It was 6 a.m. at Reagan National Airport when a man walked up to a glowing restaurant as a server moved a barrier to open for the day. He was not there for the chia seed pudding or the breakfast burrito.
“Are you serving alcohol?” the man asked.
It must have been his first rodeo; every seasoned traveler knows the answer is “yes.”
This is the airport bar. The clock is there to tell you when your flight leaves, not to dictate how you eat and drink.
“You’re in international waters when you’re at an airport bar,” said Sother Teague, beverage director of Amor y Amargo in New York, who’s worked in bars for more than 26 years. “It’s okay to drink at 6 a.m. … You’re about to get on a plane. Maybe that’ll soften your ride a little bit.”
In this liminal space, you’re free from the judgment of everyday life. But that doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all.
Here are 14 unspoken rules of the airport bar, according to travelers who love it.
Don’t settle
At a small airport, you may have only one place to turn for a preflight drink. In which case, Godspeed.
But at a major hub like Los Angeles International or Chicago O’Hare, you have options. You don’t have to pick the one closest to your gate (although that can alleviate some anxiety). Take a beat to find the one that suits your mood.
Author and illustrator John Paul Brammer said he has visited enough of them to know “which aesthetic cues lead to a good airport bar experience, and which ones lead to a bad one.”
“The airport bars that are attached to a restaurant, they’re all fine and good, but my best airport bar experiences have been those weird little island ones that are just floating in the middle of nowhere,” he said.
However, aesthetics might not matter if you just have to get some work done. “That’s when you go to the Buffalo Wild Wings, don’t go to the cute bar,” comedian Jake Cornell said. “You’re already gonna be staring at spreadsheets, it doesn’t matter what your ambiance is.”
Sit at the actual bar
The airport brings out the worst in people. But the airport bar can bring out the best.
Walk by at the crack of dawn or in the middle of a Tuesday, and you’ll find strangers sharing pet photos, shedding tears together and forming bonds that can last a few hours — or change the trajectory of their lives.
“I’ve seen so many beautiful stories connect at the bar,” said Tiffanie Barriere, a cocktail consultant who spent seven years as the beverage director at what many consider the world’s best airport bar, One Flew South at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. “We’ve seen a couple meet at our bar, marry and have a baby.”
For the full effect, you must, as they say, belly up to the bar. You want to pick a spot that is good for either people-watching, eavesdropping, conversation-starting or big-game-watching (which can serve as distraction or an icebreaker, even if you’re not into sports).
“One of my big rules is I don’t sit at a table, that’s just not chic,” Brammer said. “I sit at the bar, or if there’s no room at the bar, I sit in one of those stools. Somewhere where I can lean up on one arm, you know?”
Move your bags out of the way
Once you’ve staked your claim at a bar stool, get your stuff situated in an orderly fashion.
“Be self-aware with your luggage,” said Helen Zhang, co-founder of Ziggys Roman Cafe in New York.
That means find a place for your bag(s) that’s out of the way of other travelers and staff. Do not block any other seats.
Tell the bartender your timeline
Do you have three hours to kill or 20 minutes? Tell the bartender if you’re in a rush, so you don’t have to scramble for the check. They’re not mind readers.
“I can’t see your phone. I can’t see the updates on your flight,” Barriere said. “That’s your business.”
Anonymity is a superpower
Once you pass security, embrace your newfound anonymity. Maybe you’re going to your friend’s wedding in Rhode Island, but you’d rather play a road warrior headed to a cement conference in Las Vegas. Maybe you want to try a new accent. The bar is your oyster.
“I take on this odd Frank Sinatra type-persona, I don’t know why,” Brammer said. “I order something with whiskey or bourbon … I want something that has a little bit of fire in it. I want something that feels like I’m wearing a trench coat and I’m waiting for my dame to get off her flight.”
Order whatever you want …
If it is on the menu, it is fair game.
“Order the spaghetti and meatballs at 7 a.m., I did last time,” said comedian and author Youngmi Mayer.
“I asked the bartender ‘Is this weird?’ and she said, ‘No, we put it on the menu so you can order it.’ And I ordered it.”
… But temper your expectations
Just because a bar can make you the drink of your choosing doesn’t mean that it will be to your liking. Read the room.
“If you don’t see any jiggers anywhere, maybe this isn’t the place to order a martini,” Teague said.
Generally, your safe bets include: a bottle of beer, a glass of wine, something neat or on the rocks, or a “one-and-one” like whiskey and soda or gin and tonic.
Expect absurd prices
Mayer said she and a friend once accidentally blew “probably our entire vacation budget” on a couple rounds — a sobering start to their girls’ trip.
Let that be your reminder to never assume the price of your drink of choice. What may cost $12 in your neighborhood haunt could cost double or triple (!) at the airport.
The double isn’t an upsell
At a normal bar, Teague wouldn’t typically go for a double, but he’s made a tradition of accepting one if the airport bartender is offering.
It comes up a lot — and not because bartenders are trying to gouge you. Barriere said it’s often more economical for you — and more efficient for the staff — to order a double versus two cocktails.
“I’m actually saving you money, getting you out of my way and also giving you the buzz that you need,” Barriere said.
Don’t overdo it
Actually, hold the double if you’re not much of a drinker.
Traveling is dehydrating, and once you’re in flight, you’ll feel more buzzed on less alcohol thanks to the decreased cabin pressure, which lowers your oxygen intake. Plus overindulging can come at a cost beyond a hangover. Barriere has seen travelers miss their flights from staying late at the bar.
Adjust your predeparture order accordingly, keeping in mind that airport bartenders can be generous with their servings.
“It does feel like even at the airport, [alcohol] feels kind of stronger … that may be just because they pour you such gigantic glasses,” Mayer said. “I would say find what your ‘airport number of drinks’ is, because it’s different than real life.”
This is still a bar, not your office
As a restaurant owner, Zhang loathes a laptop at a bar. But as a former member of the corporate world, she knows many airport bargoers are traveling for work trips.
“It’s a different standard of etiquette,” she said. “It doesn’t feel rude.”
Barriere agrees. “The airport is a business space,” she said, like a giant WeWork. She doesn’t mind when bar goers even sit through Zoom meetings, but it’s a bit much when someone is leading a call or going through a PowerPoint presentation.
So take a quick call, maybe even two. But for anything longer, relocate to an empty gate, “mostly because 85 percent of people talk too loud on the phone,” Cornell said. “People tend to yell and that’s what’s really annoying.”
Keep screens PG-13
Whatever you’re doing on your device — whether you’re watching Lord of the Rings or playing Sudoku — remember that other travelers may be able to see your screen. With that in mind, keep your content family-friendly and don’t, say, watch explicit content, as Barriere has unfortunately encountered of customers.
“I’ve seen a lot of things,” she said.
And unless you have headphones, keep your content muted.
“Watching something at the bar, headphones not in? Prison,” Cornell said.
Open up
The airport bar is the best place on earth for conversation with strangers. The stakes are low — you have a hard stop and there are no expectations beyond that fleeting moment — while the possibility to learn something interesting is high.
“It’s the only time when these group of people would be at the same bar,” Cornell said. “Like, Walter the CMO from Lexington isn’t going to be at my Brooklyn gay bar.”
So if you’re feeling social, lob a softball: “Where are you heading?” Read their reaction lest you end up making them chat under duress. Are they giving you a one-word answer? Did they unsheathe a book or put their headphones back on and crank up the volume? Let it go, or engage with someone else.
“I do choose to believe that most people know when the opportunity is there, when the prompt feels right, when the energy is right,” Brammer said. “And some people choose to ignore their animal instincts and just keep going, and I’ll never understand it.”
Keep bar food at the bar
It’s time to go, but you haven’t finished your meal. Pause for a moment and consider, for the sake of your fellow travelers, how will this translate to your middle seat on a full flight?
“I was sitting on a plane and the girl next to me cracked out a full Chili’s Triple Dipper,” Cornell said. “That’s so much. sensorily.”
Tip, for goodness sakes
Even if you are outraged by the tab, leave a tip. The person who served you did not dictate the prices.
“This is your choice to come here,” Barriere said. “Airport prices are going to be that. That doesn’t mean you don’t tip the bartender.”
Yes, even at a bar inside the airport lounge. You don’t have to do a whole 20 percent on the bill (but go for it if you’re feeling generous); a few bucks a drink will suffice.
The airport can be a miserable place. Any extra grace goes a long way. So show up with patience and goodwill, not only to the staff but to your fellow patrons and the wider traveling public.
“Cruelty in an airport always makes sense, like whoever it’s coming from,” Brammer said. “So the kindness just hits harder.”
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