years or so, you would be amazed what they are cutting out to save on fuel costs. Everything has become notably smaller on the planes, and you have to fight with them just to get a full can of pop. Dragging along a bunch of snacks to have people try would be a waste of fuel unless they companies paid the airlines to cover the cost of lifting it to 40,000 feet. Even in flight magazines need to carry their weight. For every in flight magazine, they measure the revenue generated by advertising versus the cost of flying said magazine across the globe. If they don’t match up, the magazine gets dumped, which is actually something I’ve seen lately.
On an alternate note, related to your chips, my brother was recently on a flight out west where he got a Chipotle chicken wrap that was branded with a Swiss Chalet logo on it. He said it was the best tasting thing Swiss Chalet ever came out with, and when he went to get one ad his local restaurant, they said it wasn’t nor has ever been on their menu. This is probably a good example of what you are saying, but he never had a chance to fill out a card to comment. And, when i’m flying, if something is plunked down next to me on an 8 hour flight, unless completely horrible, i’ll eat it as it is still technically one of the most expensive meals I have ever paid for.
All in all, interesting ideas, but I think fuel costs will be the ultimate deciding factors for the airlines. With so many airlines and tour companies shutting down, like XL Tours in the UK, Zoom, and now Alitalia barely clinging to life, its going to get alot more difficult in the coming years, and you’ll keep seeing more and more conveniences being stripped down.
Ever noticed how the bathrooms don’t have the little soaps anymore?
@Kelly, Thanks, I’d be pretty happy to find out that an airline is actually doing it, or has tried it in the past.
@Mike - fuel costs are definitely going to be the deciding factor, but if the flight costs a little bit more and you know that you’re going to be treated to some new snacks or beverages, I think there’s a niche where people will pay a little bit more to be treated like people.
Also, since I first wrote this post, I was at a BBQ and friend had brought Terra Chips. She too had flown a Porter flight the week before and also hunted down a bag of Terra Chips when she landed. I imagine Terra must be paying quite a bit to have Porter distribute them in flight, but the amount of word-of-mouth exposure they’re getting is probably worth it.