As we round out Sober October — a monthlong awareness campaign and alcohol-free challenge — it’s been notable to see few airlines jumping on the trend with their drinks menu options. Whither a special set of options celebrating Oktoberfest, but without the booze?

Options certainly abound for carriers, with new non-alcoholic mocktails on offer at trade shows like WTCE, as well as a wider range of zero-percent beers, wines and spirits being produced and, it must be said, an overall improvement in the ranges of tastes available.

One might have thought that, with overconsumption of alcohol a contributing factor to disruptive incidents within the cabin, airlines would have leapt at the chance to offer alternatives.

Indeed, it has been a little grim — as a thought exercise — to cross-reference from incidents with quotes from airline spokespeople deploring these sort of incidents and the advertising of ‘drink-more deals’ like two-for-one and other discounts that incentivise passengers to increase their alcohol consumption aboard those very same airlines.

In its most recent analysis, global drinks data and analytics provider IWSR highlights that “all no-alcohol categories recorded impressive gains in 2023: global no-alcohol beer volumes were up +6%, still/sparkling wine grew by +7%, and no-alcohol spirits continued their recent double-digit growth with a +15% volume surge. In value terms, growth was higher still.”

Indeed, noted the organisation, “consumer data from IWSR indicates that no-alcohol is the only market segment with positive momentum, driven by year-on-year increases in the no-alcohol drinker population in several key markets, including India, China, the UK, and the US.”

The complexities of provisioning the airline cabin mean that the industry does tend to lag behind ground-based consumer trends. But it’s clear even from looking at the fridge section of a train station or airport convenience store — as your author did this week in France, Belgium and FInland — that there’s a disconnect between what passengers are looking for and what airlines are offering them.

This week alone, your author noted options that of course included sodas, but it was surprising how many options beyond Coke-Sprite-or-Fanta were on offer in even the smallest fridges at train station and airport convenience stores. Tea-based drinks seem to be booming, including flavoured and sparkling options, while juice-based, other plant-based (like aloe and cactus), and tea-juice combinations seem to be arriving in an almost bewildering array of options. So were zero-proof premade cocktails in convenient tins, as well as (in railway station and airport arrivals area options) low-alcohol wines, spritzers and zero-percent beers. Yet very few of these many options seem to have made it onboard the airplane.

Many of these choices are caffeine-free, low-sugar or sugar-free as well, which make them smart airplane options, especially on overnight flights. It’s notable just how many of the sodas onboard are either caffeinated or full-sugar options, with few airlines offering caffeine-free-sugar-free choices beyond just water.

Flavoured water is making it beyond the TikTok Stanley cup crowd (referring to the virally popular portable beverage container rather than the ice hockey trophy in this case), and here too there are real options for airlines. Surely those small packets of water flavourings are perfect for inflight service: very light indeed, available in a variety of flavours, and ideal for adding either to a passenger’s own refillable water bottle or to a PET bottle of water (still or sparkling!) from on board. Indeed, your author has started popping one of those small squeeze bottles of water drops that have a bit of flavouring plus vitamins-and-minerals into his carryon.

Is it time that more airlines emulate Japan Airlines’ signature Sky Time or ANA’s Aromatic Kabosu soft drinks, or Finnair’s signature blueberry juice? Even something as practically zero cost as Singapore Airlines’ long tradition of combining the existing mini-cans of juice into new non-alcoholic concoctions — like Awaiting The Golden Dawn, “a healthy, refreshing mix of pineapple, tomato and orange juice” — could be a great start.

Related Articles:

• Exciting new non-alcoholic beverages are ready to take flight
• JAL’s signature Sky Time Kiwi drink goes from strength to strength
• Thoughtful mocktails Nudge passengers away from over-imbibing 

Featured image credited to John Walton