The Tricky Business of Selling Alcohol on Planes
Photo Credit: A Delta Air Lines flight attendant offers wine abroad a Boeing 737-900ER. For many passengers, alcohol is a major part of the inflight experience. Delta Air Lines
Skift Take
Some people get drunk and cause a scene on airplanes. It's horrible, and it shouldn't happen. But are airlines at fault? No way.
Once a month, and often more, we read about U.S. airline passengers who drink too much alcohol and act out. Sometimes, they start fights, or abuse other passengers. Or they try to open an emergency exit, scaring fellow passengers.
Does this mean it's time for airlines to stop serving booze?
It's a question Skift freelancer Micheline Maynard wondered about this week, writing, "Given that such incidents seem to happen on a monthly basis, generating unwanted publicity for the passengers and the airline, it’s easy to wonder: Would U.S. carriers ever consider flying dry?"
You probably know what she learned.
Despite recent high-profile incidents, like the drunken passenger who last December assaulted a flight attendant on a Southwest Airlines flight from Nashville to Tampa, U.S. carriers won't stop serving alcohol. Or, as a Southwest spokesman told Maynard, "How much would THAT flight suck?”
The easy answer is that this is about airline revenue, and Maynard notes booze is
