No More Prayer Cards for Alaska Airlines Fliers

For more than three decades, Alaska Airlines has been serving up prayer cards on the meal trays that passengers receive, but no longer. "This difficult decision was not made lightly," the CEO and president wrote in an email to customers yesterday. "Some of you enjoy the cards and associate them with our service. At the same time, we've heard from many of you who believe religion is inappropriate on an airplane."

But there's another reason some passengers were uncomfortable with the cards: because they implied that there was a need to pray during the flight. "I'd get a clutch in my stomach when I read it," says one flier. "My reasoning was, if they put that card on the plate, they must be worried that something bad was going to happen. If they're worried, I'm worried." Since 2006, when Alaska stopped serving meals in coach, only first-class passengers have gotten the cards, and only on flights longer than four hours, the Seattle Times reports. (More Alaska Airlines stories.)