Because it's free! Surprising how many drink just because of that
Jul 22, 2014, 1:09 pm
#61
Join Date: Mar 2003
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Last I heard Bud Light was like, um, intercourse in a canoe...
Jul 22, 2014, 3:14 pm
#63
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Actually, I'd be quite happy to share an F cabin with a bunch of guys drinking Bud Lite.
That means I have my choice of the liquor. @:-)
(I know...I know...UA doesn't exactly pour a top-shelf whiskey menu. But hey, it beats drinking college beer!)
That means I have my choice of the liquor. @:-)
(I know...I know...UA doesn't exactly pour a top-shelf whiskey menu. But hey, it beats drinking college beer!)
Jul 27, 2014, 5:41 pm
#64
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: GRB
Programs: DL PM
Posts: 309
Excessive drinking in F and clubs
I'm always curious when I see my fellow passengers in F or at the airline clubs drinking what seems to me an excessive amount of alcohol. Just because it's "free". Case in point: flight this evening barely over 1 hour long and my seat mate had a total of 4 drinks (1 PDB and 3 more en-route). In the clubs, I've seen people drinking at all times of the day. I imagine a fair amount of these traveling alcohol users will eventually get behind the wheel of a rental car (or their own car) at their final destination.
Is it really just because it's free? I could perhaps see the financial draw at weddings / festivities with open bars - with large segments of society being present. But I imagine, and perhaps there is data to support this, that frequent flyers who earn status and/or carry club membership are, on average, better off financially than average, with "better" jobs, higher compensation, etc. In short, many of these folks can readily afford to buy all the alcohol they would ever want. And yet, when available without charge, there seems to me at least a tendency to over-indulge and over-consume (vs other "free perks" of travel, like coffee, juice, soft drinks, snacks, free newspapers in the clubs, etc).
So is there another explanation? Are the folks in the frequent-flying professions at higher risk for alcohol abuse? Is the culture of alcohol in the USA - where it is simultaneously glamorized, demonized, and irrationally restricted until age 21 (like some "forbidden fruit") to blame - does it create an irresistible or insatiable urge to imbibe alcohol once allowed and available? Does alcohol use while flying not count, sort of like calories on your birthday? Something else?
Or am I just way off base here.
Is it really just because it's free? I could perhaps see the financial draw at weddings / festivities with open bars - with large segments of society being present. But I imagine, and perhaps there is data to support this, that frequent flyers who earn status and/or carry club membership are, on average, better off financially than average, with "better" jobs, higher compensation, etc. In short, many of these folks can readily afford to buy all the alcohol they would ever want. And yet, when available without charge, there seems to me at least a tendency to over-indulge and over-consume (vs other "free perks" of travel, like coffee, juice, soft drinks, snacks, free newspapers in the clubs, etc).
So is there another explanation? Are the folks in the frequent-flying professions at higher risk for alcohol abuse? Is the culture of alcohol in the USA - where it is simultaneously glamorized, demonized, and irrationally restricted until age 21 (like some "forbidden fruit") to blame - does it create an irresistible or insatiable urge to imbibe alcohol once allowed and available? Does alcohol use while flying not count, sort of like calories on your birthday? Something else?
Or am I just way off base here.
Jul 27, 2014, 5:46 pm
#65
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: YYZ
Posts: 1,666
A very similar thread has been posted recently:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...t-because.html
I'd say there's no one reason. It being free is definitely a big factor. I could buy $300 bottles of champagne, but wouldn't pay that by any stretch of the imagination. When it's free, I'll have a few glasses for sure as it's built into the cost of my ticket. One of the most beloved trip reports on this forum revolves around how one member destroyed 8 bottles of Dom on a long LAX-SIN flight, so I think there's definitely some admiration for drinking prowess around here (many trip reports include a brag/mention of how much they could drink, the more the better it seems.)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...t-because.html
I'd say there's no one reason. It being free is definitely a big factor. I could buy $300 bottles of champagne, but wouldn't pay that by any stretch of the imagination. When it's free, I'll have a few glasses for sure as it's built into the cost of my ticket. One of the most beloved trip reports on this forum revolves around how one member destroyed 8 bottles of Dom on a long LAX-SIN flight, so I think there's definitely some admiration for drinking prowess around here (many trip reports include a brag/mention of how much they could drink, the more the better it seems.)
Jul 27, 2014, 6:07 pm
#66
Join Date: Jan 2013
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OTOH, I often feel cheated in the Club and onboard since I do not drink alcohol, and there is no way I can "make up" by eating snacks. I think many would agree that the high costs of booze means the other offerings are skimpy. I am a lifetime member of the UA club and get into DL by AmEx Reserve CC; both cost me a lot of money to eat crackers and cheese (but, I do get a civilized place to rest before flights). I would vote for a limit on drinks for an improvement in the "others".
Jul 27, 2014, 6:41 pm
#67
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: LHR / IAD
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Posts: 2,955
OTOH, I often feel cheated in the Club and onboard since I do not drink alcohol, and there is no way I can "make up" by eating snacks. I think many would agree that the high costs of booze means the other offerings are skimpy. I am a lifetime member of the UA club and get into DL by AmEx Reserve CC; both cost me a lot of money to eat crackers and cheese (but, I do get a civilized place to rest before flights). I would vote for a limit on drinks for an improvement in the "others".
The threads in FT like this one make me glad that I've never really experienced the horror shows others have..
Jul 27, 2014, 7:01 pm
#68
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Indianapolis
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The FA cuts me off after 4, and I do it just to sleep, ORD PEK is a long way, as for an hour flight, don't see how the guy gets served that often.
I suspect the rim of the glass has a taste of booze on it, but the shot does not make it in the drink,
Like I said I pay very little attention to others,
Night.
I suspect the rim of the glass has a taste of booze on it, but the shot does not make it in the drink,
Like I said I pay very little attention to others,
Night.
Jul 27, 2014, 7:32 pm
#69
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Last edited by seawolf; Jul 28, 2014 at 9:48 pm Reason: Fixed link
Jul 27, 2014, 7:56 pm
#70
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Virginia City Highlands
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Posts: 6,900
Classical case of moral hazard
Well, that already caused the situation that a lot of venues where weddings are hold, now require signing of legal release from every arriving guest and hosts... At least it is the case in Napa/Sonoma in California.
Well, that already caused the situation that a lot of venues where weddings are hold, now require signing of legal release from every arriving guest and hosts... At least it is the case in Napa/Sonoma in California.
Jul 27, 2014, 8:00 pm
#71
Join Date: Apr 2007
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Jul 27, 2014, 10:55 pm
#72
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Canada, USA, Europe
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I'm always curious when I see my fellow passengers in F or at the airline clubs drinking what seems to me an excessive amount of alcohol. Just because it's "free". Case in point: flight this evening barely over 1 hour long and my seat mate had a total of 4 drinks (1 PDB and 3 more en-route). In the clubs, I've seen people drinking at all times of the day. I imagine a fair amount of these traveling alcohol users will eventually get behind the wheel of a rental car (or their own car) at their final destination.
Is it really just because it's free? I could perhaps see the financial draw at weddings / festivities with open bars - with large segments of society being present. But I imagine, and perhaps there is data to support this, that frequent flyers who earn status and/or carry club membership are, on average, better off financially than average, with "better" jobs, higher compensation, etc. In short, many of these folks can readily afford to buy all the alcohol they would ever want. And yet, when available without charge, there seems to me at least a tendency to over-indulge and over-consume (vs other "free perks" of travel, like coffee, juice, soft drinks, snacks, free newspapers in the clubs, etc).
So is there another explanation? Are the folks in the frequent-flying professions at higher risk for alcohol abuse? Is the culture of alcohol in the USA - where it is simultaneously glamorized, demonized, and irrationally restricted until age 21 (like some "forbidden fruit" to blame - does it create an irresistible or insatiable urge to imbibe alcohol once allowed and available? Does alcohol use while flying not count, sort of like calories on your birthday? Something else?
Or am I just way off base here.
Is it really just because it's free? I could perhaps see the financial draw at weddings / festivities with open bars - with large segments of society being present. But I imagine, and perhaps there is data to support this, that frequent flyers who earn status and/or carry club membership are, on average, better off financially than average, with "better" jobs, higher compensation, etc. In short, many of these folks can readily afford to buy all the alcohol they would ever want. And yet, when available without charge, there seems to me at least a tendency to over-indulge and over-consume (vs other "free perks" of travel, like coffee, juice, soft drinks, snacks, free newspapers in the clubs, etc).
So is there another explanation? Are the folks in the frequent-flying professions at higher risk for alcohol abuse? Is the culture of alcohol in the USA - where it is simultaneously glamorized, demonized, and irrationally restricted until age 21 (like some "forbidden fruit"
to blame - does it create an irresistible or insatiable urge to imbibe alcohol once allowed and available? Does alcohol use while flying not count, sort of like calories on your birthday? Something else?Or am I just way off base here.
Aug 10, 2014, 5:45 pm
#74
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Bracebridge, ON
Posts: 341