Some further info regarding my bizarre Delta experience -
Because it was effectively the last flight out before Xmas and the crew would be spending Xmas Day in Dublin the normal bunch of seasoned veterens who fly the route had been replaced by an essentially random crew of replacements, none of whom had enough years to control their destiny. For some of them this was the first trip to Europe! As a result they collectivly comitted a huge faux pas.
The point I think I've made is that giving crews draconion powers to arbitrarily ban people from travel would be a huge mistake.
As for the Alcohol Issue - How much research has been done on the combined effects of Alcohol from drinking, Mild hypoxia from pressurization/ac systems being run at half power, prior usage of ciggaretes, travel stress and claustrophobia? I did a chamber ride at Edwards AFB once and the person next to me become noticbly irritable and cranky as the altitude was 'increased'. I'm not defending Air Rage but their may be a subset of the population who can't cope with the environmental stresses of modern air travel if they've been drinking.
theRolfe