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Tipping on plane for mixed drinks/beer

Discussion in 'Getting There & Getting Around' started by TKO, Apr 2, 2015.

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  1. TKO

    TKO High-Roller

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    Southwest sent us 4 drink coupons. We have never ordered alcoholic beverages on a plane before. Is it correct etiquette to tip the stewardess/steward when they are served? I have never seen anyone tip for soda drinks or juice, so I'm not sure there is any difference if you were to request a beer when they take the beverage orders. I remember in the past I have seen them give the alcohol in a small bottle. Do they still do that or do they need to mix the drink which makes a difference? Thanks.
     
  2. BreakEven

    BreakEven High-Roller

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    There is no tipping on planes.
     
  3. gpenguins67

    gpenguins67 High-Roller

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    They give u the little bottle and mixer. I dont know if you are allowed to tip anymore(I'm pretty sure this topic was discussed here in the past). And if you buy drinks on southwest you can only pay with a drink coupon or a credit card. No cash
     
  4. broncofn

    broncofn VIP Whale

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    Not going to Vegas, but on a flight to Miami on American from dca, my friends and I were served free drinks after the first round for the whole flight. We did try to tip the attendant but she would not take it.
     
  5. UCLAGirl

    UCLAGirl High-Roller

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    Some friends and I flew to Puerto Rico a 9 years ago. We sat in the back of the plane and met some party animals like us who were also going to San Juan.The crew in the back were also young and party animals. They ended up giving us an entire bottle of grey goose to share amongst both groups after we extended an invites to a party that we were throwing. The flight had a layover in miami. The entire crew from the flight showed up. This was on American. Fun memories indeed
     
  6. NJS24

    NJS24 Voice of Reason

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    Completely incorrect.

    That's not to say that an attendant may refuse a tip, but to suggest no tipping is ignorant.
    2010, sat first class with my future wife on our direct flight from PIT to TAM for our destination Wedding. Our Attendant was attentive and overall fantastic for the 2 hour duration, and I discretely handed him a $20 as we got off the plane.
     
  7. broncofn

    broncofn VIP Whale

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    My friends and I were also in the back of the plane on the way to mia about 9 years ago. My friend owns a condo at the continuim right next door to niki beach. But doubt you had a stop-over in dc (long shot making 3 stops) We were actually joking with the FA that she was the actress from the king of queens and whos the boss. We had a table upstairs at mansion that night in miami, good times. Would have been funny if we were on the same flight!

    Hope to meet you in vegas next trip, have fun with plee, he is a good guy.
     
  8. VegasDave

    VegasDave Addicted

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    I fly Southwest and always give a buck a drink, it has been refused a couple times, but accepted many more. Might have to do with the carrier.

    On a side note, I always ask to mix my own drink, they give you the little plane bottle and whatever mixer to pour in your own drink. Otherwise, they either dont use the whole bottle or they make it way too strong because the cups are barely big enough to hold the whole shot.
     
  9. Piggylane

    Piggylane Well-Known Member

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    I know Delta doesn't allow their attendant to accept tips, ever. They cannot accept cash for anything, even the cheesy $2 headsets they sell in Coach. Several years ago they did but it seems some flight attendants/crews would augment their income.... So the hammer came down. I heard this directly from several while speaking to them about the change. I am nearing 3 Million miles with Delta.

    The best thing you can do is to get their name, usually they just have a tag with a first name, flight number and date of flight and email the airline. The flight attendants get bonus bucks to buy things based on how many good things are sent in about them and have points taken away if they get complaints. Delta sends us slips of paper to hand to the flight attendant if they do something special, like handle an unruly passenger, a sick person or a safety situation.

    I would never send a complimentary letter in for just for drink service - I get booze for free on Delta and don't take them up on the offer - but you may choose to do so with your airline. The flight attendants don't make that much in salary, have to put up with lots of crap sometime and like all of us appreciate a thank you. A $2 tip is meaningless to them. A letter or email permanently in their HR file is way more valuable than you think!
     
  10. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

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    I handed out $15 & $20 'gift cards' a few times...always to a chain restaurant like Olive Garden & Bennigan's (back in the day). When I've done this, it was on the final pass through for drinks. I used the line, "I found this & I think it must be yours."
    Always got a smile & a "thanks"
    Of course, that was many years ago... I haven't even tried for over 15 years... haven't run into a FA that good in a long time - (at least not at the same time when I had gift cards with me)... and none of them have ever accepted cash from me...not even on SW. So, I quit trying to tip them cash a long time ago.
    I think I may have to resurrect the gift-card plan again... this thread has reminded me. There really are some very good FAs out there... not a lot, but some.

    To the OP - as a general rule? No. No tipping when drinks are served to you. Certainly no cash.
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
  11. wanker751

    wanker751 Dutch Rudder Enthusiast

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    Same here I went to tip and they said they could not accept.
     
  12. RiddickBull

    RiddickBull VIP Whale

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    I fly delta about 90% of my flights. They have accepted my tips. They always insist not but I always insist yes. They gave me free drinks after I tip a few times
     
  13. Piggylane

    Piggylane Well-Known Member

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    As I was told by a senior Flight Attendant they can get fired for that! I'm nearing 60,000 miles so far this year. Flying out Monday. I'll confirm.
     
  14. NativeSoCal

    NativeSoCal Low-Roller

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    I fly Southwest a lot.

    I've given up trying to tip, as each and every time I offered a tip, it was politely rejected, informing me they were not allowed to accept such.

    As far as getting the mini-bottle or an already mixed drink, I have found it to be a hodge-podge of circumstances.
    Half the time, I'll get the mini-bottle, half the time, my drink is brought to me pre-mixed in the cup.
    Yes, that pre-mixed drink is usually strong as hell, as the tiny serving cups they use do not allow for much mixer to be added, once they pour the mini bottle in................which is fine by me! :beer:

    One other thing, in my experience, if the Southwest flight is running very late, or if there were extensive technical delays, etc, they won't even bother taking the drink tickets, offering up free cocktails for the duration of the flight.
    They don't make this situation known over the plane PA system, but once you get that free one, you know you're going to be having a very happy rest of the flight. :thumbsup:
     
  15. 44inarow

    44inarow VIP Whale

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    I don't know if it's a fireable offense, because I've definitely had flight attendants accept tips on a couple occasions and doubt they'd risk their job for a dollar, but it's definitely against policy, and not like front desk agents in Vegas taking tips is "against policy". It's an odd experience, because I nearly always get free drinks when I fly (I'm very nice to flight attendants, plus I have a lot of family in the airline industry, and perhaps that's why they always give me an extra or don't charge me... either that, or something about me says, "That guy needs a drink!"), and I usually feel the urge to tip in situations like that. But after being shot down so many times, I've just decided it's almost always not worth the awkwardness.
     
  16. RiddickBull

    RiddickBull VIP Whale

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    I did not know that. Most likely they will say no. But I always push them to take it and they do. It makes sense now since they are very hesitant from my observations. I usually tip them discreetly.

    Delta is the way to fly. My favorite airline. You fly much more than me. I average around 50-75k miles per year. You racking them miles up.

    :beer:
     
  17. VegasDave

    VegasDave Addicted

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    Good tip! 90% of the time, knock on wood, i have had an on time flight. However i know I have gotten free drinks, don't know if there were underlying circumstances but I will try to keep a watch for this!!!
     
  18. seviay

    seviay High-Roller

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    I'm not a flight attendant but I've known a couple. They're strongly discouraged from taking tips, but they are allowed to take them, despite what they may tell you. With that said, if you have a decent length flight, you can buy yourself some goodwill with the attendant if you toss her a $5 with your first 2 drinks (you do order them 2 at a time, right? :drunk:), you're unlikely to pay for another drink during that flight
     
  19. Bo333

    Bo333 VIP Whale

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    Just Google tipping flight attendants and you'll see that they are encouraged to turn down tips. But if you ask multiple times they will usually accept it.

    I have always tipped very discretely and have rarely been rejected. Also as stated above, a letter or email about a particular attendant goes a long way!
     
  20. lotso-bear

    lotso-bear VIP Whale

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    I never tip cash to FAs. If I'm traveling during the holidays or with the entire family, I usually bring a box of chocolates for the entire crew to share.
     
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