While American Airlines and Southwest Airlines continue to resist alcohol sales onboard, United Airlines not only has restored beer and wine for purchase, but has now brought back hard liquor for purchase on select Hawaiian and transcontinental flights. It is also offering beer and wine on more flights.
United Airlines Restores Hard Liquor Sales In Economy Class, Alcohol On More Flights
This month, United will restore liquor minis for sale on the following route:
- Premium transcontinental flights
- Los Angeles (LAX)/San Francisco (SFO) ⇄ New York (JFK)/Newark (EWR)
- Long-haul Hawaii flights
- All Hawaiian departures to/from Denver (DEN), Chicago (ORD), Houston (IAH), Washington (IAD), and Newark (EWR)
The selection includes:
- Bacardi Silver Rum
- Bailey’s Irish Cream
- Bombay Sapphire Dry Gin
- Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
- Disarronno Amaretto
- Glenfarclas Single Malt Scotch Whiskey
- Jack Daniels’ Black Label Whiskey
- Wheatley Craft-Distilled Vodka
This is in addition to beer, wine, and hard seltzer which had previously been available for purchase on these routes. Snacks are also available for purchase, though United has not restored its bistro onboard fresh items (yet).
Furthermore, United has restored beer and wine sales to all U.S. domestic flights over 200 miles. Note, this does not include short- and mid-haul flights to Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America. San Juan, Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, is also excluded.
Cash and even credit card is no longer accepted onboard. Instead, passengers must save a form of payment on the United app prior to their flight.
Why Is United Selling Liquor While Other Airlines Are Not?
While other airlines like American and Southwest have deliberately chosen to hold off on resuming onboard liquor sales, United has taken the opposite approach, even over the objection of the powerful Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) union.
In a memo to flight attendants reviewed by Live and Let’s Fly, United places the responsibility on flight attendants to recognize intoxication onboard:
As a reminder, flight attendants are responsible for recognizing alcohol and drug intoxication symptoms and reporting any customer who appears to be under the influence. Please use the observable behaviors found in the Traffic Light System to identify and manage customers who appear to be intoxicated. We realize these discussions are at times difficult and support you in your decision, please make sure you file an IOR report if there are any safety concerns.
IOR stands for Irregular Operations Report.
I believe United is right to recognize that is is probably not alcohol that is causing so many disturbances onboard across the industry. In fact, it may be the lack of alcohol sales coupled with onerous masks requirements that are doing so.
If anything, United’s approach represents an experiment to gauge how customers act and react when liquor is available for purchase and consumption onboard.
CONCLUSION
United Airlines is re-introducing hard liquor in the form of mini-bottles and bringing back beer and wine sales to more flights. Remember to store your form of payment in advance if you are flying United and wish to purchase alcohol onboard.
Fantastic news. One step closer to normal
Are these drinks free for Premium Plus?
Yes.
Maybe someone can explain “store your form of payment” to a old guy. I purchase the ticket on a computer and print a paper boarding pass. Thanks.
“Normal” will happen when the alcohol is served with a real glass, at least in the premium cabin.
Right on the money Matthew. Alcohol is an anxiety reliever so the lack of alcohol onboard is making things worse when one considers the added anxiety of wearing a mask. Flight attendants: serve a drink or two, not five, easy. American is doing this just to cut costs, using covid as an excuse.
Miguel…
“AMERICAN IS DOING THIS TO CUT COSTS”?
WRONG!
AMETICAN HAS BEEN OFFERING LIQUOR,BEER,WINE,CHAMPAGNE IN F/C AND B/C.
THEY DO NOT CUT COSTS BY OFFERING IT.
COACH IS NOT AVAIL BECAUSE PASSENGERS BEHAVE BADLY.
BETWEEN MASK ENFORCEMENT AND THOSE WHO CANT HANDLE BOOZE, AA MADE A WISE DECISIONS.
AND WHEN AA SELLS LIQUOR INCOACH, THEY GENERATE REVENUE.
SO, AA is losing revenue by not offering it!
I see no evidence that onboard alcohol service is contributing to inflight incidents. Passengers are boarding drunk (many airports are essentially “open container” spaces now), bringing their own booze (Doug Parker acknowledged this) and behaving badly regardless of what airlines are serving (see inflight incidents on AA/WN, two airlines which have limited or suspended inflight alcohol service).
Airlines aren’t required to pour alcohol down a passenger’s throat, and are not obligated to serve an intoxicated passenger. The pandering, “for your health and safety” charade needs to end, like yesterday.
I am applauding AA and SWA for standing their ground. UAL decision to sell alcohol is purely profit driven. I am a f/a and our Unions request to delay liquor sales was refused by the company. Recent inflight incidents show that alcohol is not a “relaxer” for some people. Just serve beer and wine…period.
Our unions are basically full of shit. Some of the time anyway. This is one time….
Of course it’s profit driven!
But if it was anything about safety, and actually preventing COVID-19 infection, the answer is vaccination, and the AFA would long ago have been sponsoring (and paying for) proper fit-testing and supply of N95s to flight attendants, just like healthcare workers. They work, and a proper fitting N95 actually prevents the wearer from infection in a reliable way. Anything else is little more than theater.
Further, the AFA would be supporting the end of a nonscientific mask mandate, which is demonstrably the root cause of the inflight incidents. Not meal service, not alcohol service.
Instead, it is clearly more about grandstanding, frequent TV appearances and burnishing the image of politically-ambitious union leaders… at least one in particular