After ditching it just five months ago, American Airlines is restoring a second drink service on many of its longer flights in economy class as it seeks to reorient itself in a premium direction.

American Airlines Restores Second Drink Service On Longer Flights In Economy Class

View From The Wing shares that a second  beverage service is returning to flights over 1,500 miles effective tomorrow, May 14, 2025:

American remains committed to further enhancing the customer experience throughout the travel journey. Starting May 14, American will reinstate a second beverage service on domestic long-haul flights (1,500+ miles) and including a pre-meal beverage service for select international flights departing before 9:01 p.m. local departure time.

It was only in January that this service was cut (in an effort to save cost), with a second drink available “by request only” (meaning you had risk the wrath that occasionally accompanies ringing your flight attendant call button).

This is a small step forward; a small clawback for the weary passenger crammed into a tight economy class seat with no seatback screen.

There’s the practical side of this: people tend not to sufficiently hydrate before a flight or do not arrive prepared with a water bottle of their own due to the TSA’s silly liquids ban. But there’s also the service side: more positive interactions with passengers is a way to make them happy and eventually brand loyal. It also helps to pass the time on a flight!

Could a small investment (on a per-passenger basis) of offering more drinks pay off? I think so.

Of course, on my last American Airlines flight, the lackluster flight attendants did not even offer a second beverage service in first class so even with the second beverage service reinstated behind the curtain, flight attendants still must serve it…

That really exposes the main problem here, doesn’t it? AA can introduce a raft of customer-friendly polices, but if disgruntled and apathetic employees do not follow them (and there are no consequences for not doing so), the bigger problem will persist.

I’ve flown AA enough to know that there are so many wonderful, caring, workers who come to work every day ready to serve. That does not go unnoticed! But of course, one bad apple can tarnish the entire batch…and there are a few too many bad apples right now…

By all means, let’s celebrate the return of the second beverage service. But the real work will be retraining staff to think differently about their customer-facing roles.