CNN is reporting that US Airways has dropped its beverage (non-alcoholic) charge for coach passengers citing negative perceptions of its brand. While i did think it reflected negatively on US Airways, I am, to some degree, surprised that they dropped the charge. 

This charge has been in place for quite a long time and while other airlines declined to adopt it, it had been reported that US Airways’ a la carte pricing was working well and that presumably included the beverage charge.  It was a bit of an extreme in the airline world to charge for things such as soda, water and coffee but there had been numerous reports that it was also working acceptably well.   Some reports portrayed it as reducing workload for US Airways flight crew and that most passengers had accepted it with little reaction.

I can only conclude that US Airways has made this decision as a result of evidence that it was affecting their bookings in some way.  Indeed, for those business travelers now relegated to traveling in economy, it may well have been responsible for driving decisions on who to fly when a choice presented itself. 

However, I don’t think this spells the end of a la carte pricing among the airlines.  A way to manage revenue and improve profitability has revealed itself and airlines will continue to avail themselves of it in the future.  Airlines will probably adjust their pricing according to market conditions but expect things like luggage fees and blankets for sale to continue.

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