Emergency exit row seats and alcohol
 

Hello ladies and gents

sorry to wander onto here from my more normal haunt of JB but if you could tolerate a simple question I would appreciate it.

Whilst I fully understand the restrictions on who should be allocated exit row seats, the language, physical ability and perhaps physical size issues..... what about alcohol?

I have never, on the occasions I have occupied these seats both domestic and internationally, been refused a beer or glass of wine with my meal. Obviously I wasn't tanked up already nor did I proceed to become so either.

Are there any airlines that, apart from those 'dry airlines' that prohibit alcohol being served to exit row passengers?

thanks in advance

Tolsti:ok:

BA does not… I have happily served alcohol to people in exit rows, including self help on the A319/320 aircraft. However, I will draw the line sooner with them.

Example, on an LHR to Prague flight, a group of guys going for a stag weekend were sat in the exit rows and were having a good time and a laugh with us all etc. and that was fine. However, after a couple of cans of lager each, we had a very simple and frank chat, and I just explained their responsibilities again in regard to the exit row, and my duty onboard as a crew member… They all took it seriously and had a cup of coffee instead.

I have also moved people out of exit rows when they have been questionable, based on their alcohol consumption.

Can you imagine how it would kick off.

So you have paid extra to be seated in an exit row with the leg room.

The bar comes along and you say I'd like a can of beer please.

Sorry sir you can't have any alcohol in that seat.

Why?

Well if we have an emergency you won't be capable of opening the exit.

I leave the rest to you to paint the next scene.........

Thank you both for your replies. As I expected the answer is no.

The reason I asked was a post on a non-professional site that stated that Qantas forbid alcohol in exit rows.

I am not sure I would ever be brave enough to refuse an Aussie bogan a beer!

Not me, either! :)

No, I've not seen nor heard of any such restriction anywhere.

I was wondering whether there are some physical requirements on the person who can be allowed to sit in exit seats? I mean the doors look quite heavy...

I've recently got one and in fact I asked the cabin crew to let me seat elsewhere and get someone strong to sit there instead but they told me I'd do just fine. I'm rather skinny and I can barely carry much in my every day life - I take airplane safety really seriously and wouldn't mind having less leg room.

So did they just happen to overestimate me or are the exit doors that easy to open?

Thanks! :)

They're easy to open indeed however they can weigh 30 pounds plus. Depending on some types they need to be taken out of their place, moved in and then thrown out however on other types they are hinged and move upwards much like the boot of a hatchback car so require very little effort to open.

alley.cat,

Yes. There are restrictions and it is part of the ground staff and crews role to ensure that the people sat there are able to perform their function if required.

If they were happy for you to be there, I would not worry. I am sure that, if the need arose, you would be surprised what a human can do.

TS
:)

Emergency exit rows
 

Whist on an internal flight in the USA recently, the entire exit row on both sides of the ailse was empty. After take off I moved to one of the empty seats and was promptly told by the cabin crew member (One steward only, for more than 40 passengers - Embraer175) that I could only sit there if I paid a supplement for the extra leg room. I pointed out that there would be no one to operate the emergency exits but the cabin crew member insisted that I would have to pay if I wanted to stay there. When I asked what the minimum number of cabin crew was for the aircraft I was told that that shouldn't concern me! Does any one feel that one cabin crew member can adequately supervise the emergency evacuation of 40 or more people through 3 exits, 2 of which have no one designated to open them?

Not aware of any Ejet operator in the US who operates with less than two CC. You need one cabin crew member per 50 or part thereof seats. Now come on now, you wanted the extra legroom, you weren't offering your services incase you should be called upon to operate the exits! The over wing exits are self help exits anyway and don't require any supervision.

Exit Rows
 

OK I'll admit the extra leg room would have been nice. Nonetheless, as a retired military pilot with experience of large aircraft, I would contend that using the over wing exits could be critical in the event of an emergency aircraft evacuation involving smoke/fire in the cabin.
To describe any emergency exit as self help seems strange to me.
If there was a 2nd cabin crew member they played no part in the cabin services on that flight.
I would have thought that it made sense to have someone seated in the exit rows who was capable of operating the emergency exits even if it involved offering a "free upgrade"

Even in the UK, if there is less than a certain percentage of passenger seats occupied on the aircraft, in regards to the A319/20, then there is no requirement at all to have anyone seated by the over wing, self help exits. Quite common on quiet sectors to not have anyone seated in them. The difference being that we did not charge extra to sit in those seats, and if someone asked to move, they were more than welcome, however if no one did, and we were quiet, there was no need to move anyone into those rows.

The Embraer 175 doesn't have mid-cabin overwing exits. I suspect you were in the smaller Embraer 140 jet, as used by a couple of US operators, principally Delta subcontractors, which has 44 seats, a thinner but longer fuselage, and a mid-cabin overwing emergency exit. This fits well within the 1 per 50 requirement, so yes, the FAA feel this is adequate.

I've operated the ATR42 with 48 pax on my own under the IAA. While legal, if I'm being totally honest, there were many times where I could have used a another crew member.

For the record...
 

Qantas doesn't forbid alcohol to people sitting in exit rows. :ok:

DIVOSH!

As the OP I would like to say thanks for all who replied. the reason I asked was as a result of a reply on a Thailand forum. It was obvious to me that the reply was erroneous (load of bollix) and the airline quoted was the flying kangaroo... complete with Antipodean spelling. Just needed to check for future travel.

Good point...
 

You have agood point. Idealy they should not be served alcohol as they have a responsibility of opening the exit in case of an evacuation. Not sure any airline must be having a policy of DO NOT SERVE OVERWING PAX.