How Much Alcohol do you Drink in Business/First?
Jan 9, 2019, 6:23 pm
#16
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 1,736
I used to to take chambord in mini bottles or cassis to make the champagne better but these days I don’t tend to bother.
Jan 9, 2019, 6:25 pm
#17
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Cheddar
Programs: TG *G 20 years
Posts: 407
I will drink (and eat) all that is offered. On BA this is usually the boarding champagne, a glass of white wine plus the bottle of water. I don't get offered anything else in F or J. So different to other airlines where you can browse the range on the circulating drinks trolley or from the 'wine waiters'. However, knowing the likely meagre offerings, I would have tried either all the reds or whites while in the lounge. A good time to compare and contrast the grapes.
Jan 9, 2019, 6:32 pm
#18
Join Date: Feb 2011
Programs: BA blue,, aeroplan 25K
Posts: 1,028
A glass or two of champagne in the lounge first if there’s time. If F usually try to spend a couple of hours in the CCR. Might try a couple of ounces of a few diff wines if they interest me
on board in F usually close to half a bottle of LPGS with a sip of most wines to try on board
If in CW similar amount of champagne but usually not much wines as they just aren’t really worth it
i don’t drink a lot and don’t like the feeling especially at altitude
All this assumes west bound. If east bound from NA it’s a night flight and usually a couple glass of bubbly and an imovane to sleep. No food nothing else
on board in F usually close to half a bottle of LPGS with a sip of most wines to try on board
If in CW similar amount of champagne but usually not much wines as they just aren’t really worth it
i don’t drink a lot and don’t like the feeling especially at altitude
All this assumes west bound. If east bound from NA it’s a night flight and usually a couple glass of bubbly and an imovane to sleep. No food nothing else
Jan 9, 2019, 8:18 pm
#23
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For most practical purposes, I tend to be a one glass type of guy on long haul. One glass of what tends to depends on what gets me excited on the drinks menu, and if nothing does I can easily become a 0 glass type of guy. On short haul, it is most often 0 too but I occasionally crave a G&T or a Bloody Mary on a late afternoon or evening flight, especially when the flight feels like one of those when you are quite happy to leave the work day behind.
There have been known significant exceptions. When JL used to serve Salon in F, I would easily drink 4 or 5 glasses of those in a long flight. When QR was kind enough to serve Comtes de Champagne on ultra long J, I ensured that it also played a full part in fighting the thirst. However, I'd say that's pretty much a 1% deviation from the 0-1 glass habit though, and for instance, I never ask for a second glass of LGPS despite finding it perfectly decent if not fabulous.
I never drink to the point of losing my senses regardless of how exciting the offer is in any circumstances however. When a guy who hoped for me to marry his daughter opened a bottle of Petrus, I drank my fair share of it with gourmet delight, but still didn't marry the perfectly fine young lady.
Now by contrast, I can drink a whole cabin load of sparkling water if it is good one, and are partial to plenty of things that BA do not offer:
- fresh squeezed fruit juices. Why not invest in an orange juicer at LHR for F and maybe J? And maybe add a proper fresh squeezed "juice of the month? Imagine fresh squeezed grapefruit in January, apricots in July or pomegranates in November for a signature effort?
- good quality espresso and macchiato. No espresso in J always frustrates me a little, it is now standard on a vast majority of competitors
- how about a few quality soft drinks? BA's talk of "classic and contemporary" is a totally empty promise. The offer is ghastly. Some British companies offer great stuff - Belvoir is one of them - both their presse range is excellent (elderflower, ginger beer, elderflower-rose, cucumber-mint, etc) and would be a vast improvement on the current offer. There are plenty of others
- Herbal teas. Here BA are particularly inexcusable because it is not only that they are doing poorly with their chamomile and peppermint, but that they have gone worse. BA F used to have a slightly better if still not great range. They dumbed it down and the current selection is pretty much the CW one which is in fact quite close to the CE one. C'mon BA, again, plenty of British companies offering much nicer things with plenty of local ingredients (yes, that also means elderflower again) as well as exotic ones (ginger, lemongrass - oh wait, ginger-lemongrass used to be offer in F!)
And as long as we are there, BA's sparkling water is really not very good and again the same cheap stuff in F, CW, and CE. Naturally sparkling waters (as opposed to carbonated) are much, much nicer. They are the norm for quality waters in France, Germany, and Italy but there may be some in the UK too.
There have been known significant exceptions. When JL used to serve Salon in F, I would easily drink 4 or 5 glasses of those in a long flight. When QR was kind enough to serve Comtes de Champagne on ultra long J, I ensured that it also played a full part in fighting the thirst. However, I'd say that's pretty much a 1% deviation from the 0-1 glass habit though, and for instance, I never ask for a second glass of LGPS despite finding it perfectly decent if not fabulous.
I never drink to the point of losing my senses regardless of how exciting the offer is in any circumstances however. When a guy who hoped for me to marry his daughter opened a bottle of Petrus, I drank my fair share of it with gourmet delight, but still didn't marry the perfectly fine young lady.
Now by contrast, I can drink a whole cabin load of sparkling water if it is good one, and are partial to plenty of things that BA do not offer:
- fresh squeezed fruit juices. Why not invest in an orange juicer at LHR for F and maybe J? And maybe add a proper fresh squeezed "juice of the month? Imagine fresh squeezed grapefruit in January, apricots in July or pomegranates in November for a signature effort?
- good quality espresso and macchiato. No espresso in J always frustrates me a little, it is now standard on a vast majority of competitors
- how about a few quality soft drinks? BA's talk of "classic and contemporary" is a totally empty promise. The offer is ghastly. Some British companies offer great stuff - Belvoir is one of them - both their presse range is excellent (elderflower, ginger beer, elderflower-rose, cucumber-mint, etc) and would be a vast improvement on the current offer. There are plenty of others
- Herbal teas. Here BA are particularly inexcusable because it is not only that they are doing poorly with their chamomile and peppermint, but that they have gone worse. BA F used to have a slightly better if still not great range. They dumbed it down and the current selection is pretty much the CW one which is in fact quite close to the CE one. C'mon BA, again, plenty of British companies offering much nicer things with plenty of local ingredients (yes, that also means elderflower again) as well as exotic ones (ginger, lemongrass - oh wait, ginger-lemongrass used to be offer in F!)
And as long as we are there, BA's sparkling water is really not very good and again the same cheap stuff in F, CW, and CE. Naturally sparkling waters (as opposed to carbonated) are much, much nicer. They are the norm for quality waters in France, Germany, and Italy but there may be some in the UK too.
Last edited by orbitmic; Jan 9, 2019 at 8:33 pm
Jan 9, 2019, 8:21 pm
#24
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Because I am sitting in the same seat for prolonged periods of time with very little to do and the crews generally keep offering refills, or alternative drinks options. I am sure if the same situation was recreated on the ground I would probably consume the same amounts of alcohol as I do in the air. Luckily for my health, it is not.
Jan 9, 2019, 8:38 pm
#25
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Jan 9, 2019, 8:41 pm
#26
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Because I am sitting in the same seat for prolonged periods of time with very little to do and the crews generally keep offering refills, or alternative drinks options. I am sure if the same situation was recreated on the ground I would probably consume the same amounts of alcohol as I do in the air. Luckily for my health, it is not.
That's for making me feel like an alcoholic.
Jan 9, 2019, 9:07 pm
#28
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Bangkok / London
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Posts: 1,109
I suspect this will be highly variable. At one extreme you might have @corporate-wage-slave and the other this legendary report from @macabus: 8 bottles of Dom from LAX-BKK on SQ in F
Jan 9, 2019, 9:13 pm
#29
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: san francisco.
Programs: Marriott Ti, OW Ruby
Posts: 1,852
Not a huge amount. I tend not to touch the sauce before boarding.
On long haul, perhaps a glass of the fizzy stuff while I settle into my seat, a Bloody Mary before the meal, and a glass of port to accompany the cheese n crackers.
Lately I’ve been enjoying cranberry juice with a dash of tonic
On long haul, perhaps a glass of the fizzy stuff while I settle into my seat, a Bloody Mary before the meal, and a glass of port to accompany the cheese n crackers.
Lately I’ve been enjoying cranberry juice with a dash of tonic
Jan 9, 2019, 9:16 pm
#30
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: san francisco.
Programs: Marriott Ti, OW Ruby
Posts: 1,852
My usual routine for leisure flights in F/J:
In the lounge:
Three glasses of champagne before lunch
Two glasses of wine with lunch
A cocktail before coffee and dessert
On board:
Two glasses of boarding champagne
A gin and tonic after take off
3 glasses of wine with lunch/dinner
A glass of dessert wine
A digestif
Then an ibuprofen and as much water as they will give me!
In the lounge:
Three glasses of champagne before lunch
Two glasses of wine with lunch
A cocktail before coffee and dessert
On board:
Two glasses of boarding champagne
A gin and tonic after take off
3 glasses of wine with lunch/dinner
A glass of dessert wine
A digestif
Then an ibuprofen and as much water as they will give me!