Northwest Will Stop Serving Pretzels on Domestic Flights

In the latest cost-cutting move by a struggling air carrier, Northwest Airlines Corp. is nixing pretzels on its domestic flights, months after it stopped serving free meals.

Beginning June 9, coach passengers who want anything other than soda will have to pay for it. They can get a 3-ounce bag of trail mix for $1. Northwest Airlines spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said Friday that the airline had no immediate plans to stop offering free soda.

Ebenhoch said pulling the free pretzels should save $2 million a year. Northwest, the nation’s fourth-largest airline, lost $458 million in the last quarter alone.

Shares of Northwest rose 12 cents to $5.59.

Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation’s third-largest airline, said in March that it was dropping its food-for-sale program, boosting prices on alcoholic beverages and eliminating pillows on many flights. As of April 3, Delta replaced its food-for-sale program, which was launched on selected flights in July 2003, with a wider assortment of free snacks in coach class on most domestic flights and some Latin American and Caribbean flights of more than 90 minutes.