Once upon a time airlines even on short flights of under an hour would try and serve you some kind of meal, we meal is probably exaggerating what you got, you got a small tray that replicated in a mini version a meal. Over time the budget airlines came along and offered peanuts or cookies and before long the main airline in New Zealand followed suit. Now you get coffee, tea or water with a cookie or a small packet of potato chips. To me this all seems pointless because I can go half an hour or an hour without a coffee or tea and the airports are full of coffee outlets these days so that you have to walk past about five of them before you can get on the plane.
So on my most recent flight there was a bit of turbulence during the ascent and the seat belt sign didn't get turned off for twenty or so minutes into a flight of less than an hour. As an evening flight we got offered beer or wine, which may well have helped some of the nervous passengers but is really just as pointless as coffee or tea. In this case because they got to start the distribution process a bit late, they didn't have time to complete the process before we were heading back down into the turbulence again. So they told everyone to hold on to the paper cups and put them in a rubbish bin as they left the aircraft.
I'm not sure if this providing drinks on short flights sells any extra tickets, all airlines do much the same and I would pay more for a coffee service, I'd happily pay less not to have it. There may be another reason I don't understand why they do it, it does after all give the air hostesses something to do on the flight, they would otherwise only have to respond to paying customers who wanted a drink, and on these short flights I can't recall a passenger ever taking up the offer to buy anything given the choice.
Australia is a three or four hour flight from here, I think over the longer distance it is good to have the opportunity at least to buy things like drinks if you want them. I noticed on this flight people are buying their own water on the airport side of security, so I'm sure if you want water it is easier to buy what you want and take it with you. I have to book some flights today, I will not be taking into account the in-flight service be it either drinks, food or movies, I'll be looking at the cost of the flights and the times. Everything else isn't going to change my purchase, even with entertainment now I take my own movies and other entertainment anyway - just get me there safely and cheaply.
