This question has been on my mind for a while. Is it OK to take a few cans of beer or juice from a lounge or not?

In lounges which offer free alcohol like QF/AY/EI to name a few, would it be in your view acceptable to take a couple of cans of your favourite beverage for your flight?

For example, it is not that likely that every airline will have Guinness or other Irish beer on board, so would it be OK to take a couple of cans from a lounge that has it available? I am just wondering since a couple of times at a duty free store at airports it was quite crudely suggested to me that I should take drinks from there since they (duty-free stores) didn't have any.

Now, I've seen some people take a few cans of beer from fridges and pack it in their carry-ons and I've also seen very icy stares from the lounge agents at people who actually do it.

So, is it acceptable in your opinion to take a few cans of your favourite beer or not? I doubt that money is an issue since most people with access to lounges are affluent enough to pay for these drinks.

Acceptable yes, but I don't believe it's legal. I don't think you are allowed to drink any alchol you bring on to the plane, but as everybody here knows there are some routes where a 12 pack is carry on luggage.

Also, getting it from the lounge to the plane may be an issue, as in some states the lounge can not give you a container that isn't opended, and you can not carry an open container of alcohol outside of the lounge area.

Not that it isn't done.

Well, what if I want a beer for my hotel when I get to my destination?

Acceptable? I say no. Beverages, whether free or not, are provided for your consumption in the lounge. If you want to do this, I suggest you nicely (and discretely) ask the lounge agent, then abide by their decision.

One of my favorite President's Club bartenders provides me with a stiff drink in a "to go" cup for the journey around the airport to the gate and wait before boarding. Recently before flying on an international flight, the bartender provided me with a couple unopened bottles of beer. The secondary gate screener randomly selected me and commented, "wow, they're still cold!" I was in First Class so I didn't need to use them inflight, but did enjoy them in my hotel room.

As others pointed out, its usually not legal to remove alcohol from bars/lounges. At least not in U.S. states that I am familiar with.

Also, its not legal to consume alcohol not served by a FA while on the plane. At least this is an FAA regulation in the US. Can't comment for other countries.

I personally often take a bottle of water from the lounge on to a long transpac flight. In some cases, they run out of bottled water toward the end of the flight. Having an extra bottle helps.

Except in New Orleans.

Well, since free drinks in the US lounges are not that common then let's concentrate on international lounges.

Some airlines like Brunei and EgyptAir to name a couple advise pax to bring their own on board. How to behave in such situations?

It is only illegal to take an unopened can/bottle of alcohol from a restaurant/bar/lounge. We frequently take an unfinished bottle of wine home from dinner.

JerryFF, amazed to see that the ABC permits and the law allows open containers of alcohol to be removed and transported. When I used to live in Cal. this was not the case. I will bear this in mind on my next visit.

In the state of Oregon, it is legal to take an opened bottle of wine home if it is corked and bagged. It is illegal to have opened bottles of alcohol in a vehicle (even if corked), so wine must be transported in the trunk.

Back to the subject...I usually take the small cans of cranberry juice, a couple crackers and sometimes cheese to put in my carryon. As I rarely drink in the lounge (WorldClubs have free alcohol), or use other available amenities, I figure they still make a killing on me.

Linda

I take a couple of those little cartons of OJ from the World club in my carry on. Why, to put on ice in my room at night.

Once in a blue moon I take a beer for the road but since NW/CO give upgrade me to F most of the time, I don't need the beer.

I don't see a problem with it, as long as youre not filling up your suit case with it

The easy solution to this is just to frontload more

it's only if you are at a restaurant, not at a bar or pub. And to complicate matters, it is against the law in CA to carry an "open container" in your car unless it is locked in the trunk or other area where you can't get to it while you are driving.

What about the glovebox? It can be locked but also unlocked while driving?