No free lunch; at least not on Continental

Continental Airlines, apparently the last U.S. carrier serving free meals in the coach cabin, will start charging for these meals on its domestic flights and Canadian flights (and a few routes to Latin America).

Don’t worry — Continental’s international passengers will still have complimentary meals (and on domestic flights longer than six hours). But the pressure was too great on Continental to make up for losses from weak consumer demand and the economic downturn. CEO Jeff Smisek says charging for extras is part of the plan to help Continental “reverse almost $1 billion in losses since the 2001 U.S. terrorist attacks,” according to BusinessWeek.

Charging for what used to be free — from meals to baggage to blankets and pillows — is the name of the game for airlines now. Earlier this month, Continental announced it would charge passengers in coach a fee for extra legroom. Ancillary fees — described by some industry watchers as “the golden goose” for cash-hungry airlines — have helped many carriers partially offset devastating losses in 2008 and 2009. Even profitable airlines, among which budget carrier Southwest Airlines is king, see the wisdom in fees.

It’s a brave new world for airline passengers and fees are a part of it. Don’t expect them to go away any time soon, if ever.

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Photo by Alex Steffler, used under a Creative Commons license.