The low-cost airline Allegiant Air sells first-class whiskey on board, some of which cost as much as the flight itself.
The Las Vegas-based airline added Johnnie Walker Blue Label whiskey to its menu on select flights earlier this year, making it the only U.S. airline to offer the premium drink.
The price is $35 per shot and in some cases is similar in price to the flight itself. For flights between Las Vegas and Phoenix, the airline charges just $38 each way.
It’s not the only budget airline capitalizing on customers’ willingness to spend on more expensive alcohol, but rather their desire for deals on basics like airfares.
Budget airlines Frontier and Spirit have also added more premium alcohol options to their in-flight menus.
Las Vegas-based airline Allegiant Air added Johnnie Walker Blue Label whiskey to its menu on select flights earlier this year
“There’s this whole premiumization of consumer demand, particularly when it comes to spirits,” Scott DeAngelo, Allegiant’s chief marketing officer, told the Wall Street Journal.
In addition to Johnnie Walker Blue Whiskey, Allegiant has also added airplane-sized bottles of Don Julio Reposado Tequila for $15, Gray Goose Vodka for $15 and Aperol Spritz for $13.
Allegiant Airlines charges $35 for a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue Label whiskey on board
The new premium spirits are available on flights to and from Las Vegas, and there is now an improved wine list on all routes.
The changes come as airlines use so-called “split-brain spending.”
Up to now, low-cost airlines have mostly offered cheap drink options with their cheap tickets.
But airlines have realized that customers are willing to drink a lot of alcohol on board.
An Allegiant spokesperson told that the improved drinks are a direct response to customer surveys conducted last year.
“Our dealers provided a list of 15 popular premium brands and we asked customers to choose from that list.”
“Johnnie Walker Blue and Don Julio were among the top dishes that were then added to the menu,” the spokesman said.
Much of the demand for premium brands came from frequent travelers, according to DeAngelo. Up to 25 percent of passengers on some routes travel to and from vacation homes in places like Florida, Arizona and Las Vegas, he said.
For them, Flying Allegiant is “not a price issue,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
The Don Julio Reposado is so popular, he added, that the airline is considering rolling it out nationwide.
At $11, a half-bottle of La Marca Prosecco is almost twice as expensive as the airline’s previous sparkling wine option, but DeAngelo says Allegiant already sells twice as many bottles.
Frontier and Spirit also recently added sparkling wine to their menus, selling a mini bottle of Brut Dargent sparkling wine for $12.
Anthony Iorio, manager of onboard retail at Frontier, said the airline is selling 10 to 15 percent more wine as a result of the modernization.
The Don Julio Reposado is so popular that Allegiant is considering rolling it out nationwide. Airplane-sized bottles of Gray Goose vodka are also available for $15
A new study found that US airlines pay the highest hidden fees.
According to an analysis by discount code website NetVoucherCodes, Spirit Airlines has the highest hidden fees of any U.S. airline — making trips 736 percent more expensive than their base fare.
According to the study, Volaris, a Mexican low-cost airline, has the second highest hidden fees. The hidden cost is 626 percent of the original fare, leaving customers paying $82.20 on top of a $13.13 flight.
Frontier had the third-highest hidden fees, adding an average surcharge of $109 to a base fare of $29, making the trip 376 percent more expensive.
This comes after the administration promised in February to crack down on hidden “junk” fees that the White House estimates cost Americans about $65 billion each year.
Customers are regularly promised a lump sum, but then it turns out that the actual cost is much higher when you take into account the price of luggage, seat selection and insurance – which often costs much more than the flight itself
Customers are regularly promised a lump sum, but then it turns out that the actual cost is much higher when you take into account the price of luggage, seat selection and insurance – which often costs much more than the flight itself.
The study found that US airlines charge an average of $78.04 in hidden fees. European airlines, on the other hand, charge an average of $57.79, while international airlines charge $33.27.
While budget airlines tend to charge more hidden fees rather than factoring them into the cost of the flight itself, major airlines also add additional costs.
According to the study, United Airlines added $67 in hidden fees, increasing the total price by 122 percent, while American Airlines added $52 in hidden fees, increasing the total price by 95 percent.