Originally Posted by
bocastephen
I don't believe it's delayed for cost cutting, it sounds like it's delayed to avoid fist throwing. I, for one, have never understood alcohol availability on flights or in airports - it really has no place in either, and maybe a very limited option of one glass of wine with a meal served in premium class, but that's it. Too much bad inflight behavior comes directly from alcohol consumption before or during a flight.
The bad behavior has been taking place in the absence of alcohol being served in economy, so it couldn't have been the cause of the recent incidents. I haven't read anything that suggests that the Southwest incident was alcohol-related.
And the approach so far has been that alcohol is OK in premium cabins, but not, or only limited options in economy. Are first/business class passengers classier individuals, or just more profitable than giving away free beer to 1Ks in economy? What are we to understand from United offering wine but not spirits in premium economy? Are spirits more expensive or more dangerous?
Disallowing alcohol in the air will result in either people boozing up on the ground, or self-serving in the air (hence the constant reminders now that doing so is a violation of FAA regulations). Both of those outcomes are worse than FAs serving customers in the air.