When it comes to certain fees and marketing possibilities, Continental and Southwest airlines are two carriers flying in different directions.
Continental revealed today that in the fall it will no longer serve free meals in the economy cabin on certain U.S./Canada and Latin America routes.
"Our traditional free-food model has served us well for many years, but we need to change to reflect today's market and customer preferences," states Jim Compton, Continental's chief marketing officer.
However, there were no data cited to back up apparent claims that Continental economy-cabin passengers prefer to pay for onboard meals.
Meanwhile, Southwest has a different strategy on ancillary services. It claims to have picked up market share with its bags-fly-free policies.
Southwest indeed implemented several new fees last year, but today it debuted a new video featuring Southwest employees, who revealed much about their true feelings about the airline's bags-fly free policy.
Here's the video:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK9xwJqjcJ4
Southwest says it will unveil seven new spots involving similar themes over the next few days.
In addition, Southwest ads featuring employees will appear in online banner ads and at the airport, as well.