United Airlines Flight Attendants Reminded To Scold Passengers Who Drink Their Own Booze Inflight - View from the Wing

Southwest Airlines has a problem with passengers bringing their own booze on board. So too, it seems, does United Airlines.

Airlines aren't serving alcoholic drinks to customers where they'd normally charge for booze, to reduce interactions between passengers and flight attendants. Sometimes they're not even serving alcoholic beverages where they used to be free, as a cost saving measure.

There's a reason why liquor stores were considered an 'essential business' during coronavirus lock downs, and that same impetus has people bringing booze with them now that they can't get any on a plane. That's an important point for anyone who thinks airlines shouldn't serve alcohol on board, because it leads to bad behavior - it's not the serving that causes the behavior, it's the drinking, and despite rules against 'bring your own' that's difficult to stop.

A new memo from the United Airlines flight attendants union to cabin crew underscores rules against customers pouring their own hooch.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the company to reconsider the services provided on the aircraft as a means of minimizing the touchpoints between Flight Attendants and passengers... These health precautions have curtailed several service options on many of our flights, including the offering of a variety of choices in alcoholic beverage options. With this reduction in service some passengers have developed a misunderstanding that, in place of what is offered for sale onboard, they can simply bring their own supply onboard.

United Polaris Wine Tasting Flight

American Airlines for its part has 'noticed' an increase in customers bringing their own alcohol, too. I certainly understand relaxing with a glass of something at the end of the business week or getting into the vacation vibe on the way to Las Vegas or Cabo. However there's almost no business travel to return from on Thursdays, and it shouldn't be some hard to observe prohibition on short haul flights. Then again that's what proponents of the 18th amendment to the constitution thought, and it gave rise to Al Capone.