Cup or can?

[a320av8r]

🙂 Before the dark side took over old jetPiedmont- we gave the whole can of soda to the customer instead of just a cup. It was a big deal when USAir discontinued the policy. I wonder if this should be revisited since it is part of our heritage?

 

[Non Rever]

It all comes down to the bottom line, dollars and cents. So based on that i would say a whole can will not become policy. I've found that if you ask for the can the FA's will oblige.

 

[wings396]

I thought that they had gone to using the 32oz plastic bottles to pour the cups of Soda out of. This would be the best way to cut down on the waste of 1/2 used cans, along with all of the added trash to deal with.

 

[desertgal]

On the West side, the service standard is different, depending on if its a BOB flight or not.
Most of the time, FAs stick to the standard, on account of no one wants a letter in their file because they served a WHOLE CAN when they were not supposed to. (seriously, this happens)
BOB flights give a whole can on the initial service only.
Sometimes, on 2 beverage flights, FAs will give a whole can, altho the standard is two rounds on the cart, pouring. Generally, whatever the 3rd FA wants to do is how its done.
Short hauls, pour only. There's not enuf time to wait on pax to finish the whole can and get trash picked up before descent when it gets bumpy/unsafe.
A pax is given a whole can whenever they ask for one.

 

[USXboy]

I wonder if we could ever do what National Airlines did -- have a soft serve fountain on the cart. That will not only get rid of waste, you get fresher product.

I also like the idea of 32 oz bottles if we are going to pour-- less waste is more friendly to our lovely Planet (yes, I have an environmental side!) and it will also save time.

I was on a small airline in Central America and they poured out of 2 liters.. i laughed when I first saw it, then realized that they try to get rid of the entire 2 liter on the flight... for some reason I believe it was Pepsi, Pepsi Max, and Slice (lemon lime at the time).

So, right now we're paying about 27 cents for a can of soda, retail is 35 cents to distributors. If a 2 liter is only 49 cents to distributors for soda, we could probably get them for about 39/39 cents and could serve 8 to 10 passengers out of a 2 liter bottle.... hum..... would it work though?

 

[BoeingBoy]

I wonder if we could ever do what National Airlines did -- have a soft serve fountain on the cart. That will not only get rid of waste, you get fresher product.

I also like the idea of 32 oz bottles if we are going to pour-- less waste is more friendly to our lovely Planet (yes, I have an environmental side!) and it will also save time.

Since I'm throwing out opinions today, here's some more. At least these are based on life-long association with the soft drink industry - I think I mentioned once that my brother-in-law ran the local Coke bottling company as far back as I can remember, then his son took over and still runs it today.

1 - Fountain dispensers and "freshness": they come in two types - premix and postmix. The premix, just like it sounds, is premixed soft drink so is not necessarily fresher than the cans/bottles used now. The postmix uses containers of syrup with seperate containers of carbonated water and the dispenser mixes the two. I'm sure everyone has had the experience of getting a "fountain" soft drink that had too much carbonated water for the amount of syrup - that's postmix when the syrup container is almost empty.

Which brings up the subject of weight. Either pre or post mix uses pretty large containers that aren't very light - 4 or 5 gal and about 50 lbs. if my memory serves. Plus the weight of the "fountain" itself. For a selection of more than 1 or 2 "flavors" of carbonated beverage, a cart would get very heavy very fast if it used either instead of smaller packaging.

2 - The "taste sensation": the best tasting (or at least most like the original which only came in small containers) carbonated soft drink comes from the smallest packaging. Bigger packages are "bottled" with more carbonation since every time a serving is poured the contents are agitated and carbonation is lost from the product remaining. The attempt is to strike a balance between being too "fizzy" with the first servings and being not "fizzy" enough in the last servings, so somewhere around the middle servings the "taste sensation" will be same as it is in the original single-serving containers (Coke was originally available in 6.5 fl. oz. bottle).

Another tidbit about carbonated beverages - an airplane cabin in flight is about the worst place most folks go when it comes to the speed with which carbonated beverages go "flat", or lose their "fizz". It's all about pressure or lack thereof. The lower the air pressure, the faster the carbonation "escapes" from an open container, so the faster the beverage begins to taste "flat".

3 - Environmental: As long as the containers are recycled, either cans or plastic bottles are environmentally friendly (but the larger bottles would represent less volume). In the absense of recycling, however, the cans are better - aluminum eventually decomposes in the landfill while plastic lasts virtually forever.

Before anyone says it, I know - more than anyone ever wanted to know about the subject.....

Jim

 

[CaptBud330]

I've seen "mini" cans of soft drinks at my local Wal*Mart. They are half the size of a standard can. That would satisfy the can or cup crowd. I would think storage would be more convenient as well.

 

[BoeingBoy]

If I were designing the beverage service (I'm not) and cost didn't factor in much (it most likely does), here's what I'd do...

1 - any flight with food offered would serve the whole can. I hate having finished my cup of beverage before the food is offered.

2 - longer non-food flights (maybe something like over 2 hours) would serve the whole can. I can finish a cup before the cart has gotten 3-4 rows past me.

3 - shorter flights would be cup with full can on request.

4 - really short flights would be no-serve as now.

Jim

 

[FWAAA]

I know that nobody asked me, but PeoplExpress didn't fail because it demanded $0.50 for a Coke. That was actually one of its good ideas.

Asking for a buck today would similarly be a good idea. Why?

Although most FAs willingly oblige and smile when they give me the whole can when I ask for one, there's really no words to describe my anger for those less frequent times when they say "No. All you get are these three ounces and a bunch of ice."

When they say "No," I am tempted to pull a $10 from my pocket and tell them I want SIX cans, and I want them NOW. Just tell me how much money you want! And give me my reasonable request. Christalmighty - you're not my mom and I shouldn't have to beg you for a full can.

I often buy soda in 12 packs for about under $0.30/can; I realize that airline catered soda may run closer to a buck each (factoring in the huge money paid to the SkyChefs or Gate Gourmet drivers). So a buck sounds fair to me. Or if you get a credit card swipe, it really doesn't matter what you charge: $1.47 would be ok by me.

But trying to pay for billions of higher priced fuel by skimping on Coke is just infuriating. If $5 for an alcoholic beverage in coach is acceptable, then charge for all soft drinks.

 

[LCC_#1]

On the West side, the service standard is different, depending on if its a BOB flight or not.
Most of the time, FAs stick to the standard, on account of no one wants a letter in their file because they served a WHOLE CAN when they were not supposed to. (seriously, this happens)
BOB flights give a whole can on the initial service only.
Sometimes, on 2 beverage flights, FAs will give a whole can, altho the standard is two rounds on the cart, pouring. Generally, whatever the 3rd FA wants to do is how its done.
Short hauls, pour only. There's not enuf time to wait on pax to finish the whole can and get trash picked up before descent when it gets bumpy/unsafe.
A pax is given a whole can whenever they ask for one.

We do the same thing on the East side.

We have pennied and nickled the customer for too much and too long. If management wants to write me up for giving a can to a customer on a 5 hour flight with a BOB meal, then I will take my chances. I would LOVE to take this one to the press if suspended or fired.

Yeah, Fly US and get a sip of soda with your cup of ice. Don't worry, we'll be around in 3.5 hours or ring your call bell and drive the entire a/c crazy.

Again, airline managements FAIL to ask those of us who knows what works.

And PLEASE, no more we are a lcc. That is becoming an excuse for being a Low Cheap-ass Carrier. ENOUGH already!!

 

[UWCactus]

We do the same thing on the East side.

We have pennied and nickled the customer for too much and too long. If management wants to write me up for giving a can to a customer on a 5 hour flight with a BOB meal, then I will take my chances. I would LOVE to take this one to the press if suspended or fired.

Yeah, Fly US and get a sip of soda with your cup of ice. Don't worry, we'll be around in 3.5 hours or ring your call bell and drive the entire a/c crazy.

Again, airline managements FAIL to ask those of us who knows what works.

And PLEASE, no more we are a lcc. That is becoming an excuse for being a Low Cheap-ass Carrier. ENOUGH already!!

This can thing is totally misunderstood.

First off...you will not be fired for serving a can on a BOB flight at HP West...IT IS the service procedure to serve a can on a BOB flight. This was decided because two crewmembers were working in the main cabin on most meal flights (A320) and it was the only way to accomplish the meal service and something to drink at the same time. Otherwise the cup of beverage would have been consumed prior to meal service. Its up to the passenger to determine how fast they would like to consume that entire can of junk. On US West they will be offered water during the BOB (buy on board) service. on some long haul flights an additional POURING beverage service is completed prior to landing. On most BOB flight with sandwiches sold, there is: A can service, A water service, A poured beverage service (depending on flight time)

Can's are only an approved service procedure for BOB flights. What management wants with other services is to pour the drinks, whether it be a 1 beverage flight or two beverage flight with no meals. This is the customer service element of the service. Slamming a can down on a 2 hour flight and disappearing is not the level of service management looks for.

You will not be talked to about giving anyone a can...any passenger can have a can anytime they ask for it. The can is not to replace an additonal service.

 

[CLTBWIDAYSYR]

Slamming a can down on a 2 hour flight and disappearing is not the level of service management looks for.

While my can was not "slammed" down on my tray table, Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates, Singapore, Swiss, SAA, SAS and Cathay Pacific (those are all I've flown), always give you a cup of ice (one or two cubes) and a can of soda in coach. As a matter of fact, on my LH flight from MUC to CLT Tuesday I was given TWO cans of Diet Coke and one cup of ice. Strange, LH has record profits, pays well, has spotless airplanes and still manages to give me a can of soda.

 

[Furloughd4now]

While my can was not "slammed" down on my tray table, Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates, Singapore, Swiss, SAA, SAS and Cathay Pacific (those are all I've flown), always give you a cup of ice (one or two cubes) and a can of soda in coach. As a matter of fact, on my LH flight from MUC to CLT Tuesday I was given TWO cans of Diet Coke and one cup of ice. Strange, LH has record profits, pays well, has spotless airplanes and still manages to give me a can of soda.

On the domestic end, I flew CO LAS-IAH 2 times last year. They did BVG, small snack, and 2 more Bvgs (all poured I might add). Point being is that the Bvg cart had been out almost the entire flight. they just kept coming and going up and down the aisles. :unsure:


Some standards should adjusted. ie. whole can on flts over 2.5 hours, otherwise pour unless requested otherwise by pax. Not everyone drinks a whole can.

 

[CLTBWIDAYSYR]

Not everyone drinks a whole can.

And they're dehydrated because of it.

 

[UWCactus]

And they're dehydrated because of it.

Right...carbonated soda and sugary juices really combat dehydration.