Southwest Airlines To Resume Alcohol Service On Flights Next Week

Photo credit: Southwest Airlines

If you’re a nervous flyer who needs a couple of drinks to take the edge off and make it to your destination in one piece, the fact that most airlines suspended the sale of alcoholic beverages when the pandemic started back in March 2020 was probably a real buzzkill.

Now you might ask why the airlines stopped serving alcohol in the first place. The moves were made in part as a way to reduce the opportunities for passengers to remove their face masks and keep flight attendants from having to interact with passengers more than necessary. And then given the uptick in incidents of passenger disruptions inflight, they decided to pause the restart of alcohol service even longer.

Heck, a Southwest flight attendant was seriously assaulted by a passenger last May, resulting in injuries to the face and a loss of two teeth during the violent encounter, according to a union representing Southwest’s flight attendants. People are straight up going crazy up there!

But with the worst of it behind us now, airlines are resuming alcohol sales, with Southwest Airlines the latest carrier to bring back beer, wine and hard liquor (along with non-alcoholic beverage) starting on February 16. Beverage service is offered on flights of 176 miles or more.

Alcoholic options will include: Miller Lite ($6), Blue Moon ($7), Lagunitas IPA ($7), Carmenet Cabernet Sauvignon ($6), Mossel Bay Chenin Blanc Chardonnay ($6), Cruset Brut Sparkling Wine ($6), Deep Eddy Vodka ($7), Deep Eddy Lime Vodka ($7), Jack Daniels Whiskey ($7), Wild Turkey Bourbon Whiskey ($7), Bacardi Rum ($7), and Cazadores Tequila ($7).

“Customers have expressed a desire for more beverage options, so we’re delighted to restore additional on-board offerings as a part of the Southwest Hospitality that our Customers know and love,” said Tony Roach, Vice President Customer Experience and Customer Relations.