Anabelle Colaco
04 Oct 2025, 08:50 GMT+10
MONTREAL, Canada: Air Canada is turning to complimentary alcohol in economy class as a way to stand out and soothe passengers who are weary of rising airline fees.
The Montreal-based carrier said it is now the only major North American legacy airline to offer free beer and wine in the back of the plane on all flights. The move comes as airlines across the region face growing pushback from passengers and lawmakers over add-on charges for everything from checked bags to seat selection.
"Food and beverage just tend to have a disproportionate impact on customer satisfaction, more than any other attribute of our products and services," Scott O'Leary, Air Canada's vice president of loyalty and product, said.
The policy shift follows a year of mounting anger on social media over so-called "junk fees." Lawmakers in Canada and the United States have aimed at airlines, including Air Canada, for extra charges in economy classes. But O'Leary stressed that baggage fees, a top passenger complaint, are unlikely to disappear.
"That's just not something that's easily waived or given to everybody without having to have some impact on ticket price," he said, noting that baggage handling costs are substantial. Free alcohol, by contrast, offers a relatively affordable way to boost goodwill.
The strategy is aimed in part at long-haul passengers connecting through Canada. Air Canada hopes the perk will set it apart on "sixth freedom" routes — flights that carry U.S. passengers to Europe or Asia via its Canadian hubs. "Our ability to offer a degree of differentiation that sets us apart from literally every other airline that we're competing with on those routes was very important to us," O'Leary said.
The policy change comes during a turbulent year for Canada's largest airline. In September, Air Canada cut its 2025 earnings outlook, warning of a C$375 million hit to operating income after labor disruptions.
Get a daily dose of Broadcast Communications news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Broadcast Communications.
More InformationMONTREAL, Canada: Air Canada is turning to complimentary alcohol in economy class as a way to stand out and soothe passengers who are...
MELBOURNE, Australia: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged China to allow the smooth flow of Australian iron ore exports,...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: OpenAI launched a new social media app on September 30 that lets users create short videos with artificial...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stock indexes presented a mixed but mostly positive picture at the close of trading on Friday, as investors...
STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Spotify founder Daniel Ek will hand over day-to-day leadership of the music streaming giant in January, moving into...
INCHEON, South Korea: In a sprawling lot on South Korea's west coast, workers are loading thousands of used cars onto ships each day,...
New Delhi [India], October 3 (ANI): The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has notified the Draft Promotion...
New Delhi [India], October 3 (ANI): The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday released its much-anticipated recommendations...
Karur (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 29 (ANI): Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday reached the site of the September 27 stampede...
Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa visited several Arab television networks in Riyadh, including Al Arabiya, Al Hadath, MBC...
American politics took another dark turn this week. U.S. PresidentDonald Trumphas launched a full-frontal assault on democratic norms....
Justin Robertson Ravens fans made history in the Week 3 game against the Lions. M&T Bank Stadium hosted the first NFL game to feature...
