Ruling with an iron fist rarely works in my opinion.
You'd be surprised....
To be honest, if they were refusing to sit down for take off I'd have considered asking the Captain that we return to stand and I would have been weary if we'd have taken them.
Only considered? If they are refusing to sit down, how are you able to give cabin secure? Sorry but that's a definite no go. Back to the terminal and off they go, with a little assistance from the police if need be.
2) Serving alcohol from the bar helps to prevent their own large bottles of tax/duty free spirits etc being cracked open. Invariably these days passengers are warned about drinking their own alcohol and if you withdraw the bar drinks then you will have them drinking their own for sure.
You are joking, aren't you?
3) Peoples tolerances vary. I am used to loud behaviour on certain flights, particularly in the Summer. It's part and parcel of what I do, I know I have control and these loud flights can be great fun to operate.
How do you know you have control? People are, by their very nature, unpredictable at the best of times. Add in alcohol and possible drugs and the situation can turn from fun to nasty and downright dangerous in a matter of seconds. None of us know where that tipping point is.
However, your nervous flyer or those flying away to some quiet resort may feel intimidated so a cabin presence is always required for reassurance but strictly speaking, being loud is not against the rules and it doesn't always mean they've had too much to drink.
No, being loud isn't always down to alcohol but if it's loud enough to disturb other passengers, then I think you'll find it's very much against the rules.
4) Withdraw alcohol if/when someone starts misbehaving. Again, misbehaving doesn't generally include loud behaviour. Withdrawing alcohol to quieten down a group doesn't work. However, if someone shows signs of unsafe behaviour then that is where you start getting serious and where withdrawing drink is necassary
By which time, it's usually too late and you have one heck of a problem and possibly a divert on your hands!
5) The vast majority of onboard incidents caused by drunken behaviour involve the consumption of own alcohol and believe it or not it tends to be individuals/couples who have been nice and pie one minute and the next suddenly turn nasty.
6) Some older couples can drink just as much. On Manchester flights it's not uncommon to serve the little old couple going on holiday 2 bottles of wine washed down with 2 double G&T on the first bar service. But their demographic means they are unlikely to be loud with their mates.
However, I'll definitely agree with that! It's often the sweet little old lady with her G&T's that will catch you out while you've been busy watching the stag group in the back.
Ruling with an iron fist doesn't automatically involve acting like a Sergeant Major,
easyflyer83. It's about being aware, using your judgement and experience and if needed, making tough decisions.
We have certain routes that are notorious for this sort of behaviour. If I hear of certain groups that have been a bit rowdy in the terminal, I catch them them as they come down the jetty, before they even get on the aircraft and have a quiet word. I'm always pleasant but make sure that they are left under no illusions as to what the consequences of bad behaviour will be. If I then receive a mouthful of abuse, they never make it through the door. In the majority of cases, most are happy to agree to the conditions, including the possibility of no alcohol to be served on board. Anyone found drinking their own during the flight has it confiscated and yes, I have done that more than once. As with every situation, it's not what you say, it's how you say it.
Unfortunately, drunken disturbances can and do happen on all airlines around the world, legacy and lo-cost alike. It's not just a Ryanair thing. Some are completely unpredictable and come out of the blue but most are helped along by crew that just haven't got the confidence or experience to deal with conflict. I learned my trade, so to say, by plying the charter routes for many years and learning from very senior crew that had seen every possible scenario you could think of. I made my mistakes - and there were many - as a junior when there were senior crew around to pick up the pieces before slapping me with a used teabag. I then moved on to a legacy airline and eventually became senior crew myself.
These days, within a year or so of starting flying, you can be a Purser/CM/CSM or whatever else you want to call it, and be the most experienced member of cabin crew on an aircraft. In my opinion, it's just not long enough! We all know it's easy being a senior when it's all going right but it's when it all goes pear shaped that all that experience comes into play. When you do then make a mistake and possible misjudge a situation, such as how much someone has had to drink, you have the knowledge and confidence to sort it out.