NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather forecasts

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Budget 2025
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
    • Cooking the Books
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • What the Actual
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Travel news

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

NZ Herald
20 Jan, 2025 02:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

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

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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

“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.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

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.

Discover more

Travel news

'No gift shop': Worst Google reviews of NZ's best tramps

20 Jan 12:00 AM
Travel news

Video shows man kicked off flight for 'obscene' item of clothing

19 Jan 09:22 PM
Travel news

Jetstar passenger stabs Aussie police officer with pen

16 Jan 08:07 PM

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.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Travel news

Travel news

Singapore Airlines adds seats, boosts freight capacity to Christchurch

22 May 07:36 AM
Travel news

'Deeply concerning': NZ's cruise industry sounds alarm as ship visits drop 40%

21 May 04:00 AM
Travel news

Five travel deals you can't miss: Luxury escapes at great prices

19 May 05:00 PM

The Hire A Hubby hero turning handyman stereotypes on their head

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Travel news

Singapore Airlines adds seats, boosts freight capacity to Christchurch

Singapore Airlines adds seats, boosts freight capacity to Christchurch

22 May 07:36 AM

Weekly flights between Christchurch and Singapore will increase to 11.

'Deeply concerning': NZ's cruise industry sounds alarm as ship visits drop 40%

'Deeply concerning': NZ's cruise industry sounds alarm as ship visits drop 40%

21 May 04:00 AM
Five travel deals you can't miss: Luxury escapes at great prices

Five travel deals you can't miss: Luxury escapes at great prices

19 May 05:00 PM
From city to the skies: 5 new things in travel for your next trip

From city to the skies: 5 new things in travel for your next trip

17 May 06:00 PM
Gold demand soars amid global turmoil
sponsored

Gold demand soars amid global turmoil

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP