Barbell,
As I have said in the past, the actual absence of meals in F while BOB is offered in the back is merely a symptom of a bigger problem. It is symptomatic of an airline which doesn't know what it wants to be when it grows up.
The snack basket is a wonderful touch-I took advantage of it quite a bit yesterday (3 segments, all relatively short--LGA-BOS-DCA-CLT). Yes we would be upset if it went away. On a flight of 2 to 3 hours, such as from LGA or PHL to most Florida cities, where some sort of sandwich/cold plate has been the standard in F when BOB is offered in the back, it just makes no sense to offer nothing but the basket in front. The basket is offered on short segments like an hour or two. To do so sends the wrong message to the customer who is up front, whether it be an upgrading VFF or someone who actually pays more to be up front--and remember that regardless of intent, PERCEPTION IS REALITY to most customers.
Again--I think we all understand that you need to cut costs, but you need to consider also that if you want to be an LCC you can no longer get away with charging legacy prices. You can't take from one side without giving back on the other. The perception to the VFF community, who helped keep this place open during 2 BKs, is that the changes to service/DM are totally one sided--the company is taking and taking and giving nothing back. There have been virtually NO enhancements or rewards to those of us who fly every week. Adding insult to injury, they take from DM, and cut amenities, but keep the ridiculously high fares. This cannot continue if the company hopes to keep their loyal customers loyal.
As a comparison on meals, United pricing is often equal to or lower than US in most markets. On relatively short flights (ORD to major east coast cities, and LAX/SNA to DEN or SEA, etc), UA serves HOT meals in F, on real plates, with tablecloths and real silverware. It appears that they want the frequent business traveler, while it APPEARS that US wants the once a year liesure traveler.
I can write some of this off to testing the waters to see how much the company can get away with, but it is getting tiring even to me. If it weren't for the outstanding and consistently wonderful US front line people (I had nothing but wonderful experiences yesterday--Andrea in DCA, Thank You again), I would most likely already be gone.
So while you are saying that we do nothing but complain, we feel somewhat justified--again PERCEPTION is REALITY to most customers, and Tempe is sending the WRONG message to the folks they should want to keep the most. If they want to cut and cut, they need to lower fares, period.
My best to you all.....