mini is best.
Flying the friendly skies used to be a whole lot friendlier. Flight attendants, happy to be gainfully employed, wore smart uniforms and smiles. Passengers excited at the prospect of vacation, freely moved about the cabin. The TSA wasn’t busy scanning you down to your skivvies, and planes were much cleaner.
Is it any wonder people like to hit up that airport bar, no matter the flight time.
Problem is, airport eating and drinking is absurdly expensive. The drinks on the flight even more so, and sometimes a whiskey on the rocks is just what the doctor next to you is ordering, leaving you angrily muttering that you don’t have the doctor’s bankroll subsidizing a 7 dollar per mini bottle habit on a 20-hour flight to Tokyo.
According to I’m a Travel Ninja, it’s time to cast your misery and miserness aside. The 3-1-1 liquid rule introduced by the TSA in 2006 (3 oz, to fit in 1 qt Ziploc, 1 Ziploc per passenger) also applies to alcohol. Which means you can take those boozy mini bar bottle favorites on your next American flight to soothe the pain of the screaming child behind you, or the human noise machine asleep beside you.
The Travel Ninja explains: “The rule is that you can take as many containers (less than 3 oz each) that you can fit in a 1 qt Ziploc style bag. I then specifically asked if alcohol was allowed.” He goes on to test the theory on a flight to Vegas–and it works.
Some of the bonuses of flight alcohol prep include:
–Bottles cost around $7 on the flight, but about $2.50 at a liquor store.
–The selection at your local liquor store is inevitably more varied than the selection on the flight.
–It will be the only smart thing that happens at the airport all day.
Do it before they change their minds, because the TSA has some seemingly bizarre rules. Shoe gel inserts are not allowed, but powdered mashed potatoes are. Sorry Dr. Scholl’s®, only cremated Mr. Potato Head’s allowed.
Oh and please be sure to drink responsibly, lest you end up handcuffed to your seat. Air Marshall’s don’t take too kindly to drunken buffoons or unruly Russian Junior Hockey Teams. — Arianna Schioldager
