TRAVELSIG

+1- This is probably the biggest contributor- most of the people I am with/speak with on flights are going directly to meetings on arrival at their destination.

Mabuk dan gila

Alas, you must acclimate to the local custom of putting ice in your beer which is prevalent in some refrigeration challenged regions in Asia. It's not so bad once you get used to it. Whatever it takes to get some booze in my system.

I have noticed FA's across the board have become less proactive in keeping me properly liquored up in recent years. But in premium classes in both the US and Asia they are 'usually' still pretty good at keeping them coming with a little polite prompting. Occasionally I get a dirty look like I'm some big alcoholic but usually no problem.

In coach I mix my own. Smuggling the booze past TSA is easy and no chance of the FA catching me, but getting them to give me a can of soda for a mixer is becoming increasingly difficult.

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Given that we can't seem to go a week without someone doing something really stupid on a plane, often including alcohol as a contributing factor, it does not surprise me that FAs (particularly here in the US) have become less liberal with the booze. Also as noted, business people are now expected to be ready to go once they arrive.

Solomon2

I guess I'm getting old but I these days I prefer a bottomless cup of coffee than a stiff drink.

But back to the OP, I have also noticed that more people only seem to have one drink, usually with their meal.

timfountain

I always have to drive and since I don't ever drink and drive (even one drink can seriously impair you) the decision is really easy....
I am always amazed when I see seat mates who I know have had 4-5 drinks get on the shuttle bus to the parking lot and get in their cars.

- Tim

OFV

Interesting point..I wonder if any of us or the FAs have any moral/legal duties to stop someone from driving home if they have had too many drinks on a flight?

kochleffel

In the circles in which I move, there is a lot less drinking everywhere, not just in airplanes. Both social factors and health concerns probably have some influence.

darryl1966

Try visiting the bar on an emirates A380.The bar is open for upwards of 14 hours and they will refill your drinks continually for as long as you're in there!

Camflyer

How are they supposed to know that someone is going to drive?

We have a company policy of not letting anyone drive after a long haul flight as it can be very dangerous to drive when jet-lagged, especially in a strange city. Either get a hotel for the night, use public transport/taxi or get someone to pick you up.

QueenOfCoach

I am a person who never drinks alcohol simply because (1) I can't stand the stuff, (2) it makes me feel sick and (3) during the years I was doing heavy travel for my former employer, I was also trying to get pregnant.

In years past, 1970s, 1980s, I was pressured to drink alcohol by business associates. I've noticed less and less pressure these days. In fact, I'm now noticing fewer people ordering any alcoholic beverages at business events. Back then, I would have to say "No, thank you" politely over and over. (It was great when I was pregnant! I only had to say No a couple of times.) Now, just one polite "No, thank you" suffices.

I just think it's a general societal change towards eschewing alcohol when one is respresenting one's employer, even on an airplane. In these tough economic times, why jeapordize one's job by drinking alcohol inappropriately?

Lounge Expert

A man with a plan...I'm in^

Amelorn

Social mores have changed. My grandfather came from the tail end of the three-Martini lunch crowd. Now the business world frowns upon such things.

Hopefully the pendulum will rest in a happy medium someday.

fastflyer

Destination tends to indicate which flights have a lot of drinkers and which have few. The Caribbean flights are fairly boozy. Same with the US South in general. The West strikes me as the driest flights. Older men on flights to the Northeast and Midwest tend to drink more whereas younger people drink less.

pinniped

I've noticed the difference in business class or 2-cabin F - the FA's are simply less accessible than they were long ago. I don't think it's a real social change regarding attitudes towards drinking: it's just that you don't always get 1 on the ground and then once in the air you seem to get fewer interactions with the FA.

That said, I flew a relatively empty AA DFW-MCI flight on a Saturday night two weeks ago and had one on the ground and plenty of good FA service in the air. A one hour flight no less...and the beer was all ice cold, something you can't always count on...

will5404

I can't understand the attraction of boozing on a plane. I was on a flight from YVR-SYD in J (15.5 hours) and besides a glass of champagne on the ground I avoided booze. I'm still fairly young at 24, but getting loaded on a flight than fighting that and jet lag and trying to stay up the whole day in SYD would be an ordeal. There was plenty available for those who wanted it, the FA's were always coming around for drink orders and there was an area in the galley with help yourself booze and food.