NEW DELHI: A large number of Indian holidayers headed to Thailand get in “high spirits” while winging their way to the tourist paradise for desis. And when the holidayers are going from the dry state of Gujarat, the demand for onboard liquor touches new highs. Air India Express witnessed this on its inaugural Surat-Bangkok service on Dec 20 when, sources say, the airline had one of its highest ever liquor sale on a flight and had to refuse more to some flyers to avoid them turning unruly.
The first flight was operated on AI Express’ 176-seater Boeing 737 MAX and had 175 “enthusiastic guests”. AI Express sells 50 ml miniatures of Chivas Regal for Rs 600 and 50 ml miniatures of Red Label, Bacardi White Rum, Beefeater Gin and 330 ml Bira Lager (beer) for Rs 400. “On that flight, we saw a lot of demand for Chivas and Bira. As a policy we don’t sell beyond two miniatures/cans to a passenger as there were several cases of unruly behaviour by passengers across airlines in the recent past. Our crew may sell more only if a passenger seems to be in complete control of him/herself after two drinks,” sources said.
On the first Surat-Bangkok flight, some passengers had to be refused their third miniature/can for this reason. Kunj Patel, a passenger wrote on X: “The combination of alcohol and khaman, Suratians went viral! Air India (Express’) first flight from Surat to Bangkok received 98% passengers on the first day itself. Passengers finished their stock of whiskey and beer. 300 passengers drank 15 litres of alcohol worth more than Rs 1.80 lakh in a 4-hour journey.”
While that may not be entirely correct for a 176-seater plane, the tweet shows how “maja ma” the passengers were.
“Our onboard liquor is very affordable and we offer hot meals unlike many other low cost carriers. For that reason, we see a significant demand for the two on our flights. On the Surat-Bangkok flight, the maximum demand was for Chivas, veg biryani and non-veg noodles. Many passengers enjoyed their drinks with their theplas and khakras,” said sources.
While not disclosing the number of drinks sold as “that is commercially sensitive”, an AI Express official said, “We did not run out of drinks. Some passengers who may have been refused third miniature/can could have felt that way. But that wasn’t the case.”
Thailand, cheaper than most prime desi beach destinations like Goa due to prohibitive hotel tariffs and airfares in peak travel seasons, is attracting Indians by the droves.