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BUSINESS Saturday 28 May 2022
This refreshing airline amenity is making a comeback

By SALLY FRENCH of Nerd- to have expiration dates,
Wallet many of those have been
For those among us who extended. For example,
like a tipple after takeoff, Southwest drink coupons
consider this a sign that the that were set to expire in
world is healing: Many air- 2020 or 2021 (and can be
lines are resuming in-flight redeemed for an alcoholic
meals and alcohol service. beverage) now don’t ex-
Early on in the pandemic, pire until Dec. 31, 2022.
many airlines completely FLY FIRST CLASS (FOR FREE)
cut in-flight refreshment of- You’re unlikely to be of-
ferings (aside from perhaps fered a free adult bever-
a hasty water bottle deliv- age in economy, but you
ery). Slowly but surely, air- will in the premium seats.
lines are reintroducing the On Delta, all Delta Com-
amenity. fort+ and first class custom-
For example, in 2020, South- ers receive complimentary
west Airlines cut service beer and wine service.
completely on short flights United offers complimen-
and offered only water and tary alcoholic beverages
a prepackaged snack on in premium cabins, and
longer flights. In 2021, South- Alaska Airlines offers com-
west reintroduced a small plimentary alcohol in first
selection of nonalcoholic class.
drinks to all flights. It wasn’t Premium cabins typically
until February 2022 that its aren’t cheap if you’re pay-
complete pre-pandemic In this Feb. 18, 2021 file photo, a passenger waits for a Delta Airlines flight at Hartsfield-Jackson ing a cash fare, but you
beverage menu returned, International Airport in Atlanta. might be able to finagle
which included more soda Associated Press your way to an upgrade.
and juice choices plus al- There are a few tricks to
coholic beverages for an many of those cases in- that while service has large- tion checkpoint, so unless getting a free upgrade on
additional cost. volved alcohol (or how ly returned, it’s still been sig- you’re drinking a straight your flight, such as through
Other airlines moved a bit many more there might be nificantly reduced. espresso shot, there aren’t holding airline elite status.
more quickly. if alcohol was accessible), “Pre-COVID, United Airlines a lot of beverage options Early on in the pandemic,
By July 2020, Delta Air Lines flight attendants suggest a would always offer a drink you’ll be allowed to get chasing elite status might
was offering beer cans and correlation. before takeoff, and flight past security. not have been a smart
single-serve wine bottles. An online survey of 5,000 attendants would continue You can’t sneak through money move given that
It wasn’t until March 2022 flight attendants in summer to offer drinks during the your own small stashes of many were traveling less
that it brought back hot 2021 by the Association of flight,” says David Decker, liquor, either; FAA regula- and that perks were re-
meals for its Delta One Flight Attendants-CWA, a an insurance executive tions prohibit passengers duced. But while earning
and first class customers on union, showed that mask and United Million Miler from drinking alcohol on airline elite status is not ex-
some flights. compliance and alco- member. the aircraft unless it’s served actly a walk in the park,
WHY DID IN-FLIGHT ALCO- hol were among the most “Currently, the flight atten- by a flight attendant. it might be worth it these
HOL GET THE AX? common factors in unruly dants make the rounds af- These days, unless you’re days if you travel often and
It’s hard to peg just one passenger interactions. Ad- ter the plane has reached flying a budget airline, fully use the benefits (like
reason why alcohol and ditionally, 17% of respon- cruising altitude, but you you’ll likely no longer have actually consuming in-flight
hot meals disappeared on dents reported experienc- are hard-pressed to find a to spend $6 on a soda in alcohol).
flights during the COVID-19 ing at least one physical flight attendant for a refill. the airport terminal just to USE AIRLINE CREDIT CARD
era. For some, it eliminated incident with a passenger. I’ve seen some passengers satisfy your carbonation INCIDENTAL CREDITS
unnecessary lingering in Some suspect the reason even resort to ringing the cravings. If you can wait Many premium travel credit
the aisles while flight at- in-flight beverages got the flight attendant bell.” until after takeoff, you cards offer statement cred-
tendants took everyone’s boot comes down to mon- HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON could get it all as part of its toward airline incidental
orders. ey. Airlines have sought IN-FLIGHT BEVERAGES the cost of your airfare. fees. These fees are addi-
Others point to unprece- to cut costs by culling re- If you want to save money And as far as adult bever- tional qualifying charges
dented rates of unruly pas- freshments long before the on in-flight refreshments, ages go, here are addition- from your preferred airline
senger reports as the rea- pandemic. For instance, then the typical advice of al ways to save. beyond the actual airfare.
son to remove alcohol in Frontier Airlines discontin- “pack your own snacks” LOOK FOR OLD AIRLINE What’s considered a quali-
particular. In 2021, the Fed- ued serving warm, gooey likely won’t apply on air- COUPONS fying purchase can vary by
eral Aviation Administration cookies on its flights back planes. You can’t bring liq- Some airlines offer cou- credit card issuer, but they
initiated 1,099 investiga- in 2012, stating that fresh uids greater than 3.4 ounc- pons for in-flight snacks typically include checked
tions around unruly passen- cookie service “does not es through the Transporta- and drinks to loyal custom- bags, seat upgrades and
gers. That’s up from just 183 align with either the per- tion Security Administra- ers. And though they tend yes in-flight refreshments.q
in 2020, 149 in 2019 and 146 ception or financial reality
investigations in 2018, ac- of the ultra low-cost busi- LIKE US ON
cording to FAA data. And ness model,” according to
not all bad behavior yields a memo obtained by the
an investigation. In 2021, Milwaukee Journal Senti-
the FAA received reports nel. Today, refreshments
of 4,290 mask-related inci- are available on Frontier
dents and 5,981 unruly pas- flights for purchase, but
senger reports. there are no freebies. Facebook.com/arubatoday/
While it’s unclear how These days, travelers say