‘Theft’: Backlash over ‘trick’ for getting first-class alcohol on a flight

A Reddit thread discusses whether it's fair for air travellers to trick first class flight attendants into giving them free drinks. Photo / 123rf

One of the perks of first class is a glass of champagne or other drink served before the plane departs; a perk some economy passengers will go to some lengths to get.

A traveller took to Reddit last week to share the experience of watching fliers try to nab a free glass of booze on a Delta Air Lines flight from Providence, Rhode Island to Atlanta, Georgia.

Seated in row two, the traveller said they watched two women come “haphazardly” onto the aircraft, stow their bags in the overhead locker and settle into the first row.

“Few moments later a woman comes on the plane and lets them know one of those seats is hers,” they wrote. The pair quickly vacated the seats, laughing as they admitted they were “rookies” and told the flight attendant their seats were actually in row 24.

Laughing in disbelief, the traveller told the flight attendant they’d never witnessed something like that before.

“He tells me it just happened for the first time to him earlier and that the people sat down, received their pre-flight booze and then said ‘I’m just going to go say hi to my sister in the back of the plane’ and walked off with the free drink.”

The traveller guessed the two women were attempting the same move as the plane was “not full at all” and several first-class seats were free. “They may have completely lucked out had that woman not come on the flight right after them,” they added.

Public respond to cheeky ‘hack’

The post received more than 1700 reactions and 216 comments as people debated the women’s behaviour. “I’m assuming the ultimate goal is to get the drink and move out before they are sussed out,” the traveller explained in the comments.

Many disapproved of the behaviour and said it was a form of stealing. “Sounds close to dine and dash to me,” one person wrote, while another said stealing was not a “hack” but simple lying.

“Why do people think theft of services is cute,” another added. “People pay for the drinks with their ticket price. Upgrades go to those who travel frequently and spend money on travel.”

Many people immediately pointed the finger at TikTok and Instagram, where deceptive travel tricks often go viral among the general public or encourage influencers to film stunts for attention. “People do lots of stupid things. Especially TikTok ‘hacks’,” one wrote.

“This type of s**t makes me happy TikTok is being banned,” another wrote.

One described them as “broke alcoholics” while another said they should have been kicked off the plane for “attempting to defraud the airline”. Some questioned why the women would risk getting in trouble over something as simple as a drink but others suggested it was more about the thrill of getting away with it.

“It’s probably more of the challenge than anything,” one suggested. “For some people, it’s more about getting away with something than the dollar value of it. For others it’s doing what they see on social media so they can post the same thing to be ‘cool’,” another explained.

While the tactic may work on domestic US flights, Kiwi travellers flying around Aotearoa can’t try this exact trick as airlines don’t have first class or business class. Travellers could try their luck on international flights but, as commenters pointed out, flight attendants typically have digital tablets with the names of passengers and can check if the correct person is in first class, business class or other premium classes.