Alcohol on flights

I flew to the US last year on BA, and I assumed I was on BA coming back, but I was actually on BA operated by American. Big mistake. I'm not one to drink on a plane usually, but the drinks weren't free AND there was no entertainment system - only the random overhead TVs, which I couldn't even see. No fun. Always make sure you're not on BA operated by a crap US airline!

Same here - we thought we'd booked with BA for our trip to the US last November and it turned out 3 of the 4 flights were operated by American!

I didn't mind the connecting flights because they were only an hour or so long, but the long-haul from Heathrow to Dallas was awful... there were no screens on the back of our seats, just the ones in the ceiling and then entertainment system went down 3 hours in and the reading lights all went out about an hour after that, so we had 6 hours with no entertainment and no lights above our seats - we ended up passing the time playing card games!

Luckily the long-haul flight back home was with BA and we had hundreds of movies and TV shows to choose from, plus nice food, free wine and comfy seats .

The US airlines don't offer free alcohol, and unfortunately the wine you buy on them is pretty terrible. My experience is that UK airport screeners won't allow alcohol brought through, even if it is in a small mini bottle. So your best bet is once past the security to buy minis in the duty-free shop.

Sure the airlines don't like it, but on a transatlantic flight, especially now with so many people carrying water bottles, who is really going to see you drink your own alcohol?

To relax, it also helps to buy one of those instant heat pads and put in at your spine's base. This really does help relax the muscles for a tight (economy) flight.

And, fwiw, I'm increasingly buying sandwiches from pret in the lounge to bring on, since the food on the airlines has gotten more and more over-processed and super-preserved. At least an airport sandwich has been made recently.

Dh & I always fly with American Airlines other than weather issues which they cant control we haven't any trouble with AA. we have always had the mini TV screens in the headrest of the seat in front of us even when we had to be in the middle seats we had our own mini TV's. I cant say anything about alcohol on planes cause Dh & I don't drink alcohol personal choice. We have never been charged for soda's, juice, or water an there served several times during our flights not just at meal times.   I have to say over the years I think the meals have gotten much better on the planes than they used to be but that's just my 2p though.  

I didn't mind the connecting flights because they were only an hour or so long, but the long-haul from Heathrow to Dallas was awful... there were no screens on the back of our seats, just the ones in the ceiling and then entertainment system went down 3 hours in and the reading lights all went out about an hour after that, so we had 6 hours with no entertainment and no lights above our seats - we ended up passing the time playing card games!

That's miserable. I don't know why any airline would do that to someone. BA is great, but I find Air Canada to be better just because they do the in-seat on demand entertainment system on all flights. Even the 1.5-hour St John's-Halifax flight has it. You can also watch it as soon as you get on the plane and throughout take off and landing. The only time it's shut off is during the safety video. The only downside is that everything is in both French and English, so the announcements are twice as long.

Probably the absolute worst experience ever was flying from LA to Shanghai on China Eastern. They had American movies dubbed in Mandarin with Mandarin subtitles. It was an 18-hour flight.

Virgin, BA(not operated by American Airlines) and Air New Zealand(which I fly from  Los Angeles- Heathrow) all serve complimentary drinks.  if your flying with an American carrier in economy , then you will have to pay for wine, beer and liquor.  I personally will not fly with an American carrier across the Atlantic, I have found that their product is just not worth it. 

if your flying with an American carrier in economy , then you will have to pay for wine, beer and liquor. 

Not true. American and Delta now offer wine and beer with meal services. AA offering it is a fairly recent development but Delta has for at least several years. United and US Airways are the only legacies that don't.

United and the other US airlines are notorious for making you pay for everything. I avoid them at all costs. In the future, go for BA if it's not too much more expensive. I find them to be better in all areas. I've been on Air Canada a lot lately, and they're also fantastic. You get free drinks and on demand TV and movies no matter how long your flight is.

I flew to the US last year on BA, and I assumed I was on BA coming back, but I was actually on BA operated by American. Big mistake. I'm not one to drink on a plane usually, but the drinks weren't free AND there was no entertainment system - only the random overhead TVs, which I couldn't even see. No fun. Always make sure you're not on BA operated by a crap US airline!

I was pricing flights last month for my trip tomorrow and BA (an actual BA operated flight) was cheaper than everyone else...and I waited till the next day to book it...and it was gone So, we're on USAirways which is fine as I normally fly them since I worked for them. I've flown them so many times, I could close my eyes getting through Philly airport! On the plus side, as I have flown them so many times, I have lots of miles
Flying in and out of Logan Airport in Boston you definitely need to double check whether or not its actually BA or American

Hi,

Going against the grain from respondents in this thread!

I'll personally never fly Br(sh)itish airways again - catalogue of mistakes, errors and very bad customer experiences with them and I never seem to get them as the cheapest way to fly to the US.

I don't need alcohol on flights as I have plenty to do to keep occupied - business wise or just watchin films, listening to music if I'm relaxing. Until this thread came up, I thought pretty much all trans-atlantic airlines offered a choice of alcoholic beverages at mealtimes and you could ask in between for extra if you so wished. I've done that many a time and the flight attendants will give an extra canned beer or, with a little banter, a stronger shot. Of course, it's not like I'm there to get bladdered, and the flight attendants do remember if you ask for extra's, but I've never had an issue in getting extra and free alcohol. That all said though, perhaps things have indeed changed and it's all chargeable, last few times I've been over I haven't asked for any extra booze!

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Not true. American and Delta now offer wine and beer with meal services. AA offering it is a fairly recent development but Delta has for at least several years. United and US Airways are the only legacies that don't.

Thank you Aimless, I probably should have researched before posting 

Thank you Aimless, I probably should have researched before posting 

No worries! Just wanted to make sure the right info was out there, in case it was the deciding factor when choosing an airline. I'm not sure because I've mostly flown Star Alliance lately, but I think they're both limited to one wine or beer with dinner so it's not really a very generous policy.

It's been awhile, but when I flew Czech Airlines to Prague in 2005, there was a Russian gentleman near me who drank shots of vodka the whole flight, gratis (in coach). Oh, European airlines. That would never happen on an American airline. And when I flew Air India to Paris in 2006, the FA brought us two drinks each at the same time, without asking, and kept the refills coming. Again, unlikely to happen on Delta or AA.

The Delta policy must be a new change. Last time I flew them (within the last year), there were no free drinks, including with dinner. And I had to pay with my debit card. It took weeks for the charge to go through, too! I prefer BA because the service is always outstanding and the planes are soooo much more comfortable than those old pieces of cr*p that Delta uses! I live in the home of Delta, too!! I paid the extra $25 or whatever to fly BA direct this summer as well. I won't go back to any other airline after my last experience with BA in Oct. The unlimited free booze on board was just a bonus!

No worries! Just wanted to make sure the right info was out there, in case it was the deciding factor when choosing an airline. I'm not sure because I've mostly flown Star Alliance lately, but I think they're both limited to one wine or beer with dinner so it's not really a very generous policy.

It's been awhile, but when I flew Czech Airlines to Prague in 2005, there was a Russian gentleman near me who drank shots of vodka the whole flight, gratis (in coach). Oh, European airlines. That would never happen on an American airline. And when I flew Air India to Paris in 2006, the FA brought us two drinks each at the same time, without asking, and kept the refills coming. Again, unlikely to happen on Delta or AA.

I haven't flown with an American carrier in ages....I try to avoid them at all cost!  I prefer the European carriers and tend to stick with them.  I have been flying with Air New Zealand my past 4 visits, they have service Los Angeles to Heathrow and it's great and they have some lovely wines available.   

The Delta and AA alcohol must be new, but I confess that my main experience is United (from Continental). I've flown them a lot over the last few years and feel like they have gotten better, plus they did right by me when I had to repeatedly cancel flights back to the UK due to my folks last phase.

Not to be a booster for Apple, but I commute twice a week by plane and the ipad has wholly transformed the airport lounge/flight experience. Stock it up with your own tv/films and ignore the surroundings. Also, when the inflight system goes down, the ipad doesn't! And United transatlantic flights all have an electric socket under the seats so that you don't need to run the device off battery. With a audio splitter (which only costs few pounds), two people can listen at once.

I usually fly United/US Air, but ended up on an Air Canada flight on my way back yesterday, and figured I'd update this thread.

I was offered free wine with my meal. It wasn't too terrible either. The red was a Garnacha/Syrah blend, and the white was a Sauvignon Blanc/Iforgetwhatelse blend. The guy behind me was also given a free beer (Canadian brand) after the meal when they usually offering tea/coffee.

Just got back from a trip to Tokyo. We flew Air France to Paris CDG and from there to Tokyo. They were very liberal with alcohol on all the legs, and the return flight also came with free champagne for economy.
The red wine was ok actually.