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Which Airlines Have The Most Expensive Buy

May 30, 2023May 30, 2023

Low-cost airlines tend to have the highest alcoholic drink prices.

So you are ready to depart on that long-anticipated vacation, and to kick things off and get you in the mood, you order a cocktail on your flight. Whether or not the drink comes with a heavy price tag depends on the airline and where you fly.

If you are flying domestically in the United States, no alcoholic beverage is complimentary if you are flying in economy. If flying on an American carrier internationally, you may be offered complimentary beer and wine to accompany your meal. The same is valid with non-American airlines, which tend to have better food offerings on long-haul flights.

Looking at American Airlines' drink list, we see that the world's largest airline charges $9.00 for a glass of wine, $8.00 for a beer, and $10 for a 50ml bottle of vodka, gin, rum, or whiskey. All soft drinks are complimentary, so you won't have to fork out extra for the mixer.

Low-cost carriers like Spirit, Frontier, and Allegiant Air have some of the highest prices because of their low-cost fares, giving passengers the option to customize their experiences. Miramar, Florida-headquartered Spirit Airlines is the most expensive, charging $12.00 for a 200ml bottle of sparkling wine, $9.00 for a beer, and $10.00 for a 50ml bottle of vodka, gin, whiskey, or rum. On top of the 50ml bottle, you must also pay $4.00 for a soft drink mixer. Allegiant has beers starting from $4.99, wine and liquor choices starting from $7.99, as well as a wide selection of signature cocktails.

Somewhat surprisingly, given that many budget airlines model themselves after Southwest Airlines, the Texas-based airline is reasonable regarding the price of a drink. On Southwest, you will pay $6.00 for a glass of wine, $6.00 for a beer, and only $7.00 for a whiskey, gin, vodka, or rum. All non-alcoholic drinks on Southwest are complimentary.

On short-haul domestic flights and flights within Europe, you can expect to pay for drinks on most European carriers. On long-haul flights, this changes, with nearly all European airlines offering complimentary drinks to accompany meals. The exception to the rules is low-cost carriers like Ryanair and easyJet.

On the Irish budget carrier, you will pay 8.00€ for a 200ml bottle of Bottega Il Vino dei Poeti Prosecco DOC, 6.50€ for a glass of white or red wine, and 6.00€ for a beer. A vodka, gin, rum, or whiskey will cost you 6.50 plus 3.00€ for a mixer, like Coke, Sprite, or Fanta.

Prosecco £6.25 ($7.90), a glass of red or white wine £4.25 ($5.37), and a beer £5.75 ($7.27). A vodka, gin, rum, or whisky £5.95 ($7.52) soft drink mixer £2.50 ($3.16).

With alcohol prices high in Scandinavia, it is no surprise that airlines like Icelandair and Norse Atlantic are pretty expensive for alcoholic drinks.

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Réserve Champagne (200ml) 16.00€ ($17.94) and an Icelandinc beer 8.00€ ($8.97).

Vodka, gin, rum, and whisky cost 9.00€ ($10.09). The good news with Icelandair is that all non-alcoholic drinks are free, so you do not have to pay extra for a mixer.

New Norwegian low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic charges for all food and drinks like other budget airlines. A 200ml bottle of Spanish Cave costs $11.00, and a glass of red or white wine costs $9.00. An alcoholic drink with a mixer will set you back $15.00, while a Danish Carlsberg beer costs $7.00.

While not Middle Eastern, we will add Turkish Airlines into the category as they are similar to the Gulf carriers acting as a hub and spoke airline. On Turkish Airlines international flights, all drinks are complimentary. On domestic flights, alcoholic beverages are not available. For other Middle Eastern carriers, all drinks except champagne are complimentary onboard Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Middle East Airlines (MEA).

All full-service airlines in Asia offer complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. However, this is different when you fly budget carriers like Scoot. The low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines charges $6.79 for a glass of wine, $6.03 for a beer, and $9.05 for hard liquor and a mixer. JetStar Asia charges $12 for a glass of wine, $10 for a beer, and has mixed drinks like gin & tonic for $13.00.

Journalist - Mark is an experienced travel journalist having published work in the industry for more than seven years. His enthusiasm for aviation news and wealth of experience lends itself to some excellent insight, with his work cited in Forbes amongst other publications. Based in Alicante, Spain.

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