New Year’s Resolution Undoings, on the House

By Joseph Checkler and Rachel Feintzeig

Ready to break your 2012 resolutions? Friendly’s and American Airlines can help.

The two companies—one fresh out of bankruptcy and one just getting started—are letting you pick your poison this winter: a milkshake or booze, on them.

Fribble lovers only have to wait until noon Saturday to enjoy Friendly’s “signature, super-thick, soft-serve shake,” a thank-you gift from the casual-dining chain to all those customers who’ve stuck it out over the past 76 years.

The past three months have been particularly rough for Friendly’s, which closed 100 stores during its bankruptcy. But the leaner chain doesn’t want customers to follow suit, instead preferring they gulp down a free 12-ounce Fribble in their choice of vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. (Bankruptcy Beat tip: If you’re not yet ready to give up on the dream of losing 10 pounds this year, opt for the 640-calorie vanilla over the 720-calorie chocolate.)

Need something a little stronger to wash away the aftertaste of yet another failed attempt at improving yourself? Then book yourself an American Airlines ticket to Europe, Asia or “certain countries” in South America and enjoy complimentary wine and beer. Starting Feb. 1, the struggling airline is inviting fliers to “have a drink on us,” as it celebrates…well, we’re not quite sure what, exactly.

The airline itself doesn’t really have anything worth toasting yet, as it still has to reconcile its labor issues and cut costs to draft a viable bankruptcy-exit strategy. But who cares when you have the finest reds and whites to choose from? American promises that Ken Chase, its very own “wine consultant” and “viticulturist,” will continue to pick the grapes.