Q: I recently flew first class with my wife and two kids on
Alaska Airlines from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, to Los Angeles. We
paid more than $1,000 for each ticket. During the flight, the
attendant announced a variety of entrees over the loudspeaker.
When it came time to serve food in first class, we were told we
could receive only chicken sandwiches. When my wife asked for
one of the selections offered coach passengers, the flight
attendant said it would cost $6 to eat what the others were
eating. My wife protested, noting that we were in first class,
but to no avail. We coughed up the $6. What gives?  A: Not
Alaska Airlines. It can't give you a $6 meal for free because
it's a matter of inventory control, the airline confirmed to me.
At the end of a flight, personnel must say, "We served 50 meals;
here's $300." Not, "We served 54 meals, but we're $24 short."
Airline food, said to be a $40-billion-a-year proposition, is
fraught with frustration for the customer (absence, quality) and
the airline (cost, inconve