Airline Industry News

The Ultimate Guide to In-Flight Drink & Snack Prices

by Carol McPherson

"What would you like?" Flight attendants ask passengers that question dozens and dozens of times each flight. However, your options are rarely clear. Beer, wine, cocktails and/or snacks are usually offered on each flight yet prices and menu items vary from one airline to another. Rather than slowing down the drink service asking the attendant to list off the menu, check out our overview of meals, snacks, and drinks available on popular domestic airlines.

In-Flight Drinks and Snacks on U.S. Domestic Flights

For economy class flights within the U.S., here are the drink and snack prices we found.

AIRLINE	MEALS	ALCOHOL	SNACKS & SNACKPACKS
Alaska Airlines	$8.00 - $12.50	Beer: $8.50 Wine & Spirits: $9.50 Canned Cocktails: $12.50	Free pretzels or cookies; premium snacks $8.00 - $11.00
American	$16.00	Beer: $10.00 Wine: $10.00 Sparkling Wine: $11.00 Spirits: $10.00	Free cookies or pretzels; premium snacks $5.00 - $11.00
Delta	$14.00	Beer: $9.00 - $11.00 Wine: $12.00 Spirits: $11.00	Free cookies, crackers, or chips; premium snacks $10.00 and up
Frontier	$4.99* (*packaged oatmeal and cup noodles)	Beer: $9.99 Wine: $9.99 Canned Cocktails: $10.99 Spirits: $10.99	$4.99 to $9.99
JetBlue	$10.00 - $12.00	Beer: $9.00 - $10.00 Wine: $11.00 Spirits: $10.00 Mixers: $2.00	Free plantain chips, cookies, goldfish crackers, or granola bars; snack boxes $9 - $10
Southwest	n/a	Beer: $7.00 - $9.00 Wine: $8.00 Spirits: $9.00	Free pretzels, graham crackers, and cookies
Spirit	n/a	Beer & Wine: $9.99 Spirits: $10.99 Canned Cocktails: $11.99 *Spirit charges for soft drinks ($4.49) and hot beverages ($3.99)	$4.99 - $9.99
Sun Country	n/a	Beer: $8.00 - $9.00 Wine: $9.00 Spirits: $9.00 Drink Mixes: $4.00	$5.00 to $9.00
United	$9.00 - $12.00	Beer: $8.00 - $9.00 Wine: $10.00 - $12.00 Spirits: $10.00 Canned Cocktails: $12.00	Crisps, snack mix, or stroopwafel; $5.00 - $10.00

Higher fare classes come with menu perks like complimentary meals and alcoholic beverages or access to exclusive snack menus. Most airlines do not accept cash payments for onboard purchases. Depending on your airline, payments can be made via credit card, payment app, or with loyalty program miles.

Complimentary Meals and Alcohol

Some airlines offer complimentary meals and alcoholic beverages on longer international itineraries.

Complimentary Meals

International flights are more likely to include a meal in the economy ticket price. Overnight flights will likely offer multiple complimentary meals and snacks.

United: Offered on domestic flights over 1,190 miles and all international flights
Delta: Offered on domestic flights over 900 miles and all international flights
American: Offered on domestic flights over 900 miles and all international flights
JetBlue: Offered on domestic flights over 3.5 hours and all transatlantic flights

Complimentary Alcohol

Complimentary alcoholic beverages in economy are harder to come by, but some airlines offer this perk in the main cabin on longhaul international flights.

United: Offered on longhaul international flights
Delta: Offered on international flights of 6.5 hours or more
American: Offered on longhaul international flights
JetBlue: Offered on all transatlantic flights

As a reminder, alcoholic beverages are for adults 21 and older. Flight attendants will not be afraid to ask you for your ID, so keep your credit card and identification handy. Remember; moderation is key when drinking on a flight. Alcohol speeds up the dehydration caused by the already dry cabin air and the last thing you want to do is get into trouble with a flight attendant while having one too many cocktails. Play it cool and have a nice trip.

The story was originally published on AirfareWatchdog. Tim Charters contributed to this story.

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