No sparkling water due to customs regulations
Nov 5, 2018, 1:58 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: FRA
Posts: 2,175
No sparkling water due to customs regulations
Hi,
I think it is strange if you enter a CX plane, get to your first class seat, and they tell you that they "only can offer sparkling water if the bar-service is opened after take-off due to custom regulations" ... how much custom duty do they have to pay to open a bottle of sparkling water? while EK in Germany serves veuce cliquot instead of dom perignon on the ground due to "custom reasons" they still have an individual mini-bar at each F seat -- including sparkling water. And: diet coke/pepsi, whcih CX also cannot provide on the ground. i do not
get it. a can of coke might be one USD plus VAT, but for still water there is no VAT? I mean three year ago they still gave you a lobster appetizer on the ground at the same place, and now sparkling water is a problem? F class pricing has increased since then, by the way.
I think it is strange if you enter a CX plane, get to your first class seat, and they tell you that they "only can offer sparkling water if the bar-service is opened after take-off due to custom regulations" ... how much custom duty do they have to pay to open a bottle of sparkling water? while EK in Germany serves veuce cliquot instead of dom perignon on the ground due to "custom reasons" they still have an individual mini-bar at each F seat -- including sparkling water. And: diet coke/pepsi, whcih CX also cannot provide on the ground. i do not
get it. a can of coke might be one USD plus VAT, but for still water there is no VAT? I mean three year ago they still gave you a lobster appetizer on the ground at the same place, and now sparkling water is a problem? F class pricing has increased since then, by the way.
Nov 5, 2018, 2:23 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Seat 1A
Programs: Non-status paid F/J (best value for $$$)
Posts: 4,124
Seems more like they want to save space by loading less service carts onboard. Looks like the sparkling water was put inside the cart containing the alcohol that is subject to duties. As a general rule, the whole cart has a customs seal applied to it that cannot be broken until after take off. If the seal is broken before take off and the cart is opened just to retrieve an item (sparkling water in this case) that is not subject to duty, all the dutiable items in the cart would then get subject to duty!
EK and other carriers did the smart thing by loading their non-duty items into a separate cart where the seal isn't applied.
EK and other carriers did the smart thing by loading their non-duty items into a separate cart where the seal isn't applied.
Nov 5, 2018, 7:08 pm
#4
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Seat 1A
Programs: Non-status paid F/J (best value for $$$)
Posts: 4,124
Sparkling water is not served in Y. It might be the same situation in J where the sparkling water is inside the cart with the alcohol.
Nov 5, 2018, 7:15 pm
#5
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: EWR
Programs: CX Green | UA Silver | Marriott Lifetime Platinum | Hyatt Globalist | Hilton Gold | AA EXP
Posts: 813
Nov 5, 2018, 9:51 pm
#7
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: asia miles
Posts: 398