Boozing on board?

[Land After]

As a regular piece of SLF, there’s nothing I like more than to relax on the flight home with a G&T or Glass of wine or two. If it’s a long flight, this may stretch to three. Similarly, on a long haul flight I may partake of a G&T, wine with the meal and maybe a digestive before settling into a movie or a peaceful sleep. Prior to boarding I may even have sipped a beer in the lounge! The result of this imbibing: a relaxed, quiet and definitely not drunk pax.

Now we have U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein seeking to impose a two drink limit on travelers in US Airlines. Am I alone in liking a drink on the plane? Do the other pieces of SLF want to continue with this pleasant way to pass the time?

I appreciate the need to stop drunkenness in flight and understand that it is a major contributor to air rage. The question is how best to control the problem without these draconian measures? Would SLF stop using American Carriers if they couldn’t get a drink? Could this push some nervous pax over the edge now that nicotine has been withdrawn? Has anyone experienced a drunk on board & have any ideas how it could be avoided?

What do you want as "regulars" on you "local" flight?

[Kermit 180]

On one hand you can see the point of that senator. Air rage can be fuelled by alcohol (and most certainly the effects of nicotine withdrawal, as you pointed out, can do this too). Many people say "If you can't go 12 hours without a cigarette you're a lost cause". Can the same be said for alcohol? You may not be addicted to it but you enjoy it, like smokers enjoy a cigarette.

On the other hand though, wheres the harm? When you drink you're not harming others with your breath, and if you are a responsible passenger you wont go overboard and become disruptive. If you appear to be drinking too much, the cabin crew can deny you any more drinks. Why punish the others who can handle it and dont cause trouble?

Kermie :rolleyes:

[ExSimGuy]

"In-flight meals to be stopped"
. . . due to the danger of heavily-loaded carts, full of hot solids and liquids in the event of turbulence.

"Duty Free Sales scrapped"
. . . safety campaign against transport of highly-flammable liquids in fragile glass containers

"In-Flight Entertainment to be curtailed"
. . .passengers can get tangled in headphone wires in the event of emergency evacuation

"No more Newspapers"
. . . I'm sure someone can come up with a reason to ban complimentary newspapers too

Hows about they just anesthetise us all prior to departure and pack us in pallets to be re-awakened after arriving at the destination gate.
Of course, the silly cow proposing this new legislation probably flies on US Government provided transport, which will no doubt be exempted :mad:

[B Sousa]

Senator Diane is also the one who carrys a gun, but wants the common folks to lose theirs. Another sign that "We who are in Government, know what you need."
Certainly too much drinking causes problems occasionally, but so do the fact that your knees are stuffed in the seat in front of you. That stupid cart blocks the aisle for almost the entire flight. And the restrooms havent been cleaned in a day or so. The food sucks and the drinks are too expensive anyway. By the way for all you folks who buy there, Duty Free is even a bigger rip.....

[BigJETS]

Ive heard that Midwest Express offers complimentary wine to all pax. I havent heard of that on other airlines. Anyone have first hand experience? I think its a good thing and I would imagine that the gesture makes for more appreciable customers. I would even suggest that air rage is much less of a factor on Midwest Ex! Anyone know if this is the case and if so, what should that tell us?
Its not the booze, Its how they treat their customers. Personally Im going to make a point to fly on Midwest Express when its convenient simply because I like what Ive heard about their service-- and not just the complimentary drinks.

[Land After]

BigJets,

You'll find that nearly all the European scheduled carriers give out free drinks, even in Y. All of the US carriers I've flown with over the pond also give out free drinks to all seats.

On the European charter flights they sell drinks, but the staff get commission for each sale - IMHO one of the sources of the problem.

[BigJETS]

Appreciate your reply LandAfter, I wasnt aware of the practice for any other flights. However, Midwest Ex is a domestic US carrier and I certainly havent expeienced this on any other domestic flights...UA, AA, AK, etc. So isnt that a different approach? Im just wondering if there is a point to be made in defense of alcohol on board, as the real problems may come from impersonal service. Surely air rage isnt always contributed to alcohol or nicotine. I dont appreciate losing priviledges that most people can handle with complete responsibility. The real cause of air rage is lack of respect and coping skills. But I guess as a society, we have to sacrifice some of our priviledges to the ones that cant handle it.

[davidbwa]

Land After - I'm one of those crew earning vast amounts of commission (not) on charter flights. My commission at the end of the month is maybe £50-£60. Most of that is from sales of bottled water and soft drinks (most flights are vvv early or vvv late - most people sleep). As crew we monitor how much people drink, and regularly refuse service. The BIG problem is people bringing their own booze on board and drinking it. Why not ban Duty Free sales (or whatever they're called now) until the baggage claim? We wait days for the bags anyway, and it'll give us something to do. Also, no huge bags of bottles, rattling around the overhead lockers, waiting to smash on someone's head when they ignore us telling them to open the lockers carefully. :rolleyes:

[ExSimGuy]

Jump&Slide,

I'll echo that - what inane moron came up with the idea of selling a couple of hundred pax a liter each of inflammable lighuid in a fragile bottle, to take on board an aircraft. If they forget at departure point, there's always a supply for sale stored on the aircraft too.

How many kilos of unneccesary weight does that total on a 747 or 777?

I'll shortly be travelling from a "booze-free country" to Blighty, and won't be able to buy it at the departure point - so why the devil can't I buy it in LHR?

How many times has this question been raised before in these columns - it's so obvious even a cabinet minister should be able to comprehend!

Back to the original subject; yes, almost all of the carriers between here and Europe also give "comp drinks", and I've never yet seen, or heard of, "air rage pax". Possibly because people working in this region tend to be sane responsible sorts? (before anyone tells me I can't be sane if I work here . . . :) )

[Land After]

If the prohibition of duty free bottles on board means I get to sip more than two drinks on a transatlantic, I'm all for it.

It should also allow more efficient monitoring of the overall intake of the pax, and remove some of the weapons that have been used to attack cabin crew in the past.

What we're looking for is an effective method to control the minority who turn rude, agressive or abusive when drunk. Unfortunately current proposal seems to be to turn of everybody's supply.

Maybe we should all get an onboard drinking licence :rolleyes: I'll start working on the plans for local test centres ;)