Alcohol in OZ - RSA

[qfmike737]

I'm learning lots of new things but one thing i want to clarify is some procedures when serving alcoholic beverages to customers.

I've been trained to half crack beer cans and crack liqeur bottles leaving the lids on. Reason being that the drinks must be opened in front of the customer so they know it has not been tampered or spiked and that the movement of the train can cause spillage ie walking to the counter or serving from the trolley.

BUT!!!...over the new years periods I have come across situations where I have wondered if this is the right way to serve alcohol?

I thought that it may actually be better to remove the lid completely as customers can top their little liquer bottles up with a concealed carry on bottle which is illegal to consume onboard. It would be hard to monitor the consumption of alcohol and difficult to prove if they had topped up their bottles if they still have a lid to seal the drink bottle.

Are we to serve the alcohol in front of the customer so they know what is in their beverage? Many of times i've flown and requested for someting ie. cointreau and ice/rum and coke When I receive the drink it is already made in a tumbler so I am not able to see it being prepared in the galley? is this the normal procedure???

What are the rules when flying and the rules in relation to the RSA??? how do flight attendants handle customers who may possibly be topping up their own drinks?

[overhere]

Theres nothing in RSA laws that say you have to prepare the drinks in front of customers, think of restaurants etc.

The most important parts of the law to watch in all jobs is
1. Service to under 18's
2. Entry and service to intoxicated persons
3. Secondary service of alcohol.

To answer your questions re drinks on aircraft...

1. Yes it is procedure to prepare J class mixers in the galley and Y class mixers in the galley except during the cart bar service,
2. The rules in relation to flying and RSA are the same as if we were on the ground.

If someone were to "top up" or drink their own beverage (which is common on intl services where theres lots of duty free on board) they are first told that they can't do it as they are on a licensed aircraft and asked to stop (a lot of people aren't aware its illegal). If they continue, it depends on the situation and how the crew choose to manage it. Generally the alcohol would be taken until the end of the flight and further action maybe taken at the choice of the CSM/Purser.

Its generally pretty easy to tell if people are topping up, you know what drinks you've served. Aircraft cabins are small and theres basically always a crew member watching the cabin, its noticed pretty quickly.

[V8trolley]

Interesting. I remember on Royal Brunei one of the crew members said that although the airline doesnt serve alcohol on board but they will serve you your own alcohol. This has since changed.

I'm not sure on what the go is (doing my RSA course in a couple of weeks).

[missleadfoot]

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.

[FormerFlyer]

Went out to BNE with Royal Brunei in Oct03 and am pleased to report that they are still happy to serve you your own duty free (or otherwise) alcohol.

They will even put it in the chiller for you as they did for our champers. We weren't the only ones drinking booze on board either, so it wasn't as though they reluctantly bent the rules for us.

cheers ;)

FF

[V8trolley]

Geee, She probably didnt like the look of us then :} :suspect:

[FormerFlyer]

However I have to say the inbound to LHR we thought about getting a bottle of Baileys at BNE and slowly sipping our way home!! We didn't bother with it and had a perfectly happy flight sans alcool.

Makes me wonder if I should bother in future? Mind you in Dec on way to and from MCO I did manage to quaff quite a bit of the fizzy stuff :O

cheers ;)

FF

[Capt L]

At the pub I work in all bottled drinks must be served with out caps/corks, as we don't have a licence to sell take-away drink.

Don't know how this would work when the booze is provided as part of the ticket price, but on domestic where passengers are paying for drinks this might be the case. Do you operate under the same Liquor Licencing Act as bars?

[qfmike737]

Capt L That is a very valid point. I know on the tilt train we stop every now and then which could allow persons to take off the drinks with them. I think we are not licensed for take aways so I guess my management will come back and say the lids must be completely removed. I guess we relate more to each other behind a bar and working as a cabin attendant on the tilt train as we also have a galley where customers can come up and purchase alcohol.

Overhere - thanks for that great response. I wasn't too sure what the normal procedure was onboard. for J and Y classes I'm quite happy to drink a drink that a crew member has prepared and I know make FAB cocktails if i'm in the galley! :-)

V8 Trolley....I must say some of the Halal airlines definately have great taste when stocking their bars....The Dom Perrignon...scotches...very swish!!! Royal Brunei/Malaysian/Emirates

Missleadfoot...missy thanks for you information...I questioned that too..it must be hard if customers had drinks at lounges etc. I defiantely notice that some nationalities tend to have different effects. With AO ...you only have the one class so that makes it better to work with crew in monitoring...can't wait to go to the final round *winks*

Former Flyer....try catching the train with me sometime...Ill get you tanked! LOL kidding

I'll see what my management says...i'm going to bring up these valid points to them.

I wonder how regional crew get along with this situation? You could easily be flying with customers then find they will be at the same bar you are at when you overnight!!

[V8trolley]

lol must be the other airlines that have good taste when it comes to the bar, cert. not BI hahah Best i could get onboard was 'Sparkling Grape Juice' :hmm:

in the transfer lounge at BWN i got talking to a Kiwi bloke working for a construction comp there, he was on his way to SIN - I asked why he said he felt like a beer LOL


Im completely off topic sorry SORRY

[qfmike737]

V8Trolley...yikes I think I served you too much to drink...sorry no more it's the law LOL

[GoldFlyer]

And don't forget that FA's are also responsible for the measuring of spirits into mixed drinks.

I recently watched a QF FA in J slosh what he thought was a measure of Baileys into a glass and poured on the coke (now that sonds like a hiddeous drink in anycase).

The point is that the FA really had no idea if he had poured 30ml or 60ml and neither would the passenger. RSA laws at least in NSW require all spirits to be poured with a measure.

To top it off I later watched the same FA pop the L'Ocittane lotions and creams fromthe loo into his bag - a real pro.

[Capt L]

It just takes a bit of practice to free pour a shot of liquor.

But pinching the toiletries................classy :rolleyes:

[ozskipper]

I often free pour my shots as well.....

Mind you, I often wake up in strange places not knowing how I got there or how to get home....

However, I suspect thats the poisoned beer nuts.....

:D