Any reason for serving drinks from carts?
 

On domestic US flights, most airlines serve only snacks and drinks to coach passengers.

But most of them still use carts to serve the drinks. What it means is that the aisle is blocked during drink service, resulting in a huge queue for the rear lavatories right after the drink service.

On a few airlines, the flight attendants just take orders, go back to the galley to fill drinks, then deliver the drinks. No cart blocking the aisle. Why wouldn't other airlines do this?

Because carts are faster

Because the other way is horribly inefficient compared to carts.

I enjoy the lightly loaded flights where some of the FAs serve drinks from a tray.

Sure it's a bit slower (but I'm not going anywhere), but it's much more elegant.

Southwest serves only from trays. Their research shows it is dramatically faster and more efficient than using a cart.

They also (or used to) take orders before takeoff adding some efficiency to the process.

The carts add extra weight and in the case of turbulence can cause injury to both PX and FA

jachot

The carts are usually one pass down and one pass back. The take an order for two or three drinks and go back, bring them back, take the next order for two drinks and go back and come back, well if you were a flight attendant, which would you prefer?

Besides, you can't block the asile when the pilot needs to use the bathroom with a tray :D

I liked the model where they came through with pre-poured glasses of whatever was popular at that time of day: coke, diet coke, seven-up, and then came back through to find out if someone wanted something different. Most people got drinks very quickly, and given those three choices it worked pretty well -- certainly a whole lot faster than what seems to happen today.

I am not sure how the measurements have worked out for trays versus carts, but somehow Delta can't get any service in on a flight from JFK to Boston when Jet Blue can do a whole drink and snack service on their flights.

Just to clarify some...

On WN flights the FA's split the cabin into 3 sections. They each have a pen/paper and then ask everyone in a section their drink order. Depending on the FA they deliver everything in order, tray by tray, or by beverage-type to be delivered.

It takes far less time then the cart going up the aisle - and they have no qualms about the whole can of coke.

I think that is really the big thing. I notice that on those airlines where they go through the whole process of puring and doing half a can and constantly opening up new cans and have to rearrange everything that they waste a lot of time. Those that do the tray method seem to have someone pouring in the back, where you have enough room, and they can get it done quicker. In fact, I have always wondered why they don't just skip the whole can thing altogether. Go with the small bottles and simply find a way to refrigerate them, and just and them out to the passenger. Yes the bottles weigh a little more, but the savings in ice, cups, etc. would probably go a long way to counter that.

They want to keep the pax in their seats and out of the aisles. ;)