Hi again QFmike,
The whole RSA thing is a bit of a joke if you ask me. Yes it has taught a lot of people the right thing and made staff more aware but how well is the consumption of alcohol actually monitored?
After doing the RSA course my previous company said that no First or Business class passengers should have their glass empty. This was probably to ensure our passengers received the service they paid for with out asking. This is in total conflict to what the RSA rule book says. It says something like one drink per hour. In reality we know we cant restrict a customer to that whether on a plane or in the pub. And now with many airlines installing mini bars for there F & J class pax, how do you get around this?
To be honest, just be aware of what they have had to drink. If you find a pax who you think maybe getting drunk, ask the rest of the crew if they have served that pax any alcohol. Pax are really smart in asking different crew each time for a drink. Most often than not it's easier to give them a drink than deny one and hope they just fall asleep. Most often than not this will be the case. You have to judge the situation your self. But as far as the RSA rule book goes, if someone has paid $8,000 for a ticket in first class are you really going to deny them another drink? It's a catch 22 situation, the law says one thing but the company says another.
With AO it's pretty easy, we know who has been drinking a bit and we communicate with each other and know how much a suspected drunk has had. Japanese have terrible reactions to alcohol and tend to faint at the drop of a hat after just one glass of wine. We would be a lot more careful on those flights than others. I think if you are experienced you can be your own judge on how much to serve, if not just ask the crew you are flying with.
I will just finish by saying in my 10 years of flying I have only every had one bad experience from a drunk pax, and that is out of 100,s of thousands of pax.
Another point to remember is many pax have spent time in the airline lounges where there is also a free bar. We have no idea how much has been consumed there before they board. It makes our job just that little bit more difficult.