Travelling in first class is something most of us mere mortals will only be able to dream of doing, as it’s no secret premium plane tickets don’t come cheap.
As such, there are many things about the experience that remain a mystery to us.
For some, it’s the food and drink in these cabins that will be the most intriguing aspect, as passengers in first class are offered different menus.
According to two flight attendants who spent years working for British Airways, this includes some very expensive drinks. But you might be surprised to learn what actually happens to some of the luxury wines and spirits at the end of a flight.
Two former British Airways cabin crew members have been sharing plane secrets with Metro and they claim there was a ‘heartbreaking’ rule that had to be followed when it came to drinks.
According to them, once a bottle of booze is open, no matter how much has been consumed or how expensive it may be, the remaining contents have to be poured away before landing at the plane’s final destination.
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One former flight attendant, who wished to remain anonymous, told Metro: ‘Even if you’ve only poured one glass of a massively expensive port, it has to be poured away before landing due to Customs and Excise, which is heartbreaking.’
It’s not the airline’s fault though that this happens though, it’s something that has to be done in order to ‘comply with regulations’.
Del Willden, who worked in cabin crew for 26 years, confirmed this was the case on flights he worked on too.
‘Arriving back into the UK, all opened bottles would have to be emptied,’ he said. ‘These were the large bottles in both First Class and Club World.
‘The smaller full bottles were just counted and left in the bars to go back to bonded stores.’
For those curious, a bonded store or bonded warehouse, is a secure customs facility where imported goods are kept without having to immediately pay import taxes and duties. Items such as alcohol, which is subject to those sorts of duties, can be stored here.
Del agrees that seeing the pricey drinks go down the drain was often ‘heartbreaking’ – especially when only one small glass had been ordered and the bottle was still pretty much full.
‘It was wasteful, but you can’t deny someone who has paid thousands [for a plane ticket] a glass of wine they want.’
However, there is one exception to the rule, according to Del.
Airline staff have travel benefits and some are able to claim reduced tickets as part of this, including premium seats. The ex-flight attendant claims that if it were an off-duty cabin crew member in first class asking for a drink that wasn’t already open, he probably wouldn’t serve it to them near the end of the journey.
‘We were always told to be mindful before opening a new bottle, especially towards the end of a flight,’ he explains.
‘For a full-fare paying passenger, I would always open one. However, sometimes staff on staff travel premium ticket might ask. In that situation I’d be honest with them, and offer a glass of opened wine. When travelling on staff travel, you’d know that your choice of food or drink might not be available. Priority is given to full fare passengers.’
And before you start wondering if you can save the drinks from going to waste, staff aren’t allowed to just give it to you – it’s against the rules.
‘It was something never done, it was the rule going into London Heathrow. All part-used bottles had to be poured away,’ Del adds.
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