US Airways new charges for alcoholic beverages
 

Greetings,<BR><BR>This morning I noticed in a missive from US Airways that they are now charging for beer and wine on international flights ($4 or 4 euros)in economy--this is fairly new or brand new --don't know which, but our last international flight was May and it was not in effect then. FYI--here is the text<BR>Beer, wine, and spirits are offered at US$4, 4 Euros or 3 GPB for transatlantic Economy Class customers. Flight Attendants will accept cash in any of the three currencies; however, credit cards will not be accepted. Alcoholic beverages are complimentary in First Class and Envoy Class and non-alcoholic beverages are complimentary in all classes of service.<BR><BR>Take care,<BR>Robyn France

Pretty sure all the American carriers are doing this now or will in the very near future (first of the year).

I know the airlines can make any rules they choose, but is there is any jurisidiction that says you can't drink wine you bring with you, flying from or to Europe from the United States?<BR>

Use British Airways or Virgin Atlantic which haven't yet pulled this crap. Make it clear to them and to your former carriers that this pettiness is one reason for your decision. If enough people do this, then this will stop.<BR><BR>Incidentally, I know Continental is also pulling this. I don't know about American or United.

from the International Herald Tribune last week:<BR><BR>===<BR>Delta Air Lines is planning to charge passengers in its economy cabins for alcoholic drinks on international flights to reduce costs. Beginning Oct. 15, beer, wine and spirits will cost $4 each on flights between the United States and Europe, India, Japan, Argentina, Brazil and Chile. It will carry out the policy on flights between the United States and Mexico and Central and South America beginning March 1. <BR>===<BR>

My original post holds...stick to the European airlines and you won't have this problem if it is a problem for you.

The 5 kg limit on carry-on bag imposed by BA is much worse than having to pay for alcohol. Makes your next day time zone adjusting worse anyway.<BR><BR>I'll continue to choose an airline based on price and convenience of departure/arrival/connect times until there is some compelling reason to be influenced by some other factors.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Well, the airlines see this as one of the few ways to actually get an income since there has been such a drastic drop in the number of people flying. Look at how many Airlines are fileing for bankruptcy or asking for loans.

Bravo US Air!<BR>I don't drink and finally I won't have to pay for others. I rather have lower air fares than free drinks

That's quite an extrapolation there, Aimee. Where did you come up with that cost analysis formula?

Seems like a reasonable set of assumptions to me. Were you thinking that the basic laws of economics had been broken, and it really is possible to get something for nothing?<BR>

No, I'm just inferring it would be rather naive to conclude airline ticket prices will fall due to a meager cost-cutting implementation.

She didn't say that they would fall. Maybe not rise as quickly. But they can and should be lower if they exclude an amenity like alcoholic beverages, then if they include them, at no additional cost to the passenger(s).<BR><BR>

My husband, a pilot for USAirways, just got his letter stating he will be furloughed effective 5 November. If USAirways is going to charge for drinks to help bring in the income, I'm all for it and for getting my husband back in the cockpit. <BR><BR>By the way, do you get free drinks on the train or bus or other modes of transportation? What's more important to you: the perks? or getting to your destination?<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

<BR><BR>the cost of 250 Bloody Mary's as compared to a plane-full of Jet-A fuel<BR><BR>is as<BR><BR>the cost of a 250 bowls of breakfast cereal as compared to a year's-worth of<BR>mortgage payments.<BR><BR>ie: chump change. Robbing Peter-to-pay-Paul syndrome.

Will the pilots have to pay too?

Dean, I never said that prices will go down because some airlines like US Airways (and others will follow) now charge for drinks<BR>I only hope they will remain reasonable so we can all travel once a while

Funny to see all this righteous indignation about airlines charging for booze. However, nowhere on this board do I read about indignation about the recent penalty rules where any ticket you buy becomes really non-refundable if you can't make the trip. It used to be that could use the ticket for a year and apply it to any other trip on that airline( after you satisfied the cancellation fee). No more! Now, the only "flexibility" is that you can try to change the ticket prior to the departure day by paying the difference in fares PLUS the cancellation fee. However, the origin and destination has to remain the same If something happens and you can't go to that destination anymore( for example, you get laid off and need to cancel that trip to Europe with the family), tough luck! Throw away your ticket. It's worthless.

What are we doing -- going back to no-frills flights? What's next? The movies? The free water & soft drinks? The eatable food?<BR><BR>They need to keep the booze and cut back on the salaries for most of the worthless flight attendants. <BR><BR>If the airline can't compete, they need to be driven out of business.<BR><BR>P.S. European airlines give free alcohol on their domestic flights. American airlines need to get a life and/or new management.

I may drink occasionally, but I see no earthly reason why airlines should provide free drinks in economy class. If cost-cutting measures like that can help moderate price increases, then it's a good thing, IMHO.

I am with you Anon, and I also see no earthly reason why airlines should provide free drinks

<BR><BR>If people have to pay for alcohol, they're likely to drink less of it. Consequently, less alcohol-induced rude and boorish behavior on flights.

My memory seems longer than all of yours: it was only a few years ago that all US-based airlines charged for alcohol, wine, and/or beer, as well as headsets for movies, on trans-Atlantic flights. Only trans-Pacific flights came with freebie drinks. Enforcing fees for "overweight" luggage bothers me much more because it will cost much more!

re winner's comment,<BR>Does anyone else remember being charged for drinks & headsets on trans-Atlantic flights? I sure don't.

I remember being charged for drinks and headsets on trans-Atlantic flight, U.S. carriers, but not on non-U.S. carriers. This was during the 70's and 80's.<BR><BR>Drinks were free on trans-Pacific flights.<BR><BR>If U.S. Airlines are going to "cheap out" it will be Lufthansa, British Air, etc for me.

Maybe this will finally give me the incentive I need to follow one of the basic rules for avoiding jet lag -- don't drink alcohol. Seems like whatever my original intentions, I have trouble passing up a free drink.

Fly Envoy or First Class with me on US Airways and the problem is solved. New rule only for economy class....

Airlines are in trouble. Complimentary liquor doubtlessly costs millions of dollars a year for a major carrier. Charging for it will probably dampen the quantities consumed a bit (which can sometimes lead to problems) while bringing in millions of dollars a year in new revenue. It turns a cost into a profit producer. There may be much more significant savings out there, but this one is a no-brainer that is effective the moment it is implemented. It would play no role in my selection of carriers.

It's the bandaid du jour and will do little more than delay the chapter 11 filing date by a few months and PO loyal customers. Let's not fool ourselves.

I recall the same argument when non-smoking rules took place. There were many people who said they won't fly with the airlines which won't let them smoke. <BR>Well, now is no smoking, I think on every airlines, ( I may be wrong here). Not only on international flights but also domestic flights in North America and Europe.

Rob - within the past 2 years we've been on smoking flights on Olympia Air (Greece) and Aeroflot (Russia, international flight).<BR><BR>I don't think it's unreasonable at all to expect people to pay for alcoholic beverages on flights.

Fine if they want to charge for drinks but $4 for a glass of crappy wine is a bit excessive when they probably paid 50 cents for it. How would you feel if they charged $2 for a can of Coke? And why aren't they doing that? Why not just provide tap water by the glass? They're under no obligation to give you interesting drinks.

Personally, it doesn't bother me. They ARE still giving free non-alcoholic drinks. I do like to have a couple of glasses of wine on long haul flights and, when I look at what I pay for my tickets, $8 is not a lot really to fork out for drinks. Haven't you noticed that they are very "mean" with the drinks trolley anyway, so if you have to pay perhaps you may get better service. <BR>For those who will change carriers because of this issue- I wish my worries were as little as yours!!!!

for all those who are in an uproar over paying for alcohol have you thought about joining AA ( and I DON'T mean the airline!! ) For goodness sake find something more important to moan about!

I found out about this policy on my recent trip on USAirways to Madrid. Sure, it was mildly irritating as I enjoy a couple of drinks on the flight, but there's no way this is going to become part of my selection criteria. Considering I got the USAirways tickets for approx $200 less than other carriers were offering, an extra $8 is hardly a deal breaker. The thing is, they know this. People will still choose based on price, convenience, and, one hopes, safety, not on whether the booze is free. <BR><BR>I do agree, though, that the cost to the airlines of the alcoholic beverages is probably not that much greater than the non-alcoholic. How about charging 2 bucks a pop for coke or other soft drinks? It seems like that would put everyone in the same boat....

As has been stated by a few, this is definitely a tempest in a teapot. The thought that $8 is going to make you book on an airline that is charging #100 more is kind of silly. Also, the notion that this won't save them a great deal of money is inaccurrate. I have a friend whose family company was designing an dispenser system for one of the airlines that would prevent employees from stealing the little liquor bottles. The belief at the time was that theft was costing them in the neighborhood of $10M per year.<BR><BR>Also, at one point, an employee one of the airlines, I think is was United (I could be wrong) noticed that most of the salads that were served were being thrown away with the cherry tomato still intact. This turned out to be true and they eliminated the tomatoes from the salads. I believe the savings were $100,000 per year, but it may have been $1M. I wonder how many irate travelers left this airline because of no cherry tomato.<BR><BR>Costs are costs and each airline judges how it will impact customer retention. In the end, most of them realize that the traveling public is smart enough to realize the economics of the situation. There is no such thing as chump change when the numbers cross the $1M mark. <BR><BR>I love the suggestion made by Freebooze that flight attendants wages should be cut. I'm sure he would be OK if instead of the free coffee being cut at his job to save money, his salary would be cut. Worthless flight attendants or idiotic travelers. Which do you think is more accurate.<BR><BR>By the way, $4.00 for a mixed drink is not terribly out of line. That's what most bars charge, and at least you know how much booze they are putting into the drink on an airline. Anyone ever had a $7.50 Margarita at a bar that was just a glass of expensive lemonade. <BR><BR>Ok, I'm done with my ranting.