Here is an article from 2003 that touches on the subject: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3073562/ It's impossible to talk about cutting airline costs without mentioning Bob Crandall, the firebrand former chief of American Airlines. And so, let us revive the olive story. Most notorious among Crandall's legendary cost-cutting was his idea to remove an olive from each salad served to passengers. A tiny garnish would never be missed, the reasoning went, and savings amounted to at least $40,000 a year.
Oh, for the industry's salad days. With two major U.S. carriers in bankruptcy and an expected $8 billion in losses from last year, it's safe to say we're way beyond olives. On 1/3/07, Ray Bradley <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I really do mean this with absolutely zero sarcasm, but it's hard to convey that through plain text - that is ridiculously fascinating. I guess one olive over the course of thousands of flights each could really mean something eventually. What other bizarre airline facts have you learned, or was this all from CNBC? - Ray the Suddenly Engrossed In A Subject Matter That Had Never Occured to Him Until This Very Message. --- In [email protected]<weingartenchatters%40yahoogroups.com>, Diane Lochner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > at the risk of boring everyone, airlines study *everything* to shave time, minutes, weight, etc to maximize the amount of time their aircraft are in the air (airplanes in the air make money...airplanes sitting around do not) I know that recently, in the last year or so, a few airlines experimented with different boarding procedures and as I recall, there wasn't a staggering difference in time-to-load figures for different schemes (ie boarding in groups, boarding all at once, by row, etc.) > > Most airlines who have first class cabins allow those passengers, people with kids/needing assistance, exit row, and elite-status passengers to board earlier. Southwest's system of boarding zones lets them "turn" a plane at an airport very quickly and get it back in the air. > > I think it was American that at once time learned they could save something like $30,000 a year by reducing by one the number of olives in a salad. If anyone out there is REALLY curious, CNBC did a fascinating 2 hour behind the scenes look at American Airlines earlier this fall. > > Yes, I am a huge airline nerd. > >
