Qantas extends free inflight beer, wine service
‘Happy hour’ now kicks off at noon, so cheers to that!
By David Flynn, December 5 2023
Fancy a glass of wine or an icy cold beer with your lunch or afternoon snack?
Qantas is now opening the complimentary inflight bar service for economy passengers at noon, rather than 4pm, bringing economy into line with business class.
While a seemingly small change, it’s one that will be greatly welcomed by many travellers, with Qantas offering a selection of Australian red and white wine plus One Fifty Lashes Premium Pale Ale.
The move applies to all domestic and regional flights, and the airline no doubt hopes to draw a contrast with rival Virgin Australia, where such drinks – along with meals and snacks – are sold, rather than offered for free.
It’s also part of a concerted push to improve the passenger experience after a bruising few years of cost-cutting and reduced service levels, while airfares themselves have largely remained high.
As previously reported, Qantas reintroduced spirits in domestic business class in late 2022, along with offering a pre-meal drink on longer east-west routes.
This week also sees the launch of luggage tracking via the Qantas App, with the feature now available on over 60 of the most popular domestic routes.
Aa drive by new CEO Vanessa Hudson to reduce ‘passenger pain points’ has also made it easier to transfer Qantas Points as well as inherit the frequent flyer points of a deceased family member.
Etihad - Etihad Guest
19 Jun 2019
Total posts 20
I think this is great news. I do love a T&C but does anyone know what they mean by select? I looked on the QF website and they advise:
Wine and beer are offered free of charge on select domestic and regional services:
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Nov 2011
Total posts 359
"Icy cold beer" not sure I have ever experienced one of those on Qantas...
QF
11 Jul 2014
Total posts 1010
No Fan of this at all, I've been on to many a flight with to many people who have had to much to drink.
One flight 20 years ago Darwin - Sydney the couple ended up in the toilet and were hopelessly staggering off the plane and the person who was serving them knew he had given them to much during the flight.
25 Jun 2012
Total posts 61
One flight 20 years ago... ?!
01 Nov 2023
Total posts 11
Ok granpa Simpson enough of those side splitting stories. 🤣 I bet you wore whole onions as belt buckles as well !
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Feb 2015
Total posts 388
This is the best move Qantas has made in years. Maybe the executive team in the Mascot tower are starting to listen.
Qantas
22 Oct 2012
Total posts 319
Beware the fine print: "Wine and beer are offered free of charge on select domestic and regional services on flights departing from 12pm....". So don't expect your 11.55am flight to start serving alcohol at 12pm. But if your flight is longer than 2.5hrs and departs after 9am then alcohol will be available.
23 Apr 2022
Total posts 2
In this thread - people who grumble about Qantas not anything for customers grumbling about them not doing enough for customers.
Thai Airways International - Royal Orchid Plus
15 Jan 2013
Total posts 458
about time.I remembered my mom flying Melbourne to Adelaide and they could not serve wine not even if you paid for it three months ago from memory.she was shocked and to add insult it was on a 737 service.I would understand if it was on a Dash 8 with minimal space for food and drink services but not a proper plane.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Nov 2016
Total posts 44
The on-board service has nothing to do with when you paid for your fare.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Nov 2020
Total posts 5
One would assume they meant their mum offered to pay for a wine on a flight she was on 3 months ago, and Qantas refused.
12 Aug 2014
Total posts 17
Hopefully it actually materialises unlike the Perth flight pre-take off drink which is a bottle of water about 50% of the time and the pre-lunch/dinner drink which materialises about 20% of the time.
Etihad - Etihad Guest
21 Jul 2019
Total posts 191
See, QANTAS? It doesn't take much to make your customers happy. It'll take time before we can rejoice that era of LCC-mentality is truly over, but this is a nice start (and I'm not even a drinker!!).
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Jun 2017
Total posts 76
So not getting an icy cold beer from noon is a pain point? Thank goodness they are fixing that. Maybe they will need to open up the bar in the lounge a little earlier so that folks can get half a skin full before topping up on that midday flight.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Sep 2012
Total posts 39
I was thinking the same thing..why not more similar to most International lounges which have booze 24/7??
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 Sep 2012
Total posts 39
Couldn't agree more r.e the lounge times..I'm not advocating for early morning booze fests but most (if not all) International lounges have free flowing alcohol round the clock..whats the difference with domestic flights/lounges???
Jetstar Airways - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Apr 2016
Total posts 21
The difference is that international travelers are on a different time zone . That’s what we call Jet lag.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
13 Jun 2013
Total posts 28
Note the word "select". Probably flights of 2hrs or more, leaving on a Wednesday when the ground temperature is between 22 and 24 degrees. :) I'd much rather they introduced real cutlery instead, using those crappy wooden knives and forks is awful.
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