For many people, alcohol is an aspect of traveling by air that they enjoy. I’m not just talking about first or business class travel, where a glass of champagne might be part of the fun. Airports are also one of the few places where you can have a drink at 5AM and not be judged…
Continue reading: Which Airlines Are Dry (No Alcohol)? Can You Bring Your Own Alcohol?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Yes it worth avoiding airlines that dont have alcohol.
If they arent willing to cater to the western market, why should the western market give them any business?
Not all westerners drink, so should people avoid airlines that serve alcohol if they dont drink?
On most flights under 2 or 3 hours im sure you can survive without a drink or maybe not.
Americans have an alcohol problem. Imagine considering a problem the opportunity of spending a few hours without drinking
Last week I was looking forward to a pre-dinner martini on our Air France business class flight from Chicago to Paris. When I went to place my order I was informed by the flight attendant that Air France does not serve hard liquor on their flights, but beer, wine, and champagne were offered. Bummer.
Ach... the big “western market” nonsense. Spare me, please. za “west” has spent the last few centuries barging around and lecturing everyone about values and civilisation, while leaving behind slavery, genocide, colonial plunder, enough hypocrisy to power Texas for a century (no pun intended), and of course the cherry on the top: little orange Donny. And now you’re upset because one airline or another won’t hand you a miniature bottle of Dom Pérignon? (They really should start doing that 🙂 LOL anyway... just spare us your "western" appetites and delusions of importance. If you think being denied your daily wine dose is oppression, then the problem isn’t the airline Monsieur. It’s the absurd size of your arrogance.
I have never had a problem taking alcohol onto a flight and consuming it on the QT. I am talking US and UK airlines here. As long as you aren't blatant about it, the crew won't care.
But I would not fly a dry airline on principle anyway. So I appreciate this article.
“Airlines flying to & from Saudi Arabia can’t serve alcohol in Saudi Arabian airspace”
MEA flights to and from Saudi Arabia do, actually.
India prohibits alcohol on all domestic flights, so it is not just about Air India. The government lifted the ban for a brief period in the early to mid 90s when the air travel industry was opened up to competition but after multiple issues with drunk passengers, alcohol was banned again and has stayed that way. And no one really misses it in my experience, since it is otherwise available almost everywhere across the country.
The point is more why should the educated world have to put up with stupidity like alcohol not being allowed when those restrictions are based on religion?
Thank you for this incredibly helpful article, Lucky. Can't believe I've been suffering on Egypt Air flights for years when I could have been enjoying a nice bottle of Johnnie Walker.
Given how many problems there are with drunken Brits on budget airlines, many of us would welcome it if Ryanair and Easyjet etc didn't serve alcohol.
Wish more airlines would put thoughts into non-alcoholic wine or mocktails.
I am noticing people are largely drinking less in business class then right after the pandemic which aligns with less alcohol intake in general.
Weird. When I flew Air France business class SFO-CDG last fall, the FA practically begged me to have a digestif (cognac, Calvados etc). Liquor was definitely on the menu throughout the flight. Did their policy change since then?
Turkish Airlines don't serve alcohol in their domestic lounges or serve it on domestic flights.
I don't mind not drinking on a flight. But I don't want to pay $10K for the privilege of doing so. That's what being an adult is all about.
I'm aware alcohol laws of a US state does not apply when you are over that state. Does service on the ground have to comply with the jurisdiction? If so, itvwould be easier to not serve on the ground. That way, you won't run afoul of laws in some states that, for example, require an ID to be checked before service regardless of age.
From my experience, Air New Zealand doesn't serve alcohol on domestic flights. In fact, they barely serve anything - coffee, tea, or water and a tiny bag of chips or nuts. Service is finished in about 15 minutes.
But that’s because most flights are so short. Even Auckland to Dunedin is just under two hours.
My partner and I are traveling to Saudi Arabia this summer to take in the total eclipse. ( HIS thing....) and we are flying Saudia from JFK to RUH to Jeddah. I really enjoy my wine, This is going to be an interesting journey on oh so many levels.
Not exactly on board, can you tell ? LOL
To our Muslim brothers and sisters, Marhaba and assalamu-alaykum.
Malaysia based Air Asia flights are dry.
I tend to get smashed in airport lounges prior to a long haul international flight. Puts me to sleep just after the first meal service. Then I get get re-drunk halfway thru to finish off the flight. I absolutely love drinking a flying. My most favorite part of travel.
Curiously, I recently flew LCA-DXB-HKG on Emirates. To my surprise, no pre-flight champagne was served on the ground in Larnaca. When I asked the flight attendant about it she said it has something to do with local regulations, which seems like nonsense to me since I have been served pre-flight champagne out of LCA and PFO on both BA and QR multiple times. Very odd.
It is probably because it is taxable when served on the ground. Some airlines don't serve pdb champagne when it has to be taxed. Some airlines leave it up to the cabin manager to decide, as there are quite a bit of paper work for paying the duty on the pdb.
I don't know if Emirates has a policy on this, but I suspect it is related.
I don't mind dry airlines and lounges. But Saudia's non-alcoholic wine is nasty.
MH also has alcohol at their main international lounge in Kuala Lumpur, but with a sign saying they cannot serve alcohol to Muslims. I don't see how they could verify that, though.