Is Ginger Ale the most popular drink?

Is ginger ale the most popular drink in America? If you are a frequent flyer, or even rarely take a plane trip, notice this next time… Is it me or do more people order ginger ale on flights than anywhere else? I am guilty also, it’s like I never think of it until I am thousands of miles up. I had a friend that was a flight attendant tell me that its common that after the first person orders it, anyone who sees or hears the order, orders it. They have these “runs” on ginger ale during most flights.

Why do we suddenly have an urge for something that we could, if wanted, buy in any store on the ground? You go into a supermarket and you will see maybe one or two columns of ginger ale on a shelf, while the colas take up most of the space. Maybe Schweppes or Canada Dry plants ginger ale drinkers on the front sections of airplanes to increase sales, leading other passengers like a pied piper of semi-popular carbonated drinks.

Could it be the altitude or the fear of being without control of the situation that leads us to ginger ale? Say if we were in prison on death row, would we pick ginger ale as the beverage accompanying our last dinner? I would not think the altitude of flight would have anything to do with it, but I have to admit that my second question if I ever met Neil Armstrong would be “did you have sudden cravings for ginger ale while in space?”