A column by Lindsay Rogers at InsideHook argues that United is choosing a “very weird time” to reinstate alcohol on flights. Quite the contrary, I think United is choosing a very good time to bring back its full liquor selection.
All Alcohol Returns On United Airlines – Why This Will Promote Good Behavior Onboard
Rogers laments that United is reinstating the sale of hard liquor on flights over 301 miles this week, arguing “it stands to reason that incorporating hard liquor into an already chaotic environment doesn’t bode well for anyone.”
She counts up a number of recent incidents of bad behavior, all of which we’ve covered on Live and Let’s Fly. Finally, she concludes:
“United’s decision will no doubt open the airline up to questions surrounding passenger and flight-attendant safety. And honestly, we probably don’t need to give the same people perpetrating those incidents another excuse to remove their masks on the plane, either.”
While I am sure Rogers is well-intentioned, I wonder if it struck her as odd that so few headline-grabbing incidents of bad behavior have happened on United. None of the incidents she counted up did. As United has restored food and alcohol onboard, its number of disturbances have dropped.
Meanwhile, it is often American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, the two airlines that have refused to restore liquor and food sales onboard, that continue to experience poor behavior.
We’ve discussed before what may be causing this discrepancy, but I do want posit once again a theory very different than that of Rogers: the reason for fewer incidents on airlines like Delta and United is precisely because passengers are actually treated as human beings, not threats to public health.
Selling alcohol and food onboard has the distinct advantage of distracting passengers from the fact they are cooped up in a closed environment with little room to stretch out. It also discourages people from bringing their own illicit alcohol onboard and helps to control portion size when consumed.
So yes, I’m fully in favor of the return of alcohol sales onboard, and not simply for the drink itself, but because it leads to better behavior onboard.
CONCLUSION
As we approach the holiday season, I commend United for bringing back the sale of liquor and food onboard. It’s not only an important step toward returning to normalcy, but a great way to mitigate poor behavior onboard.
I suspect that if Southwest or American simply reintroduced food and drink onboard, we’d see a big drop in instances of bad behavior onboard.
image: United Airlines
Recall that an earlier generation of progressives joined forces with the temperance movement to give us the Prohibition. What a resounding success that was (for suppression of liberty).
Bingo. United and Delta treat their passengers like human beings. Well said.
I don’t understand why people need to drink alcohol while on a plane. But, to each his/her own!!!
I’ve largely stopped doing so, but many people enjoy it responsibly and I don’t see a problem with it.
I also don’t see a problem in that but what strikes me is that many people end up drinking just for the sake of drinking. They wouldn’t probably drink if they were not on a plane. Mid week early afternoon flight. Guy next to me goes through 3 gin and tonic during the flight. Would he drink those if he was not on the plane? Maybe. Maybe not. My point is that a domestic flight without any alcohol would not be a big deal.
That was me. And yes, I would have had them at home if I weren’t flying that day. Sometime you just need a few G&Ts to take the edge off.
You are right that sometimes this encourages problem drinking.
I fly a lot, but I am still a nervous flyer. Sometimes, particularly on very bumpy flights, which can six or more hours even domestically, I really enjoy a drink to help me relax so that I am not gripping the arm rests the whole way.
I don’t drink on many flights, never on morning flights, but I like having the option on an evening flight.
I agree completely, but could you please stop using stock photos showing unmasked passengers and cabin crew? It makes me very uncomfortable.
Ms. Rogers seems to be one of those “MASKS FOREVER” people, even when everyone is vaccinated
It’s people like here that are wrong with the country
Humane treatment matters. I was on DL yesterday and the man in front of me was refusing to wear a mask. An FA politely implored him to put it on twice and he refused (we we already airborne). A few minutes later the lead FA came and spoke with him and handed him a card that said “FINAL WARNING” at the top and walked away. Presumably it spelled out the ramifications for continuing to not wear a mask.
The man put his mask on, the FA returned a few minutes later to collect the card, and there wasn’t a single additional word said. We landed in AUS early.
People vary, but for most people one standard drink an hour is going to have a depressing effect rather than a stimulating, aggressive one.