United drops meal charges on Europe trips

United Airlines backed off from a plan to begin charging for coach-class meals on its flights to Europe after some customer backlash. The carrier's letter to customers on Tuesday began "Thank you for your direct, candid feedback." Although many carriers have stopped serving free food on coach domestic flights, customers on long-haul flights have been able to count on being fed.

The letter said that with fuel prices so volatile, United would "continue to be proactive in testing new ideas." United said that on Oct. 1 it will still begin serving cold sandwiches or snack boxes instead of hot meals to business-class customers on about 16 domestic flights a day. United said it would "evaluate the results and determine next steps by the end of the year."