Originally Posted by
motytrah
I'll answer that with common sense. In the EU soft drinks cost as much and often more than beer.
I don't find this to be true across most of Europe. I wish it was, but it isn't, in my experience, at least at the retail level. When dining in restaurants or bars, one might get this impression, because the overhead costs are such a huge portion of the cost.
Here is a good example:
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/...d#/a9fb98fd/66
Denmark has very low alcohol taxes and a very healthy beer market, with relatively low prices. Heck, the 30-pack above comes in at roughly $.70 per beer, which is about the best deal you will get in Denmark. As you can see in the ad above it is still 40% more expensive than soda, per liter. BTW, both of the prices are "specials", but they are the type of specials that runs so frequently that it is really the norm.
Waitrose, in the UK will sell you a 6-pack of 33cl Amstel Light for GBP 5.99, when a 10-pack of 33cl Coke will set you back GBP 3.90. That is a whopping 150% more.
I think one would be hard-pressed to show that beer is "often" cheaper than soda in Europe, and that it is, on average, more expensive, often much more expensive. The price differential may not be as high as in the US, but even10% is a lot when you are running a business, even if it doesn't seem like much to the consumer.
Originally Posted by
motytrah
I would also contend that EU based PAX would not be inclined to pay for beer or wine. So they may have more to lose in good will and return customers than they would off overpriced adult beverages.
Europeans are very willing to pay for drinks on planes, as evidenced by the proliferation of ultra-LCCs across the continent, the popularity of package holidays, and the no-free-water policies on intra-European flights at some legacy carriers, like SK.