Booze and snacks to be sold on Air NZ domestic flights

Peckish and needing a drink when you next hop on that 45 minute flight from Wellington to Christchurch? Feeling that Air NZ's cup of coffee/tea, mineral water and cookie aren't enough? Can't be arsed buying food at the airport or at your destination? Well Air NZ is about to give you another option...

.

According to what appears to be a staff leak on an airline forum, Air NZ is poised to announce that it will shortly start retailing alcoholic beverages, fruit juice, soft drinks and snack foods like potato chips on its domestic flights operated by jet aircraft (most flights between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown). Presumably, this follows the trend of low cost carriers in Europe, and Virgin Blue/Pacific Blue in Australasia and is expected to be profitable.

.

I remember back in the days of Air NZ having a monopoly on the main trunk (which was actually one of the few deregulatory moves of the Muldoon government, abolishing limits on the number of airlines that could fly on domestic routes), you got some orange drink and a cracker with the legendary unopenable cheese packet. Then Ansett turned up, and it was hot meals on domestic flights. Then alcohol arrived, and it became free on weekday evening flights. The near collapse of Air NZ saw it refocus, and decide to grow the market with cheap fares and elimination of meals (although free coffee/water and cookie is more than you get on Virgin Blue or Easyjet). Now the circle has started swinging around again, assuming this leak is true.

.

I bet Cabinet Ministers miss business class on those flights. There is a website for people fascinated with airline food, just pick your airline and see pictures of what people had placed in front of them.

.

UPDATE: I am betting that the usual bunch of fun-free wowsers will come out decrying this as the end of civilisation, that drunk people will be a problem on flights (ignoring free booze on Air NZ international flights) and will Sue Kedgley say it is bad for your health because there are no fresh fruit available on the flights, and besides the weight adds to aircraft emissions? Please don't - I absolutely loathe the do-gooding naysaying fun police.