Flights of Fancy: Domestic Carriers not so Much

"Compromises are for relationships, not wine." --- Sir Robert Scott Caywood
 

Welcome to the weekend, it's nearly four o'clock here on the west coast so it's time to pop some corks and whip-up some great meals to share with the one's we love. Wow, things [not weather] have finally cooled enough for me to turn off the AC [ferocious power bill, ugh] and open the windows again.

 

But now that we are officially into fall I know some folks may have plans to fly in the coming months and having done quite a bit of flying over the pond in the last year, I've noticed one thing about whether or not wine and or beer will be served to the denizens who fly coach, yes those who can't pay the more than double price to fly in business class or god-forbid first-class which seems to be especially true to the folks that on domestic transportation.

 

The one exception to that rule I can think of [thanks to the Matt] it appears our good friends at Horizon Air, do offer a beer or wine of your choice and featuring local brews or wine for in-state flights in Washington and a few flights in California as well. Horizon Air in California will even take it a step further offering to allow up to a case a wine to be carted in the cargo-hold for no extra charge.

Now I had put this question out there on my FB page, but the response was a bit tepid at best [But to be fair, I did have two great responses]. But hey, I know with all that's going right now, there are a few more important topics [like the upcoming election] to think about at the moment. So questions like whether or not a airline carrier should or shouldn’t offer passengers in coach gratis free beer and or wine pales in comparison.

 

Some guy wrote for Esquire Magazine "The days of free miniature bottles of booze are long gone, but on increasingly more flights, you can order cocktails (and pay for them, via credit card) directly from the console on the seatback in front of you." While that may apply to many domestic airline flights, whether they're flying domestically or internationally, that is not true when it comes to international carriers like British Airways, because you can still get a free glass of wine or beer even if you're flying coach.

 

So that said, I will put the question to you; which one of my smart and savvy readers out here knows the reason why non-domestic carriers offer [talking coach here] wine or beer to passengers at no additional charge and are not stingy about it either, but all the domestic carriers don’t offer any unless you want to pay for it?

 

I look forward to hearing all your answers and reading your comments. Until next folks, remember to sit back, relax and sip long and prosper cheers!