I would have asked the Captain immediately to offload offending passengers if things kicked off on the ground, as Piltdown Man says the crew have very few weapons at their disposal, usually charm and politeness are the most effective. I always found that joining in with the drunken banter go you 'on their side' so to speak and generally they would then comply quickly if asked to do something.
dantheflyboy sums it up very well, what can be a very pleasant route one day can be hell the day after.
A few of my favourites (London based):
- Inverness (mostly older customers who loved a nice chat! tea and G&Ts all round)
- Edinburgh and Glasgow (like a business bus service, very easy flights)
- Gibraltar (generally had nice punters on that route and is a cool approach
)
- Innsbruck in the winter (loved the view and skiing pax are generally a nice bunch). Although that route could turn nasty quickly if a diversion occurred...
Not so keen on:
- Long holiday flights, Sharm, Tenerife, Larnaca etc.. (good money but a long day and very busy flights)
- Anywhere in Italy (flights are chaotic with luggage and ground services are awful)
My least favourite was Moscow. I found most of the passengers to be very rude and very demanding. Locking the toilet didn't seem to happen frequently either.