Penny pinching at Heathrow

[SLeanne]

We are due to go away soon from Heathrow T4. OH and I like a couple of drinks before the flight (at 9pm). However, I was shocked last time that a glass of wine is over £10 a glass. If we are discreet, could we get away with buying a bottle in Duty Free and drinking it before the flight (and disposing of the empty bottle before boarding). I know it's not allowed but has anyone done it before and got away with it? Quite frankly I'm getting sick of having to spend C 100 quid for something to eat and a couple of drinks each (family of 4) and am looking at ways of cheating the system 🤔

Why do people post stuff like this? Of course people go on holidays who can't afford to pay the prices in airport pubs etc. I'm one of them. I scrimp and save for holidays because I enjoy traveling, I rarely buy drinks in airports, except water or maybe a coffee because the budget is already tight

Yes. By using liquids!!!

fuck me 😂😂😂😂

I’ve proved my point.

I didn’t say on my last post that I was correct about 9/11

i said I was correct about them using liquids in the foiled liquids 2006 incident.

I’m not replying to you anymore. Even though it’s quite funny

but hey! Thank you for the laughs

Skinflints of the world unite! I always bring my breakfast croissant from Tesco and just pay for coffee at the airport. Saving: possibly as much as two pounds.

It's not illegal to open the duty free before your final destination. It's sold in sealed bags to prevent over consumption of alcohol after a series of violent passengers on flights. That's why alcohol is restricted to bars/restaurants where they can refuse to serve you if they deem you intoxicated.

Also why the rule around you not being allowed to drink duty free purchases on the flight, but some airlines will serve it to you - because then they know how much you've had.

@SLeanne if you want to save more pennies, pre order the cheapest bottle for collection, you get 10% off. But you might want to pack a pair of small scissors (blade under 6cm is allowed in hand luggage) for getting into the sealed bag.

Ok

Your duty free purchases are absolutely logged. You have to scan your boarding pass when buying items in duty free. Most, if not all airports in most, if not all countries do this.

The past 2 holidays I've been on this year, one to Rhodes, one to Mexico, gate checks also took place. Whether it was random, the nature of the item, or cause for concern I don't know, but I had bought perfume, wasn't checked, 2 women infront of us in the queue who had purchased spirits were.

You can take your own miniatures of spirits in liquid bag . Buy a pop from duty free drink some add your spirits and a straw and enjoy with your picnic

I guess I’m not doing well advocating my position this evening..

Yes, I’ve been through airports enough to know the shops log the sale /check the sale against boarding cards.

I was actually responding to the idea somebody proposed upthread that somehow the gate staff could tell from your boarding card that you had bought duty free and perhaps ask you to produce it….

Went out for a meal at a chain restaurant the other week. The wine was £10 a glass there.

Going against the grain and saying yes obviously do this. People on here are weirdly upset about you not lining the pockets of airport bars. I find that cringier tbh. I bought a miniature wine from duty free, poured it into a travel mug (which I was taking anyway) then drank it on the flight. Lovely little treat and only £2ish.

Odd how people are implying you must be desperate for wine to not pay £10. Surely just as desperate as people paying full price. A highly inflated price that is. It's not like you plan on stealing the wine!

Have a great holiday and enjoy your reasonably priced wine.

Your duty free purchases are absolutely logged. You have to scan your boarding pass when buying items in duty free.

That's for tax reasons, to show the purchases were intended to be exported. It's not to check that you don't eat your pack of crisps before you reach your final destination.

Also there is a word for this behavior.
ALCOHOLIC

Haha can you imagine if they did this. Constantly having to chase up people who lost it, dropped it, gave it to a friend going on a different flight etc. crazy.

Everything is so bloody expensive these days! I’m not going to act high and mighty and tell you it’s wrong because I’m so sick to death of the thievery going on in this country. You want to have a bit of fun without breaking the bank, I get it. I agree with some other posters that it will probably be easier with spirits though. Wine would be trickier. Hope you all have a lovely holiday!

God I detest this 🤮 my mother does this sneaks in bottles of wine to concerts etc with drink in. latest was a local charity gig in the soccer club sneaking under the table to fill her glass up. ugh its tacky. we give her grief but she still does it. Everyone knows airports are more expensive 🤷‍♀️ just pay it or go without don't be tacky if you can afford to go in holidays you can afford the wine

I bet part of the reason the price is £10 is because a shocking number of people seem to think it's unclassy, tight, vile, teenager-like etc to take issue with paying that.

My last holiday cost £50 including flights, transfers and parking (but not accomodation, we went for the day) you can bet I'm not spending £10 on a glass of wine.

@NanaNorasNaughtyKnickers Some of these posters have never been brought up to be thrifty because you’re skint and it shows 😂

if its in eg a busy cafe, just buy one drink to get the glass and then use that etc, when i need wifi i just setup laptop in a busy cafe and begin using the wifi without using the tills etc

@SLeanne I’ve no idea about the rules on consuming duty free at the airport, but I’d have thought you’d get away with it, as long as you’re discrete. You can get some decent plastic wine glasses or (as you say) ask for glasses of water at the bar and use them.

Or, as @Sally543’s suggested, take spirits in your 100ml and buy mixers, thus solving the glass problem too. Though bet the mixers cost almost as much as a wine at a rip off airport!

I never buy anything at airports. Total rip off. Maybe a coffee at most. Take my own water bottle and fill from the fountain. Own packed meals and snacks.

Hope it works out and enjoy your trip!

Take an empty water bottle (like a chillies or SHO), fill with wine.
I did this last year, with vodka before a flight and took a couple of bottles of cola on with me to mix with.

Ahhh OK I get you. 😀I have absolutely no idea how they know, or why these 2 women were checked, but they did absolutely check the duty free of 2 passengers who were flying out to Mexico in September, maybe the Gate staff were just being busybodies that day tbf.

😂😂😂😂Thank you. That made my day.

@EdithBond

I’ve no idea about the rules on consuming duty free at the airport,

Probably an “it depends” (possibly in part on things like airport bylaws)…

I know some places (e.g. the US, at least some airports) you could, maybe still can, buy duty free in an airside shop but you didn’t get to pick it up and then carry it around the airport - it got delivered in a sealed bag to the aircraft door by terminal staff as the flight boarded, presumably to ensure it left the goods left the US intact…

Yea. Chavy and desperate.

In my green youth I dated (VERY briefly) a guy like this. Always first in the line for freebies, would never pass a stand with those snacky bites in supermarkets to try and then circles back for another one, would queue for hours if it meant getting something for free even if he didn't need it (but it's FREE!), go to 'all you can eat' and pile the plate with random shit, eat even though he was bursting, etc.

In my defense I was about 16-17 when we dated (and it WAS brief). He was a few years older and had a job, though.

He would totally do what OP is suggesting and would pat himself on the back for being oh so clever and frugal.

Yuck. I'm frugal myself, but I'd be so embarrassed if someone who I'm with would do this.

Also, wtf's with actually PLANNING days/weeks in advance how to cheat the airport, secretly decanting wine, sending your children to get empty glasses, sneaking so the security/staff wouldn't catch you - that's all fine. But only drinking past 6pm? Well, gotta have SOME limits, I suppose.

Just don't bother drinking.