I recall flying American on our previous two flights to Europe a few years back and buying any drinks/wine we had. We flew with Air France this time (in October) and all drinks were free..this was in coach.
Is this industry-wide or just on some carriers?

Thanks!

For Trans-Atlantic trips in coach:

Most US carriers, you pay.

Most international carriers, they're free.

If you fly American Airlines or U.S. carriers, you should get 100% of your frequent flyer miles in Economy. If you fly British Airways in economy, you will only get 25% of your miles, however, you will be offered a free drink from the bar after take-off, a wine with your meal, and a couple more, a great choice of movies and seatback entertainment, and much better food than what American serves.

Before you book, decide what you want; miles or food/drinks/entertainment. There is only so much profit to be made on an airline ticket.

Most U.S. airlines started charging for drinks after 9-11. Continental and American charge for drinks across the Pacific Ocean. Northwest and United do not.

ESD, did you like American or Air France better?

BTW, wine is often cheaper than water in France. If Air France charged $5 for wine, there would be a riot on the plane. When I was in France last year, I filled my one liter water bottle with red wine from the vat and they charged me 1 Euro.

Delta has started offering a free drink with your meal across the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, most of Delta's planes are older 767's which do not have individual seatback entertainment.

According to www.seatguru.com, Air France has 474 seats on their 747's. Does any airline beat that record?

wally - ANA and JAL have 500+ seats on their domestic 747s and 777s.

That's a lot of free drinks!

Wally34949, I cannot tell a lie. I like any airline that offers free drinks!

Really though, I didn't notice much of a difference in anything else. We did get upgraded from coach to business class on an AA flight from Dallas to Paris about 5 years ago which was VERY nice. Since then I've learned just how much of a fluke that was and that it most likely will never happen again!

On this AF trip, I asked for a drink and then asked how much I owed her. And in her very cute french accent she said, "oh, no no no. You are on AF and we do not make you pay for your drinks". In that instant, AF became my favorite airline!

oh. i thought you were offering.

esd

Try British Airways or Virgin. They both have individual seatback televisions and free drinks in coach. British Airways had smoked salmon in my salad. They have great desserts, too.

Virgin is a code-share with Continental.

I think the best compliment an airline can get (on a long haul) is that they served an excellent meal. And food isn't that expensive.

I'll keep those in mind, thanks. A TA booked this one for us (in the past I've always booked my own) and I know she was going by date, destination, price.

But just for the record we had those seat-back screens on our flight (yes, they're great!) and the food was pretty good.
Confession time..I've always liked airline food!!! For a long time, I thought there was something wrong with me when I would read all the negative comments. Now I'm out!!

When you have a long flight in economy, it is always nice to have a good movie, a decent meal, a few drinks, a pilot that turns off the fasten seat belt so you are free to move, and a flight attendant that is not rude. It helps the flight go a little faster.

The only reason why I would recommend that someone fly American Airlines in coach is because of the frequent flyer miles. If you don't collect them, fly another airline.

The video is so good on Virgin (so I've been told) that the flights are full of little kids.