Would you please not drink that in front of me ....
 

I had a senior member of my staff travel to SE Asia recently in Biz Class onboard a Middle Eastern Airline ..

After take off, the crew circulated offer the usual post rotation drinks to which my colleague asked for G & T :)

After being served he had barely take a sip when the Arab Gentlmen next to him leant over and asked him "Would you please not drink that in front of me.." :ooh:

Not wanting to cause an 'international incident', my colleague then proceeded to hand back his drink and refrained from ordering anymore.

Whilst I appreciate that there were several solutions to this dilemma ....move seat ... drink in the Galley.. or ignore the man, however this particular co-worker is far too polite for his own good and just went without for the remainder of the flight (not something I would have done, I hasten to add)

To add insult to deprivation, the alleged 'alcohol-objector' was travelling with Wife & child who brazenly began breast feeding halfway through the flight ... go figure !

Are there any broadly accepted rules on drinking in front of objecting pax ? or does it differ from airline to airline ? :confused:

I think my first reaction would have been to say "Don't look!" followed by "You have a very curious and extreme interpretation of the Koran."

Any further escalation "Talk to the hand or sort it out with the CC!"

I flew for a Persian Gulf airline for four years. We served al cohol and I never heard of any such problems.
I do recollect feeling a little self conscious when, as a passenger, I tucked into lunch during Ramadan with a chap reading his Koran next to me. He noticed my embarrassment and said "Don't worry; this is good for me." or words to that effect.

I think al cohol man was a bit of a prat - they are always with us in all cultures.

If the airline concerned chooses to offer in flight service that includes alcohol, then you are fully entitled to partake of that offering. It is no business of the passenger to request you to refrain, I would have told him politely to **** off or to travel with some 'more enlightened' carrier.

Honestly the stories you hear about some of these hypocrits and their behaviour wrt alcohol when on board is staggering.

I don't do political correctness:E

I'd have told him that while I greatly respect his beliefs, I don't adhere to them, so would he please respect mine and mind his own business.

Have a Company travel policy which only involves flying with airlines which have screens between Biz class seats......ummmmm.......BA springs to mind :ok:

Bit of a tricky one.

I worked for a Gulf Carrier for a few years that has a somewhat strict approach to staff travel ( Having to move seat if another pax IFE not working, not to take amenity kits, very strict dress code etc. They also did not hesitate to revoke your staff travel privileges over the most minor of incidents) So bearing that in mind I probably would have taken the pussy approach like your friend.

However from the sound of your post your friend was not travelling with his own company so in that case I would have politely told the guy to sod off.

Perhaps during Ramadan people should be a bit more understanding but not under normal circumstances.

I am guessing the guy who complained was from a GCC country ( UAE/Saudi/Kuwait/Doha etc and it really gets up my nose when these people get all high and mighty about these things.

I understand a lot of Gulf Arabs feel that they are losing their culture. BUT....
They NEED expats to run their country. They think its beneath them to work in a shop or a bank or to drive a taxi ( Oman and Bahrain being the exception to this) and their population is so small that even if they did want to work they would still bring in outsiders.

They have opened up their countries to foreigners and are more than happy to take money from us by charging exorbitant prices for rent, groceries and YES alcohol amongst other things. Not to mention the amount of money that all of the Gulf Carriers bring to the region. But when it suits them they want to be all ultra religious.

This part of the world is full of contradictions! You mentioned your friend was going to going to SE Asia. First thing that popped into my head was Emirati going to Bangkok to sleep with as many hookers as he can. Hey maybe he was actually super religious, maybe he was just travelling for business but trust me he would be the exception.

END RANT !

I would have quite happily thrown it all over him,woops,clumsy me,then ordered another.

I hope they would have served me bacon for breakfast too!:O

I used to fly for QR...The amount of arabs who would ask for a discreet drink was huge!

I would have asked the CC for a cold pork sandwich to go with my G&T, and then taken out my copy of Richard Dawkins's 'God Delusion'.

"To add insult to deprivation, the alleged 'alcohol-objector' was travelling with Wife & child who brazenly began breast feeding halfway through the flight ... go figure !"

Can I just ask why breast feeding a baby is an insult? This is the most natural thing and if a baby needs feeding, then feed it!

With regards to the alcohol, I would of carried on drinking. I don't see how drinking in front of someone who doesn't drink should have any impact on you what so ever!

It's a classic!
 

You see, Airwasp, that's one of the classic cases where your staff member and his seat neighbour, being brought up in different cultures, object to different behaviour. Most people I know would have nothing against either breast-feeding or drinking.
On any normal day, my own reaction would have been to ask why the gentleman objected to my enjoying a g&t. If in particularly high spirits, I might have tried to take a lighter note and ask if he felt the particular brand of tonic was objectionable.
In any case, I think there's no ideal response. It was a strangely impolite remark from someone you have a right to expect politeness from. Best case, your staff member might have started a deeply philosophical and spirited conversation about cultural and religous standards with his neighbour. It has happened to me in similar circumstances.

Drifting off-topic slightly, but I'd have thought that asking a staff member travelling for next to nothing to swap seats with a paying passenger whose IFE wasn't working was the very least that should be expected from any airline. It's hardly a "strict approach".

:ugh:

It IS of course, but you have completely missed the whole double standard-ed "Koran" point of the OP!!!

Here, have another couple of :ugh: and a :rolleyes:

Glad Rag, stop doing :ugh:, it's just going to increase the damage!:rolleyes:

Yes, well pointed out, I'd missed that as well, but why are you so excited by it as I'm sure Airwasp has two feet he can stand up on!:}

The chances are he didn't want you drinking because he was gagging for one himself and his missus doesn't know he likes a slurp. I would have invited him to move himself, as it's his problem not yours.

As for Ramadhan, I don't observe it, because I'm not pigging out all night, so if there's food on the plane I will eat it if I so choose. A devout Muslim will consider himself closer to Allah if he can fast in the face of temptation.

And more to the point, you are exempt from fasting if you are travelling, or you are sick.

I would have asked for a double.

Perhaps Westerners would be a bit more sympathetic to their Arab fellow passengers if they refrained from spending the entire flight coughing up huge amounts of mucus into a sick bag or could possibly go to the bathroom to take a dump rather than in the aisle. Don't laugh it happens regularly.

every 15 mins.

Hi Asaul, I guess (hope) your reply is a wind up.

If I had said they took a dump as big as a baby's forearm that would be an exaggeration but if I said they took one in the aisle, or on the aerobridge, or held their child out in the isle to do one that would not be. The last one is my particular favorite and it was in First Class.