Continental drops complimentary meals

The airline said in a statement it was "introducing a variety of high quality, healthy food choices," for economy class passengers on "many" U.S., Canada and Latin American routes.

Phrasing that another way, the airline said economy class on "certain" international routes and on domestic flights longer than six hours would continue to receive complimentary meals.

"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," said Continental's executive vice president and chief marketing officer Jim Compton.

Continental is the country's fourth largest carrier and the last of the major airlines to pull back on complimentary meals, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Copyright 2010 United Press International