Montreal-based Air Canada is now the only North American legacy carrier offering free alcohol in economy class on all flights, Scott O’Leary, vice president of loyalty and product, said in an interview.
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“Food and beverage just tend to have a disproportionate impact on customer satisfaction, more than any other attribute of our products and services,” he said.
Following an outpouring of anger by passengers on social media, lawmakers in Canada and the United States criticized airlines last year, including Air Canada, for levying additional fees on luggage and seat assignments in certain economy classes.
Waiving charges for beer and wine is more affordable than cutting baggage fees which offset handling costs, O’Leary said.
“That’s just not something that’s easily waived or given to everybody without having to have some impact on ticket price,” he said of baggage fees.
While transborder travel is down from Canada to U.S. leisure destinations due to trade tensions, O’Leary sees the free drinks helping with so-called sixth freedom flights that take U.S. passengers to Europe or Asia via the airline’s home country.
“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,” he said.
Canada’s largest carrier said in September it expects a hit of C$375 million to its operating income, and provided a revised outlook for 2025 results, citing labor disruptions, after its flight attendants went on a four-day strike in August.
Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Richard Chang