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Air India alcohol service??

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Old Mar 1, 2019, 7:01 pm
  #1  
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Air India alcohol service??

How can one tell in advance if they will have alcohol service in J?

I recently flew BKK - BLR and they said no alcohol on board...it was a morning flight, so OK.

Then flew BLR - MLE mid afternoon, and no alcohol on board. I found this to be a bit strange for a business class cabin.

For future reference, is there some rule as to what determines if there will be alcohol on board?
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Old Mar 1, 2019, 8:01 pm
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Probably it depends on route. VIE-DEL-BKK was with alcohol (special cart, as far as I remember the spirit selection wasn't bad), imported beer and horrible champagne. Not sure about Y cabin though.
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Old Mar 2, 2019, 1:03 am
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It sounds like a cost cutting exercise. I don't know if they have any published rules on alcohol service - mostly because they (claim to) serve it on every international flight.

Some exceptions would be where the destination is too close to India (since they can't serve alcohol in the Indian skies) like CMB or KTM etc. they might deny especially Y pax. Can't imagine why they wouldn't serve on a BLR-BKK route no matter what time of the day in J.
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Old Mar 2, 2019, 1:27 am
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very strange....they claim to serve it on every international flight....i've definitely seen it served on every international flight i have been on....it could very well be cost cutting as piperatgatesofdawn suggested....
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Old Mar 2, 2019, 12:13 pm
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But why would you cut costs in J. That's the big question. Then again this is AI.
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Old Mar 3, 2019, 1:55 am
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Originally Posted by PiperAtGatesofDawn
But why would you cut costs in J. That's the big question. Then again this is AI.
90% of the things ai does makes no sense....how is this any different????
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Old Mar 9, 2019, 11:46 pm
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After a long while , was flying AI on a couple of domestic runs last week. Only veg options served to all in Y.

There was no alcohol served on a recent DEL - KTM flight i did on AI as well. Maybe cause it was a short sector. They did have a Veg & Non Veg mean option though.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 7:50 am
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Originally Posted by quarryking
After a long while , was flying AI on a couple of domestic runs last week. Only veg options served to all in Y.
they changed to veg only meals in economy for domestic flights a while back....i think its almost been a year....
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 9:09 am
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If it is differentiated by class of service, then one would hope that the proximity to Indian airspace is not the determining factor ! Seems hard to maneuver the J cabin over international space and the Y over India.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 9:15 am
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Originally Posted by Often1
If it is differentiated by class of service, then one would hope that the proximity to Indian airspace is not the determining factor ! Seems hard to maneuver the J cabin over international space and the Y over India.
class of service only determines the meal....that too only on domestic flights....
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Old Mar 11, 2019, 12:57 am
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Originally Posted by Often1
If it is differentiated by class of service, then one would hope that the proximity to Indian airspace is not the determining factor ! Seems hard to maneuver the J cabin over international space and the Y over India.
The rules are very clear:
DOM J - veg & non veg meals. DOM Y - veg meals
INT J - alcohol + veg & non veg meals. INT Y - alcohol + veg & non veg meals (alcohol served only after the plane has left Indian airspace)

It’s not at all surprising in the DEL-KTM sector where they would have had 10 minutes to serve and clear up the drinks. It certainly would be easier to serve alcohol in J in the DEL-KTM sector where they can take orders from before hand and quickly serve to a handful of guests. It certainly would not be possible in Y. Also, I have no idea if they actually serve alcohol in J in the DEL-KTM sector but wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t.

I would blame them for not serving on the BLR-BKK sector in any class at any time of day.
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Old Mar 11, 2019, 1:04 am
  #12  
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On Saturday the drinks cart was out in full swing and I asked the purser/CSD if the policy had changed recently. They said they are not aware of any changes. With the detour due to AFPAK closure they even start serving drinks over India in Your on westbound flights. Sometimes the cart doesn't come out on short flights or if the pax want to sleep.
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Old Mar 11, 2019, 4:58 am
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Originally Posted by PiperAtGatesofDawn


The rules are very clear:
DOM J - veg & non veg meals. DOM Y - veg meals
INT J - alcohol + veg & non veg meals. INT Y - alcohol + veg & non veg meals (alcohol served only after the plane has left Indian airspace)

It’s not at all surprising in the DEL-KTM sector where they would have had 10 minutes to serve and clear up the drinks. It certainly would be easier to serve alcohol in J in the DEL-KTM sector where they can take orders from before hand and quickly serve to a handful of guests. It certainly would not be possible in Y. Also, I have no idea if they actually serve alcohol in J in the DEL-KTM sector but wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t.

I would blame them for not serving on the BLR-BKK sector in any class at any time of day.
DEL - KTM was an All economy flight, but at least a Veg & Non veg meal option was provided.
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Old Mar 11, 2019, 5:15 am
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Originally Posted by quarryking
DEL - KTM was an All economy flight, but at least a Veg & Non veg meal option was provided.
It's an international flight so it has to be!
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