There are some feelings that go hand-in-hand with travel. The stress of getting ready for a long-awaited trip. The relief of finally digging your toes in the sand. The awe of seeing a beautiful sunset half a world away from home. Something else that also often accompanies those travel moments? An adult beverage. 70 per cent of Canadians drink en route to their destinations with 60 per cent saying they get started early by drinking at the airport bar, according to a survey of over 1,000 Canadians, and their drinking while travelling habits don’t stop there. Care to find out where you stack up against your fellow Canucks? Read on to compare.
What’s my age again?
Your tendency to imbibe when flying may depend on your age, although it’s not the spring breakers and college kids who you have to look out for. Canadians age 25-35 are the ones most likely to hit the airport bar, with 78 per cent saying they will stop in for a beverage, including 21 per cent who report they grab a drink at the airport every time they fly. Travellers under the age of 25, however, are most likely of the bunch to be pushed to drinking by boredom.
In-flight entertainment
Drinking on the plane is almost as popular as drinking in the airport. Fifty-eight per cent of Canadians report they are airplane imbibers, especially if there’s a free drink involved. While 13 per cent will have an adult beverage on any flight, 32 per cent say they do so when the drinks are poured for free.
Are we there yet?
Where travellers are in their travel day also seems to impact Canadian airport drinkers. Canadians age 25 and older were twice as likely to drink at the airport when they are en route towards their vacation, where Canadians ages 25 and under were more likely to drink when they were heading back home from their trip. Maybe the under-25 set has a bad case of the post-vacation blues? Either way, across all age groups, Canadians were most likely to have a drink to occupy free time at the airport, whether it be for a long layover or because of a delayed flight.
Ladies vs. gentlemen
Differences in gender also provide differences in answers about drinking habits. Half of men surveyed who grab a drink at the airport bar view a beer as their top drink of choice. Wine (18 per cent) and hard liquor (14 per cent) run a distant second and third, and only ten per cent of men opt for a cocktail. Of the women who stop in for a beverage, 30 per cent choose wine at the airport bar though almost as many select a cocktail (27 per cent) suggesting a celebratory mood pre-flight.
Men are also almost twice as likely as women are to say they “always” have an in-flight drink. And as for why they would drink? Men are nearly three times as likely to drink because of boredom where women are twice as likely to drink to temper flight anxiety.
Drink responsibly
Canadians sound like sensible bunch when it comes to indulging at the airport. Only one per cent of respondents who stop in at the bar say they tend to have three or more drinks. Nonetheless, 13 per cent of those who drive on travel days admit they’ve been intoxicated at the airport or on a plane. And 21 per cent of Canadian travellers say that have dealt with a disruptively drunk fellow passenger.
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere
For many travellers, a celebratory drink is the right way to kick off a trip, starting at the airport. Thirty-seven per cent of those who drink when they fly say they’ll start drinking earlier on a travel day than on a regular day. The top reason these respondents cite for drinking is celebrating getting away (27 per cent). Because whether you’re raising a toast en route to sunny Cancun or cheerings while bound for Toronto, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.
How do your travel habits stack up? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us on Twitter.
Feature photo: iStock photo/william87
