13 Feb 2004 | Zelnox said...

Good idea. It helps create extra saliva for swallowing at take-off and landing also. Some people in my family have the pressure in the ear problem. What is that called again?

13 Feb 2004 | Jayme said...

Good idea, provided that each mint or piece of gum was individually wrapped. It wouldn't be so appealing to be among the last to deplane and have to stick your hand in a bowl of unwrapped mints or gum that is sprinkled with an invisible layer of urine and feces.

wrapped = good idea.
unwrapped = very bad idea

13 Feb 2004 | JF said...

Good idea, provided that each mint or piece of gum was individually wrapped.

Thought that was obvious ;)

13 Feb 2004 | Dr_God said...

And if it's a long flight, travellers may need a Jolt to wake up. ;)

13 Feb 2004 | Jeremy C. Wright said...

When I'm flying locally I fly Westjet. They always offer gum and mints (wrapped!). One of the best companies for service in the Canadian skies.

13 Feb 2004 | Sarah said...

When I flew Korean Air from Seoul to LAX, we were offered a cup of coffee about an hour before we landed. After a 22 hour flight it was exactly what some weary passengers needed to perk up, especially since the majority of flyers would be connecting to another flight. Knowing this, I thought it was quite considerate of the staff to offer drinks for those not headed home just yet.

Plus, sleeping through a descent and being jolted awake by a bumpy landing is never pleasant.

I do not, however, recommend Koran Air.

13 Feb 2004 | Sarah said...

I mean, KOREAN air.

Koran Air, I've heard, is quite lovely.

13 Feb 2004 | kageki said...

You know what else would be cool?

If they didn't herd people into planes like cattle to fit in our veal pens so they can engage in price wars. $50 in the plane ticket isn't affecting buying decisions at this point in time, it's a quality issue that'll set you apart.

It's not like i'm a big fat porker either; i'm just kinda tall (6'2"), and it's miserable flying in those aluminum coffins.

13 Feb 2004 | kageki said...

13 Feb 2004 | Sarah said...
When I flew Korean Air from Seoul to LAX, we were offered a cup of coffee about an hour before we landed. After a 22 hour flight ...

It's 15 hours from NYC to Seoul, how is it 7 hours more from LA?

13 Feb 2004 | Bill Brown said...

Airline profit margins are razor-thin. This sort of giveaway flies in the face of the same circumstances that encouraged airlines to limit free food to peanuts and less. Sure, gum and mints are cheap in the quantity you'd imagine at one gate in one terminal in one airport but they get really expensive in the aggregate. It might be viable if they were distributed one per passenger, but if I know my fellow human beings, there's going to be many who take handfuls.

The casual dismissal of concessionaires' concerns underestimates the clout of a constant source of rents and revenue. All it would take one store making one request to the airport to result in a rule banning such giveaways. And it's not limited to the concessions either: airlines who don't do this would put pressure on the airport to end the practice.

I could, however, see an airline doing this for business travelers and frequent flyers through the venue of a VIP lounge or first class seating area. The courting of these travelers is worth the expenditure and would also limit its expense.

You could argue that such a practice would increase one airline's competitive advantage over the others, but I think the impact on revenue would be negligble and more than offset by the cost. Moreover, I think most people wouldn't get the thoughtfulness of this "small gesture." I know I wouldn't have if Jason hadn't pointed it out.

13 Feb 2004 | Brad Hurley said...

I don't know if they still do this, but when I used to fly overseas on British Airways, they always provided a hot, moist facecloth at the end of the overnight flight to help you freshen up. And their snack pak always included some breath mints or mint chocolates. Those little touches were the main reason I told my travel agent to book me on British Air whenever possible. I think it does make a difference.

13 Feb 2004 | Matthew Oliphant said...

I'd hand it out as a final walkthorugh during the check for seatbelts/tray tables/upright positions... People pausing to try and grab a piece (or many because of greedy hands) while others have already been waiting to get off the plane would be annoying.

Overall a good idea, I'd just do it sooner, like Sarah's cup of coffee.

13 Feb 2004 | pek said...

To add to Bill Brown's comments... My friend's wife was a stewardsess for Delta. She at one point sent in a suggestion to the higher ups saying that the piece of lettuce used as bedding for the sandwiches served on flights was never eaten and consistently went into the garbage. 86'ing the single pieces of lettuce saved some ridiculous amount of money... like 1.3 million dollars per year. BTW, this story may not be true but it's what he told me.

13 Feb 2004 | Chris from Scottsdale said...

On long flights sometimes they flight attendants will hand out hot wash cloths. This is handy when you want to freshen up and wash your hands and face.

If they can hand out cokes, I'd suggest they can hand out gum.

13 Feb 2004 | said...

Hand out coke? Pass the mirror my man.

13 Feb 2004 | Britt said...

If the container of mints/gum was just outside the plane, it shouldn't cause any further delays. The bottle-neck in deplaning is in the aisle.

JF, with ideas like this, you have to apply for the Apprentice2.

14 Feb 2004 | pb said...

Bill, I disagree with most of your points. This would not be much of a cost factor for the airlines. A million bucks is nothing.

There is no way this could be banned. Instead of a bowl at the gate, they should just be handed out by the attendants. That would give enough time to suck on them, as well.

14 Feb 2004 | pb said...

And the business customers wouldn't care as much since they are likely already prepared.

14 Feb 2004 | brian b said...

i recall having flown on a flight recently, probably virgin atlantic to/from dulles to heathrow, and they passed out mints @ the end of the flight. however, they were the chocolate covered kind, and i didn't think those helped w/the whole "coolness" of the mouth aspect we are discussing here.

I think the seats need to be widened an inch or 2, because I am not fat, but have broad shoulders, and am constantly brushing up against the person next to me.

14 Feb 2004 | Jeremy C. Wright said...

I didn't read the full original post. I agree that it makes no sense to have it as part of deplaning. It should be near the end of the customer experience.

Airlines do have a fairly tough job. If governments reduce taxes, even mildly, though the airline industry would easily be able to save itself. I know that here in Canada up to 60% of the price of airfare is taxes, surcharges, AIF's, etc. Most of these are set by airports or governments. I know that I, and friends, would fly more if a ticket price were slightly more reasonable.

The fact that I can get 1$ ticket fares to anywhere in the country, but it'll end up costing me up to 200$ after all the extra bits is extremely annoying and prevents me from flying as much as I'd like to.

14 Feb 2004 | lisa broussard said...

i think it makes sense for domestic (US) flights.
there are many amenities on international flights.

mints aren't even offered on first class domestic flights.

i had the opportunity to fly virgin while traveling in australia -- that was the worst! the flight wasn't any less than the other airlines and you had to pay for everything -- peanuts, coffee, soft drinks, water... insane.

15 Feb 2004 | Erin said...

On long flights sometimes they flight attendants will hand out hot wash cloths.

I vaguely remember this on my flight to Germany (via Lufthansa). They gave out lots of treats -- washcloths, juice, food, snacks, etc. -- and it was only a seven-hour flight! And, upon arrival in Frankfurt, there were free newspapers (American and International) and coffee at the gate.

As for the mints, why not give every passenger a mint (or two) in the cabin before landing?

And while we're giving props to certain airlines, a big thumbs up for JetBlue. The in-seat Directv rocks, the fares are cheap, the snacks are tasty... and now they offer free wireless Internet at their JFK terminal!

15 Feb 2004 | Peter Davidson said...

I have been on flights where sample packs of breath mints have been passed out in flight. This was a marketing move by the gum/mint company. The airline was probably paid for the placement.

This could be done at little or no cost (for product) to the airline. Other considerations like the generation of additional on board trash at scale are probably a greater limiting factor. Not every airline enjoys the help of happy passengers in cleaning the cabin like Jet Blue.

15 Feb 2004 | Clark MacLeod said...

I think it would take far more than candy to rescue what I would consider completely atrocious customer service on every North American airline I have ever flown. There is no greater shock to your system than flying Singapore airlines business class to Vancouver and then being forced to take Air Canada across Canadian skies.

16 Feb 2004 | ecoman said...

I feel sick that no one has pointed out the obvious. That offering more little pieces of crap because we can, doesn't mean it's the best thing to do. Isn't there a 37 signal about that? Just because you can doens't mean you should?

Don't get me wrong. In the big scheme of things, a little extra individually wrapped gum and mints is not a big deal, and people really should think twice about flying so much anyway, with the amount of damage to the environment.

The idea of "Let's just throw in more stuff" instead of "Let's think of how we can minimize our impact on the earth" really scares me.

The last flight i had to take, they walked down the isle asking "Who wants these disposable socks and slippers?" It's frightning to see how many people take them without a second thought. Not because they need them, but because they can, and they somehow think that they are free, and the resources used to make them developed from thin air.

Do we really need more crap? If I get off the plane to meet a loved one, they generally understand that I have sticky breath... and they don't care, because they love me.

But then, maybe I'm just a crazy HTMinimalist, and a crazy minimalist when it comes to useing the resources of our earth beyond sustainable limits, "just because we can... for now"

16 Feb 2004 | pb said...

That's a good point, ecoman.

One thing I'm surprised they haven't figured out is internet access and power. They could easily charge a few dollars per hour for net access. And the first airline to get it would have quite an advantage for some period of time.

16 Feb 2004 | pb said...

Has *anyone* ever placed a call on those silly AirFones?

16 Feb 2004 | Daniel said...

Air New Zealand does just this. On most flights (a few short hops I took didn't have it) they give a big bowl of candies to a child on board and have them hand them out to all of the passengers. It's a little corny, but appreciated by the passengers. And, yes, they are individually wrapped.

16 Feb 2004 | Carl said...

On most flights (a few short hops I took didn't have it) they give a big bowl of candies to a child on board and have them hand them out to all of the passengers. It's a little corny, but appreciated by the passengers

Now THAT is very very cool. LOVE THAT!

16 Feb 2004 | LISA said...

i flew NZ air (first class) and this wasn't done on my flight.
maybe it's flight dependent.

but -- the interesting part of flying NZ air is that we had real utensils (the metal kind) and the pilot didn't close the cockpit door .. and this was post 9/11/01

17 Feb 2004 | Don Schenck said...

Just got back from Vegas last night (Monday night), and nothing, NO THING, about any of my flights is particularly memorable. Well ... except for the briskness of the attendants (U. S. Airways).

It's basically point A to point B transportation ... the Chevy Chevette of travel.

*sigh*

Vegas ... on the other hand ... what I *remember* of it ... my 4th time (and I'm going the next fives years, too) and still surprising. Decadent, over the top, yes ... but still fun.

17 Feb 2004 | One of several Steves said...

I could, however, see an airline doing this for business travelers and frequent flyers through the venue of a VIP lounge or first class seating area.

Already done. Well, not when you get off the plane, but there are plenty of perks for those fliers. As someone who flies 50k-plus miles a year, and therefore has the club membership and also gets upgraded to first class a lot, there are plenty of small little perks like little snacks, etc.

One of the nicest first class perks is that they give you a beverage before the plane takes off. Free alcohol's nice, too. (Speaking of which, that's a good way to piss people off - get rid of free booze on international flights. I was stunned when that happened to me last year on a US Air flight to London. I will avoid flying with them for that - and many other - reasons. Not that I booze it up on the plane, but on an 8-hour flight, a glass of wine is a nice thing.)

This would not be much of a cost factor for the airlines. A million bucks is nothing.

When you're losing hundreds of billions a year, as United, American and Delta have been doing for the last three years ago, a million bucks is *everything*.

One thing I'm surprised they haven't figured out is internet access and power. They could easily charge a few dollars per hour for net access. And the first airline to get it would have quite an advantage for some period of time.

United does this. Haven't used it. Haven't seen people using it on the at-least dozen flights I've been on since it was introduced late last year. Doubt it will be a huge advantage.

17 Feb 2004 | Hagbard Celine said...

The March issue of Fast Company (not yet available online) has a short article on JetConnect, a Verizon service offered on United and Continental. "Unlimited email from takeoff to landing for just $15.98!"

"Lucky for me, JetConnect doesn't really work. First of all, its a dial-up service, claiming speeds of up to 56k per second (though I only got up to 20k). At that speed, downloading the special software required just to get me to the home page took close to 45 minutes...Soldiering on, I tried sending a short message to my editor--and learned JetConnect isn't really live. Messages are cached, then sent in bulk. It took 12 minutes before the page refreshed to my inbox--with no receipt for my message...Three days later, my editor still hadn't received his email...I hear that Boeing promises a high-speed Internet service for planes later this year. But for now, I can watch the movie in peace."

19 Feb 2004 | christine said...

I write as an ex-stewardess of the early 1970's - British United which then became British Caledonian. Not only did we offer sweets on take-off and landing, we also gave out hot towels on major flights so that passengers could feel human again. I think the chewing gum idea is good (wrapped, of course) but I hate the thought that many people may throw it on the floor later on. Parsley is good for halitosis. Maybe cabin staff could stand with a vase of ecology-friendly parsley instead of gum!