Originally Posted by John26

Just to be clear, the only rule FAs must follow is not to serve alcohol prior to takeoff, except for sparkling wine on int'l and p.s., because the rest of the liquor is in bond (i.e. taxes have not been paid by UA for it to be served on the ground).

The policy, according to the FA Training Center, is that you should come out into the premium cabin aisles with orange juice and water (and sparkling wine for int'l and p.s.) ready to serve and if a customer asks for a different, non-alcoholic beverage, to honor their request. FAs are NOT supposed to say "I'll get that for you as soon as we're in the air" unless it's liquor, wine or beer.

Of course, what the Training Center teaches and what the FAs do are completely different things. But as Anne, the AFA FA who taught me in training asked our class, "Are we going to tell someone who paid several thousand dollars for their domestic First Class ticket or tens of thousands for their int'l First Class ticket that they need to wait for an apple juice until we're in the air?! (NO)" (By the way, she is the one you see in the safety video on 757s saying "If you're seated in an exit row...")

The one area you can run into problems with is hot coffee in the afternoon, because it takes time to brew. Very few customers ask for this in the afternoon so it is rarely brewed or ready to be served.

P.S. Before anyone asks, SQ pays taxes on a portion of its liquor supply to allow for pre-departure alcoholic beverages.