Dear Flight Attendants: I’ll Take The Can, Please, Including In First Class!

Here’s a good reminder that perception of service onboard flights can differ significantly between passengers….

“I’m in first class, I shouldn’t be pouring the can”

View from the Wing lays out the case for why he doesn’t like the practice of flight attendants giving passengers the can of what they’re drinking (in addition to the cup or glass, which may or may not already have some drink poured into it).

He argues that if you’re flying first class, you shouldn’t be pouring your own drink, as someone should be doing it for you. Meanwhile if you’re in economy, he argues that there may just not be enough space for the can, especially if you want to work. As Gary explains:

• “On a flight where a flight attendant left full cans of soda behind for first class passengers, it occurred to me how much I don’t like that practice. And it’s even worse in coach but for different reasons.”
• “If you’re a first class passenger why are you pouring your own drinks? That’s why the Emirates first class in-seat minibar never made sense to me.”
• “If you’re sitting in back giving out the whole can is generous plus you probably won’t see service again for awhile. At the same time, in coach you just don’t have a lot of room to work with. The can takes up too much space on the tray.”
• “I’ll be using my laptop. I can fit a cup on there but don’t really want to stick both a cup and a can of soda on the tray beside my computer. Besides, I don’t want to drink a full can!”

Personally, I prefer receiving the can in any cabin!

While I respect Gary’s take, it’s interesting how our perception of the practice of offering cans onboard flights differs. The one point I agree with him on is that the Emirates in-seat minibar is a gimmick, since most people don’t want a room temperature can of soda.

Other than that, though, my take is very different. While first class is better than economy, we also have to be realistic about service in domestic first class, as you might have one flight attendant serving 20 passengers drinks and meals. They’re not going to be able to refill every drink every time it gets low, even if they’re hustling.

Regardless of whether I’m traveling in first class or economy, I also like to be able to control how full my glass or cup is. Given the chance of turbulence, I think it’s much better to have the can and then just pour a little bit at a time in a glass, to avoid spilling (since liquid is less likely to spill out of the top of a can than out of the top of a cup).

When you fly domestic first class, you’re paying (hopefully) a reasonable premium for more space, priority services, food, and drinks. You’re not going to a Michelin three-starred restaurant. It’s also worth mentioning that if I’m ordering a mixer, of course I prefer to be able to control the ratio, which requires having the can.

As Gary points out, I think in economy most passengers find it generous and prefer when they’re given the can. Gary argues that while he has space for a cup and a laptop, he doesn’t really want to also find space for the can.

All I can say there is that if I have my laptop open in economy, I absolutely don’t put an open cup on the same tray, as that gives me massive anxiety (over the years, I’ve lost two laptops to liquid spills on planes). If I work on flights in economy, my play is to just order a cup of water with no ice, chug it, and keep doing what I was doing.

I feel like if I were to work on my laptop while ordering a drink in economy, I’d still prefer to have most of the drink in the can, as that would be less likely to spill on my keyboard.

So I appreciate flight attendants who give out the can, and I think if you don’t want it, it’s fine to just tell them that. Gary suggests that when he asks this, that “annoys them because they aren’t collecting trash and they’re trying to get through service.” I would certainly hope that most flight attendants don’t act annoyed in such a situation…

Bottom line

We all have different perceptions of inflight service, and I think handing out the can with a drink service is the prime example of that. Personally, I like when I’m given the can, regardless of the cabin I’m traveling in (especially on domestic flights, where I have no real expectations of service). However, others clearly feel differently.

Where do you stand on flight attendants handing out cans during drink service?