In mid-March, American Airlines set April 18 as the date for bringing back alcoholic beverages in domestic economy. The catch was that this was supposed to coincide with the federal transportation mask mandate ending. With the mandate having been extended, there’s at least some good news for American passengers, as the airline is still moving forward with bringing back alcohol.
In this post:
American resumes buy on board service on April 18, 2022
American Airlines’ economy alcohol ban will finally be ending. The Fort Worth-based airline will resume the sale of alcohol in economy on domestic and short haul international flights as of Monday, April 18, 2022:
- As of that date, alcohol will once again be available for purchase in economy on flights of over 250 miles
- As before, beer will cost $8, wine will cost $9, and liquor will cost $9
- While the federal transportation mask mandate is now in effect through May 3, 2022, American is still moving forward with bringing back alcohol on April 18
- American will also bring back buy on board food as of that date, on flights of 1,500+ miles; the menu will initially be quite limited, with just chips and nuts, but more food options should be available starting this summer
- Throughout the pandemic American has continued to serve alcohol in first class, so there are no changes there
American is the last airline to bring back alcohol
American is the last major US airline to bring back alcohol in economy. American’s management said early on in the pandemic that the airline would resume the sale of alcohol when the federal mask mandate ends, but of course that has been extended several times. Now the airline is moving forward with bringing back alcohol even though the mandate remains in place.
While I can in theory appreciate where management was coming from, the reality is that other major US airlines have been serving alcohol in economy for many months now. Southwest Airlines was the one other airline that waited to resume the sale of alcohol, but even Southwest brought back the sale of alcohol in February 2022.
A few thoughts about American’s policy:
- It’s interesting that American thinks that first class passengers can handle alcohol without being unruly, while the airline thinks economy passengers can’t
- I can’t help but wonder about the economics of this; on the one hand, airlines make money selling alcohol in economy, but on the other hand American offered free alcohol to Main Cabin Extra (extra legroom economy) customers, so I wonder if it ended up being a wash, or a money-losing thing (if American was making money selling alcohol in economy, I can’t imagine it would have been suspended for this long)
- I don’t think there’s any evidence to suggest that American had fewer unruly passenger incidents than competitors that were serving alcohol
Bottom line
As of April 18, 2022, American Airlines will finally bring back the sale of alcohol in domestic economy, after a more than two year hiatus. This is happening in spite of the fact that the mask mandate is remaining in place beyond that date.
This is long overdue, given that competitors have been selling alcohol for quite a while, without having more issues than American. Buy on board food will also resume, though initially only with chips and nuts of flights on 1,500+ miles. American still has a lot of catching up to do here, but at least this is a step in the right direction.
What do you make of American bringing back the sale of alcohol?
Im.glad they are bringing back the alcohol.Just hope their isnt a limit to what you can buy.
I'm a responsible adult, when I'm on vacation I would like to enjoy a glass of wine or 2 it's part of my relaxing on a flight.
I personally prefer my alcohol on the ground after reaching my destination. Far more time and no ill affects from the altitude in flight. Also if more people skipped the drinking at the airport bars then on the plane there might be fewer shall we say incidents. I enjoy a drink but best left to being somewhere more appropriate for it, on the ground where safety isn't as big an issue and plenty of bouncer security to look after you and others.
I’m on AA today (4/18). SMF-DFW-AUS
I order a Bloody Mary, they said no alcohol on any flight under 1,500 miles as of today…
Get rid of the damn nuts!! There has to be another snack food to serve. It causes so much trouble just FINALLY get rid of it.
@Ben
I was thinking about this today. If there is free wifi and no alcohol or food for purchase in Economy how could Barclays Aviator Silver justify AF $195 ? I did proactively mention this to them back in January and was given a $50 goodwill credit.
We only trust the rich with alcohol. You plebians in economy must drink sodas and juices.
On an AA flight currently in domestic first and the flight attendant informed the cabin that the plane was not catered so minimal booze is available. It is a disappointment these days as we return to travel that the airlines are not capable of catering the flight properly.
@AAfanboy
I was delAAyed four hours then cancelled the other night. I would have gladly taken a flight with no catering. Good luck this summer during high season.
With the rise in adult babies who refuse to wear masks while flying, what could possibly go wrong with this?
Adult babies = Republicans
Unless it’s an M95 mask that the airlines give out for free, your little cloth mask don’t work. That’s why a lot of people don’t see the reason for wearing mask.
Can't wait for the "but drinking with your mask off spreads covid" comments lmao.
Serving alcohol on an airplane is a terrible idea!
Ugh, just when you thought it was safe to go back to the skies.
I look forward to Gayle King's reporting on the skyrocketing rates of "air rage" from drunken Tiffany and Skyler, who violently assault a flight attendant over a mask dispute or being cut off after nineteen cans of Bud Light.
As an AA flight attendant I would like to address a few misconceptions. All the mask compliance issues I personally encountered were liquor related and all in the forward cabins where booze was free. The rule was ONE alcoholic beverage per person in first & business on domestic flights. It is much easier for one or two cabin crew members to take care of 16 people than two or three watching 150. Most of the...
As an AA flight attendant I would like to address a few misconceptions. All the mask compliance issues I personally encountered were liquor related and all in the forward cabins where booze was free. The rule was ONE alcoholic beverage per person in first & business on domestic flights. It is much easier for one or two cabin crew members to take care of 16 people than two or three watching 150. Most of the alcohol related issues came from airport vendors allowing alcohol to be ordered “to go”. So people would buy one or two drinks & pour them in reusable water bottles and bring them onboard.
At least resuming alcohol on planes allows the cabin crew to more efficiently monitor consumption but you MUST stop the smuggling of alcohol by demanding vendors to stop the carry out booze policy.
Your comment doesn't make much sense. If the main culprit, in your view, is to-go booze, then why are all the mask compliance issues in the forward cabin? Certainly, passengers in the whole aircraft would be bringing to-go beverages, not ones in First who are expecting free beverages onboard.
(Also, if there ever was a 1 beverage per person rule, which I've never heard of, your colleagues certainly don't seem to follow it. Doubles (whether...
Your comment doesn't make much sense. If the main culprit, in your view, is to-go booze, then why are all the mask compliance issues in the forward cabin? Certainly, passengers in the whole aircraft would be bringing to-go beverages, not ones in First who are expecting free beverages onboard.
(Also, if there ever was a 1 beverage per person rule, which I've never heard of, your colleagues certainly don't seem to follow it. Doubles (whether ordered or not) seem to be the norm on AA.)
@AA77DCA
Thank you for your service. Yah I hear pilots announce and also gate agents that no liquor is allowed to be bought on board for consumption.
@Lucky have you confirmed free drinks will return for MCE?
This tweet mentions MCE: https://twitter.com/xJonNYC/status/1504712632892284934?s=20&t=NwnndKTHdIC4z-8Ia_QtVg
Glad to see this coming back. I just hope even if the mask mandate stays in place (and I would be anything less than surprised if it remains) food and booze comes back to coach.
I just saw a person in scum-class get unruly on an AA flight, so maybe it’s a bit soon?
"but on other hand American offered free alcohol to Main Cabin Extra (extra legroom economy) customers, so I wonder if it ended up being a wash"
No the free drinks incentivizes people to pay the $30-$80 extra for main cabin extra.
Or, for example, I booked a couple of evening flights where the upgrade looked unlikely on AA on jetBlue instead, knowing at least I'd have nice legroom and could buy a glass of wine or two. So, it also can increase bookings on AA when they are providing full service.
They must not have been making money off this and was used as a reason to cut costs or else they would have seen value in bringing this back sooner. They are handing out pretzels and soft drinks in economy anyway, which people lower their mask to consume so not like this is any different.
Also Doug Parker has multiple DUIs
I'm not naive, but I'm really surprised that Parker had a DUI while CEO of US Airways but didn't face any known consequences at the company, and certainly not in his career. It's amazing what some people can get away with.
Uhm, he had 3.
@AA70
Be grateful for Doug Parker. He went to bat for American Airlines and cozied up with President Trump for bailout money during the pandemic in 2020.
I didn’t read the article today but apparently Delta is now complaining they didn’t receive COVID money bailouts.