Not ALL flights offer service ...
I am a A+ member with a companion pass and fly almost weekly on SWA. Our beverage service has been canceled on probably 8 out of the last 10 flights I have been on. And no I don't fly the same place so its not likely due to a specific route.
But - if you do the math - Southwest is lost a TON of money due to the Christmas Flight debacle last year - $220 million, according to ab article by the New York Times - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/26/business/southwest-airlines-fourth-quarter-earnings.html#:~:text=....
They also reported a loss of $163 million, according to https://www.southwestairlinesinvestorrelations.com/news-and-events/news-releases/2023/04-27-2023-114...
An average soda costs about $0.75 - $1.00 for the airlines, once you factor in the cost of the drink itself (they purchase cans), the cup, and the ice (which isnt much). Still - on average a flight has about 150 passengers - that's easily $112 - $150 they can put in their pocket when they "cancel" beverage service - and that's assuming each passenger only has one drink.
On a recent flight (the one I'm on as I write this) - we were once again denied this "freebie" service in the name of supposed "turbulence" despite a relatively smooth flight. I've heard others mention that the captain is the one who makes that decision, so I asked.
When I asked about this, instead of simply answering my question, letting me know that the captain made the decision, etc. the flight attendant said something like "let me find out". A few minutes later, the captain came on and "explained" why he felt it was important to cancel service - essentially providing an excuse for why they did this. When I asked for the captain's name, so i could verify this with SWA customer service, I was met with another flight attendant who basically told me "were not going to do that" and refused to give me his name.
He also threatened that they would "divert the plane" ... although I was extremely calm and was seated in my seat, not yelling or anything. I guess I was talking loud enough for other passengers to hear - can't have more than one passenger figure out the little secret.
Although I dont know what they are so worried about. Most of the passengers on the plane will never even tell their friend or a significant other about the experience, let alone do anything that could actually make a difference (like report this on social media or via customer service).
But still ... you dont have to "hide" and refuse to provide your name if you aren't doing anything wrong. So yea - this is all being done in the name of "safety" - lets go with that.
(Andy BTW, I can afford to buy everyone on the plane a drink if you're thinking I just want the free drinks; I could care less but it annoys me when companies lie to their customers and think we are stupid!)
