These days, when you fly the friendly skies, you're likely to hear the hungry sighs. Cash-starved airlines have drastically cut back on food service, causing famished flyers to scrounge around in their seat cracks for fallen peanuts.

Leave it to America West Airlines(NYSE: AWA) to come up with the most obvious solution to the problem: charging passengers for meals. The Phoenix-based carrier will begin testing its "Buy on Board" program next week on selected flights, offering meals ranging from $3 (cheese and crackers, beef jerky, and cookies) to $10 (Chicken Kiev).

Although some are skeptical about the idea, let's face it... when you're hungry, you'll pay for food.

Making people pony up for critical services is a stunningly simple way to increase cash flow, and our crack TMF research team has infiltrated the boardrooms of other airlines that are brewing up plans of their own. Here's what we found out:

Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) , already known for its low-cost, no-frills experience, will cut fares even lower. Passengers wishing to actually sit down during flights, however, will have to pay a new "Sit On This" surcharge.

Not to be outdone, JetBlue(Nasdaq: JBLU) plans to charge extra for customers who want their flight attendants to actually smile at them.

Passengers boarding United Airlines(NYSE: UAL) flights will be greeted at the door by pilots holding tip cups.

Finally, according to humorist Dave Barry (an honorary member of our research team), some carriers have found a way to mitigate their biggest expense: fuel costs. "Pilots will periodically turn off the engines during flight and coast for what an airline spokesperson describes as 'a reasonable distance.' The spokesperson stresses that this procedure 'is perfectly safe' and will be used 'only over soft terrain.'"