Originally Posted by
iamaho
As a non-drinker, I am always amazed the importance people place on alcohol availability on flights. It's like the end of the world when people can't get their wine, gin, scotch, etc which essentially is worth a couple of dollars in quantity terms, but willing to pay a premium to obtain it, and god forbid, if they can't drink their quota on the flight, their trip/flight experience is ruined.
Not that I am saying that people shouldn't drink, but from a different perspective, I find the whole situation amusing.
Simple: booze is expensive in Canada and when presented a free offering that a lot of people have a good (retail) price reference for, many will try/want to maximize this scarce (time) offering.
Since airlines have better economies of scale they can get a price discount and create a good value proposition: low cost item for the marketer that's highly valued by the customer, as its acts as socially/legally accepted pain reliever to cope with the stress of travel. Never mind the theoretical monetary savings that goes through ones mind.
In marketing, this emotional bonus is referred to as the 'free prize' (think back to the cereal box days when a toy was included). And with all factors being/close to equal, the 'free prize' can create the winning conditions (tipping point) for a customer to choose your offering over the competition (depending on your customer segments).
It's one of the mains reasons all inclusive resorts are popular