(CNN) -- What are iconic and twisted and no longer free? Pretzels aboard some Continental Airlines flights. Continental stopped serving complimentary snacks to passengers flying coach on domestic routes this week. The change is consistent with the carrier's merger-partner United Airlines' policy of food for purchase. "We are removing beverage snacks -- pretzels and Biscoff [cookies] -- in an effort to reduce costs and align ourselves with many of our network competitors," Continental representative Andrew Farraro said. Continental expects the pretzel and cookie cut could save $2.8 million annually. The move comes after some domestic airlines, including American and US Airways, have already dropped free in-flight treats. Delta, JetBlue, Airtran and Southwest still offer freebies.
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Continental has stopped serving free snacks to coach passengers on domestic routes
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Some of the airline's competitors have also dropped complimentary in-flight treats
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The competitive market and fuel costs are to blame, experts say
"We believe complimentary snacks are an appropriate component to the flight," @placeholder representative Chris Kelly Singley said.