Aussie Businessmen set to sue Etihad
 

From today's Sydney Morning Herald...

'The case of three Australians charged with drunken, lewd behavior aboard a first class flight to the Middle East is set to move to a Sydney courtroom.

While businessmen Jeremy Snaith and David Evans were due to be flown to Bangkok early this morning after being convicted in an Abu Dhabi court of offensive behaviour and given suspended prison sentences, their lawyer, Ross Hill, is preparing to sue the airline, Etihad, for malicious prosecution and unlawful detention.

Mr Hill says his clients are not only innocent of the charges, which included being drunk, lewd and even naked in the first-class cabin, but have spent a month in a desert prison eating camel, at least in Snaith's case, and have suffered business losses.

But like everything else in this case the details are unclear. Media reports from the United Arab Emirates yesterday claimed Snaith returned a positive drug sample with traces of cocaine and hashish. Mr Hill rejects this and insists the samples were switched and came back from the laboratory with a different exhibit number. Instead he says Snaith was convicted by three judges of using offensive language, for which he received a six month suspended sentence, and fined $330 for being a non-Muslim drinking without a permit. "No-one is denying he had a drink but it was warm champagne served by the airline," Mr Hill said.

Evans was convicted of using offensive language and touching a cabin crew member on the arm for which he received a 12-month suspended sentence. His alcohol and drug tests, taken when he got off the flight, returned negative.

The third man, William Sergent, was cleared and has flown on to Edinburgh, where he was originally headed on April 27 when he was arrested and thrown into a desert prison for testing positive to the prescription drug he takes to help him sleep.

Mr Hill said he argued the court did not have the jurisdiction to hear the drug charges against Snaith. "These Arabic newspapers are getting their information from the police officers who laid the charges and would be rather embarrassed by the way it turned out," he said.

"It was clear on the prosecutor's own brief that there was a problem with the test results. It was someone else's specimen which came back from the lab. It had a different exhibit number."

Mr Hill said the men would prefer to appeal against the convictions but that would mean staying in prison for another month. "It's a hard balance for them - stay another month in prison or cop it on the chin and get out of there."

He insisted all the alcohol tests came back negative, which contradicts the airline's version that the men were drinking heavily from their duty free purchases.

"We don't blame the authorities. They were doing their job. We blame Etihad."

This is going to be fun. I would think if you are going to get arrested for taking Temazapam and the like, perhaps the airlines should provide you with a long list of substances you do not want in your system if you get checked in the UAE. Substances that you can freely avail legally from your point of departure. Makes them look silly really.....

Good morning Sheikh Ahmed!
Can I have champagne please? And make it chilled...OK?
Time has come to pay for the airline running your philandering ring!
We told you but you did not want to listen, I would be interested to know the nationalities of the crew involved, I bet they were Morrocan!

Not taking sides as we will never know all of the facts, but regardless, from a PR point of view for Etihad who is just trying to establish their Australian niche...this is gonna hurt! :ouch:

Before this thread gets binned like the last one.
 

Moderator, this case is extremely pertinent to many people living in the Middle East and maybe even more so to those travelling on a Middle Eastern Carrier through the region. The question is can a person drink on these flights without a liquor permit, or do they run the risk of getting arrested.


Secondly are passengers allowed to take drugs containing codeine and the like before boarding a Middle Eastern airline transiting through the region when these drugs are legal drugs in their home country or will they be locked up as criminals for doing this. Additionally do passengers have to be warned that they may be drug tested when transitting through the UAE. Is it any of the UAE's business that you may have taken an illicit drug in a different country before passing through the UAE as a transit passenger?


Putting aside the issue of who they touched and how they acted, which differs depending on who's story you hear the above two points are the ones that would worry most people.

It is called sodomy without vaseline!:E

To tell you the truth, I do not see the reason why the previous post was closed, albeit for the sensitve ears of the man with the sick liver et all... little wussies who are pretending that EY is this wonderful middle east airline with a unique service offering.

The truth of the matter is that, as this particular case shows, Etihad has brought upon itself, Emirates, the UAE and to a larger extent other Middle east airlines, unecessary attention because of the way it is mismanaged.

Whatever was done and whoever did it, this passenger handling incident is the Pandora's box opening to show what is really inside Etihad.

The ability these young ladies have to run rings around their incompetent crew management and the local authorities, when they actually are the biggest puttanas the Gulf has known goes a long way to show the lack of maturity that this airline requires to make itself a niche with the big boys, and it will remain in the eyes of all the little boy's airline.

So Mr. Aqeel's investment is finally showing as low value, and befitting of his little mind, and oversized ego, not to mention pimping. Special adviser to the Sheikh....My @rse!

If Ey is to save its face, it needs to act fast and now, and rid itself of the legacy from its northern competitor.

These guys were drunken fools. They deserved what they got. If they hadn't acted like idiots none of this would have happened. The only difference is they could afford high priced lawyers. Thousands of people a day travel to and from the UAE with no problem. So, no this is not a thread about the risks of drinking on a flight to the UAE, it is about acting like a fu@#$ng idiot.

So Togalk, please enlighten me as to how this is not about being arrested for drinking without a license and taking illicit drugs (that were legal in the country they were taken and legal in the rest of the world for that matter) when that is exactly what they were charged and in some cases found guilty of.
In this case they may or may not have acted like idiots. My point is, do other passengers have to worry about flying through the UAE due to this case. You should know that their will be people specifically booking Qantas or Cathay right now specifically to fly to Europe without landing in a Muslim country due to this case.
My worry is that someone pisses off the wrong person on an Etihad flight, and they are dragged off to prison for drinking alcohol that was given to them by the airline, due to not having a license.

Also my understanding of the UAE laws were that a person serving alcohol to a person without a permit was open to prosecution, so does that mean that any cabin crew that served the warm champagne to the men involved should also be charged?

The Foreign or the Foreign Affairs Office
 

AirNoServicesAustralia,:rolleyes:

In these cases the best way to obtain legal advice is to contact your own foreign office for travel advice rather than the moderator, at least that way you get legal protection if you do get arrested for taken a drink during a trip via the GULF region, or codeine for that matter. This way the passengers or travellers will save themseves eating camel meat and experience the Beni Yass jail hospitalty. :cool:

Just a thought, I wonder if the flight crew filed an ASR following the incident on board the flight? It might be a good idea to invite either the flight crew and/or the cabin crew to put their version forward.

For those flying from Australia you can get info on what not to take from the following website:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/:ok:

Safe and happy flying to all

Therefore the next logical question is:

Does Etihad have a booze lisence to serve alcohol then?

Well Said
 

:D
"The ability these young ladies have to run rings around their incompetent crew management and the local authorities, when they actually are the biggest puttanas the Gulf has known goes a long way to show the lack of maturity that this airline requires to make itself a niche with the big boys, and it will remain in the eyes of all the little boy's airline".

"So Mr. Aqeel's investment is finally showing as low value, and befitting of his little mind, and oversized ego, not to mention pimping. Special adviser to the Sheikh....My @rse!"

Well said Mustapha Rex :ok::ok::D:D:D:D

Sinbad I am a resident of the UAE and also in my profession I have to watch what I take drug wise, and I have a liquor license. I think this thread is of more benefit to people looking to travel through the Gulf, and what needs to be discussed here is not what happened or did not happen on the flight behaviour wise, as if they behaved badly then charge them with that but why cloud that with arresting Australian citizens for drinking alcohol provided by the airline over international waters.

Also it seems some have an axe to grind against Etihad, eg. talking about Moroccans etc. That isn't the issue here, and just makes it more likely that this thread, which I think is relevant, could be binned by the moderator like last time.

People will get drunk on flights or before flights. Now loutish, dangerous drunken behaviour will of course not be tolerated, but will being quietly intoxicated without causing anyone else trouble get you arrested on arrival into Abu Dhabi, even when you are just transitting through to Europe? If so passengers need to be specifically warned of the fact when booking a ticket with Etihad, along with what drugs they must not take "X" number of days before flying. Maybe they should put a breathaliser on the drinks trolley and when you blow over the limit they will have to give you a warm glass of milk instead.:E

Again just my unqualified understanding of UAE law, but doesn't it say that as a tourist you may drink at the hotel at which you are staying without a liquor license, which makes me think that if you are travelling with Etihad, wouldn't they by proxy be your "hotel" and as such you can drink at their establishment, ie the drink trolley parked at seat 3B.

More taxes perhaps....?
 

Might sound like a far fetched concept, but I wouldn't be surprised if after the fallout from this it forms part of the ticketing process, perhaps Etihad or the respective airline will have to pay the UAE authorities a fee which may or may not be passed on to the passenger that purchases non-Muslim passengers a liquor license. :hmm:

Goodness me, does this sound like another money making exercise by the local authorities to rip expats of even more....well yes, maybe I shouldn't have suggested it! :{

A Gulf News archive item regarding liquor permits....
 

Non-muslims can apply for a licence to purchase and consume liquor.



Legal permit to buy spirits
Staff Report



The UAE, as a Muslim country, implements Sharia law which prohibits the purchase and consumption of alcohol.

However, the UAE authorities are aware that drinking alcohol is popular among non-Muslims, so for that reason the UAE sets rules for purchasing and drinking alcohol.

In hotels in all emirates except Sharjah - where the sale, consumption or possession of alcohol is prohibited - alcohol is offered to customers. Some embassies also offer alcohol for sale to their nationals.

Similarly, in all emirates except Sharjah, alcohol can be purchased from licensed retailers by non-Muslims who obtain a "liquor permit" from the emirate that issued the residence visa.

Liquor permits are issued by the police departments in all emirates to non-Muslims ages 21 and over who fulfil the minimum salary requirements.

The permit or licence, valid for a year, allows the holder to buy a certain amount of alcohol per month. Purchases from retailers that do not have official approval are illegal.

Only the husband in a married couple can apply for a licence, but his wife can use the licence if her details are included in the application form.

In Dubai, licences can be applied for at police headquarters or any branch of retailers MMI or A&E, which sell alcohol.

Bring along the completed application form - forms can be obtained from MMI or A&E branches - along with the Dh150 fee and the documents indicated in the table.

If a husband wants his wife to be able to use the licence, a passport-size photograph of her must also be included.

After about 10 days, subject to approval, the licence will be issued. The amount of alcohol it permits the holder to buy will be determined by Dubai Police according to factors such as salary level, age and family size.

If the residence visa expires before the licence does, the licence must be renewed by submitting it along with another completed application form and a photocopy of the new residence visa.

At most alcohol retailers in Dubai, a [/B]municipality tax[/B] is levied on each sale. {Fox3's footnote...on top of the cost of the permit and the other associated taxes!}


Requirements
Individuals, free zone employees, semi-government employees, self employed individuals, Green Book holders and Smart Card holders will need:

Passport copy
Residence visa copy
Tenancy contract copy (or NOC letter from leaseholder)
Labour contract copy (only required from Smart Card holders who have changed sponsorship)
Trade licence copy
One recent passport size photograph
Free zone authority stamp on application form
Salary Certificate

Key points to keep in mind

Punishments
Non-Muslims who possess a valid liquor permit can transport alcohol from one emirate to another emirate but the quantity should be for personal use only.

If caught transporting a large quantity, the alcohol and vehicle will be seized and the person or persons will face punishment as per law.

Consuming alcohol is not allowed in unlicensed public places. Drunkenness in public is also an offence.

Those caught drunk or drinking in public may be punished as per Sharia law which implements lashes, but the judge can replace lashing with other punishments such as a jail term, fine or deportation.

There is a zero tolerance policy towards drinking and driving.

Muslims
A strict regulation to remember is that Muslims are not allowed to buy or consume alcohol in the UAE, and people are banned from offering or selling alcohol to Muslims.


That means that all the rules that describe the processes allowing people to purchase and consume alcohol apply only to non-Muslims.

It is important that non-Muslims are considerate and ensure that their decision to buy or consume alcohol legally does not cause offence to Muslims.

Unruled Passenger, is all it is about!!!
AirNoServicesAustralia, I doubt that the behave of this guys were civilized, so if you act like this, you could face the authorities and the law the in any place you are arriving, even if you are in transit. If you are discussing the law in UAE is a different subject, but as an unrulled passenger you can face charges in many countries all around the world. Get drunk onboard is not like get drunk in your preferred pub. And now they are blaming the Airline... what they want is money now!!!
BTW how camel taste???:}

Then Standalone charge them for their 'unruly' (I think that is the word you are looking for) behaviour, and don't cloud the issue and create a huge amount of bad publicity by charging them with drinking alcohol without a permit, or charging them with illicit drug taking. The rest of the world would charge you just as the UAE have done for the the behavioural issues but certainly not for drinking and taking of a sedative, and that is the issue here, and the worry for other non-muslims contemplating travelling with Etihad to Europe.

And by the way all the disfunctional features were clearly communicated to the management prior to finalising the A-340 orders, but of course as one would have it they turned a deaf ear to it all.

Who pays now? The passenger, the crew? It goes to show that management responsibility goes beyond employing people, buying airplanes or paying a salary. But say that to an Arab.....!

Taken from the DFAT (Aussie Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) Website.
 

Drinking or possession of alcohol without a United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior liquor permit is illegal and could result in arrest and imprisonment. Alcohol is served at bars in most major hotels (although not in the Emirate of Sharjah) but is intended only for guests of the hotel. Travellers who are not guests of the hotel, and who consume alcohol in the restaurants and bars, are required to have their own personal liquor licences.


So as I said as a guest of a hotel, you may drink at that establishment without a liquor license, so again it begs the question weren't these guys guests of Etihad and as such were allowed to drink with them?

Rex is a Dog's name isnt it? You don't scarme by barking loud.
And I do my opnion where ever I want.

And Im not looking for any particular world, But did you have any unruled passenger onboard in your flights, that can make you even divert.
I had this experience more than once, and I'll never be simpathic with this kind of people that go fly and think they can do anything up there.

For me this is a pilot of view or go discuss on the AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL forum.

Hotel drinking
 

Dear AirNoServicesAustralia,

G' Day, I also used to live in the UAE and believe me I am in total agreement with you. As far as the Moroccan girls goes I like them very much. I have flown with them many times and find them to be very pleasant and polite (Mustafa Rex may have another opinion but that's another matter). Every person is entitled to his own opinion. In fact most of the cabin crew at EY are really nice but unfortunately the lack of training and experience shows. Also with your point about arresting people for drinking alcohol on board a flight over international waters, I was referring to your comment to the moderator asking him for advice. I was merely responding that there is better advice available than from the moderator. However, the point you made is quite correct and I couldn't agree with you more. If an airline serves alcohol then they have no right to then arrest people for drinking it.

As for the law in the UAE with regards to people drinking in the hotels, yes you are absolutely correct. You can drink as much as you like but don't get caught on the road drunk, and this is hypocrisy in the law is what really kills me. Believe me I was earning a substantial amount of money but eventually I came to the decision where money verses life style and then I left the region. By the way, alcohol was not the reason for my leaving the UAE.

A lot of people think this is a tax free haven - think again and look around how much you are paying in various fees, the way they increase rent on a whim, etc. The place is rip off. They also treat many in a very inhumane way.
With regards to the Aussi guys, I think EY shot themselves in the foot. I agree bad behaviour is ugly but I think EY needs to revise its procedure and introduce new training in how to handle such matters. I think the airline has tremendous potential with almost a brand new fleet, very good flight crew and still learning cabin crew but let's not forget they are still a very young airline.
Safe and happy flying to all:ok:

Sindbad,
Sorry to hear that you left, we are still suffering the consequences of poor management and no matter what airplanes this airline gets, it is not managed properly it will never make it.
And you are right about the tax free haven, it ain't, and it's more like sticky tapes for flies, once you are here it's plain hard to leave with children in school etc....
Standalone, don't worry I wasn't talking about you.:E

Thread creep
Anyone who knows me would know that I am partial to a drink or 12 but I think the days of booze on jets is long gone. I have flown Royal Brunei Airlines from BNE to DXB and back a couple of times, no shakes no pink elephants and my kids & I had a pleasant flight. :ok:

Funky I can see your point but I love a glass of wine with my meal, and maybe a shot of something a little stronger with my movie. I would hope that people would be able to have those things without breaking the law, and leaving themselves open to arrest on arrival in the UAE. Whether the authorities would only arrest you if you have been behaving badly as well is beside the point.
The point is as per the precedent set by this case, if I drink on an Etihad flight without a liquor permit I am breaking the law and could be locked up in prison on arrival in Abu Dhabi. That is enough to scare off most people from the West from flying Etihad again.

Standalone, your wish is my command, consider yourself ignored.

Sorry Sandblasted, just confirm by saying that drinking is tolerated by the police, that what you are really saying is that yes, unless you have a liquor license then you are breaking the law by drinking on an Etihad flight, even if you stop drinking before entering UAE territory. If so this needs to be shouted from the loudest roof top in Oz and every other country in the world where drinking alcohol is a choice every adult can make, not something you have to apply to a government to be allowed to do. People need to be warned that by accepting the in flight hospitality on offer they are leaving themselves open to conviction on arrival in Abu Dhabi.

We have established already over and over again that these guys probably were way out of line and for that should have been charged. The issue here is why were they charged with drinking alcohol and using prescription sleeping pills when they were served the alcohol by the airline and they legally purchased and used the pills as per the laws of the country they were bought in.

And sorry could you confirm that you would be drug tested in the same situation in Singapore and you would be locked up for longer than 6 weeks for a positive trace of a prescription sleeping pill taken legally. I don't think so!

Thank you
 

Mustapha Rex,

Thank you but believe me I am not sorry one little bit, I could not stand the place any more. I do feel very sympathetic for those who have family commitments in the UAE and do not have much room to manoeuvre. God Bless and not Dog bless...

Once again you are very correct, the downfall of every company or an Airline is poor management.:ok:

Simbad,
I wasn't disagreeing with the discussion, was just given my opinion about some unruled behavior, but some people get annoyed so easily, never mind.

Have safe flights you too

The problem here, as rightly pointed on most posts, is the immaturity of the crew, the lack of responsible individuals to act on behalf of EY at every stage of the process.

Whether pilots fill reports or not, whoever is on the receiving end of the R/T requesting for police assistance should inform the corporate authority of such cases and in any respectable airline they decide on behalf of the organisation what action to take.

This incident shows again how poorly managed EY is, by letting abu dhabi only too happy police force take action against these passengers, they have allowed another entity to manage their image and PR, a nono in Marketing.

EY will not be hearing the end of this and might as well close their route to SYD, the flack is coming and it is going to be hard and thick.

Why oh why do you guys have a problem accepting the fact that these guys were drunk and diorderly onboard the aircraft?

The fact that some so called professional pilots can even consider defending these drunken wa@@@rs amazes me!...

Mustapha continues in his usual EY bashing mode....pathetic
:ugh:

Firblogs, and I hope that this handle is not referring to your personal hairy undercarriage, you are missing the point.

I am not excusing the behaviour of the passengers, not at all.

What I am trying to address is the lack of maturity of the crew, their poor training and the consequences thereof.

Now if you can't read this, I think you have a problem.

Ciao!

If they were unruly, then charge them as such. Why bring the intoxication side into it at all? Serving alcohol on a flight and then charging someone for consuming it smacks of the hypocrisy rife in the region. If you wanna play ball on the international court, you better be trained and ready to deal with a few players who play by international rules. If they break the rules, then get them for their misdemeanours, not for what you served them.

Singapore.
 

If you are on prescription drugs and can show the prescription, (usually repeated by the pharmacist on the packet/bottle etc. with the prescribing doctors name and registered number), then you will have no problems in Singapore, only if you are carrying a commercial quantity of prescription drugs without a prescription would you expect trouble.

Set Rules
 

:cool:
I think we all agree if anybody is going to compete in the Olympics you need to be an Olympic standard, likewise if an airline like EY wants to maintain an international standard with an image of excellence they need to have an international and very good standard of management team. The point of confusion here is the misunderstanding by some towards others when they become critical of the management. The way I read it is this - Nobody defended any wan....:mad:..kers here and I think the majority are in agreement with regards to the alleged misbehaviour and the drunk act which those guys may have displayed in the Diamond cabin. As someone has rightly pointed out, if you see someone had one drink too many then you do not keep providing him or her with more drink, and as someone has also rightly pointed out this shows lack of experience, maturity and poor management and, if I may add, poor training as well.
The discussion was mainly focused not on defending those Aussi guys but around the handling procedures of the incident which arose from no or lack of correct approach/training which springs back to the root cause which is the airline management. Additionally when the pilot had called for the police he may have followed what had been laid down before him by the airline or acted upon advice he may have been given over the R/T.
Finally I think, like some of the guys rightly pointed out, EY needs to revise or introduce a correct procedure of handling such matter with careful consideration to their future reputation not being harmed by involving those Abu dh...abi pol..ice pack of idiots whose education level don't exceed beyond primary school education.
The final word is the discussion on this forum has already moved from those 3 guys to the airline's handling of this incident. It would be nice NOT to view criticism of the management as criticising the whole of the EY staff or as EY bashing.
This alcohol serving business is quite a serious matter. I remember one American guy had a dispute with one of the police at Abu Dhabi airport. The officer smelled alcohol on his breath and as a consequence they locked him up for 2 days. Turning a blind eye to the problem doesn't solve the problem. A lot of westerners in the UAE are actually tourists. Where will it stop? I think EY and the Abu Dhabi government (and EK too for that matter) need to make clear rules and regulations as to exactly what is and is not allowed for muslims and non muslims (ie with regards to both the serving and/or consumption of alcohol on board flights into the UAE). They must also curb their hypocrisy and not serve alcohol in their hotels and then arrest people who have been drinking when they come out.

Safe and happy flying to all:ok:

Firbolgs (what sort of name is that by the way??), if you actually read all the posts properly you would see noone has defended these plonkers. Ok they were arrogant, ok they were drunk, ok they acted badly. I think we all agree that the book should be thrown at them for those crimes. BUT!!!! How can an airline serve alcohol and then have the police charge those same people for consuming that alcohol. How can you charge a person with taking a drug that they legally purchased and used at their point of departure.

These are the questions that I have asked, and not once did I defend these guys.

As far as sandblasted goes, other than rumours here and there there has been no official report that these guys had anything other than prescription sedatives in their possession and the same in their system. The whole cocaine and hashish positive tests report was blown out of the water quick smart. And think about it Sandblasted, if they were carrying anything more on them, do you really think they would be out of the country now. No they would be serving 4 years in jail like that poor guy who bought in .0001 grams of Hash amongst his pocket lint he had forgotten about, whilst those Emirati animals who gang raped the hostie get 12 months, and that Egyptian monster who murdered his wife with a rubber pipe gets 18 months. Now that is hypocricy guys!

Off for a licensed beer!:ok:

Just make sure you take your (liquor) license with you.:E

I never thought I'd agree with him, but ANUS Australia's LAST post was right!
For those that missed it, my post on the other thread that was closed (for no GOOD reason 4 HP!) stated the FACTS as given to me by a crew member on the said flight.
I agree that trying to prosecute these guys for drinking without a liquor permit was sheer stupidity, and they should have been done for the multitude of other offences comitted (no least waving ones knob in an FA's face - sorry to be crude!).
But I'll tell you what p1sses me off more than anything about this case, is the fact that these w*****s know full well what they did was bang out of order and that they are currently the luckiest gits on the planet (basically because likely a little 'Jingley' cocked up the urine samples and the hot shot lawyers got them out on a technicality), yet still they are allowing their low life scum of a lawyer to spout and spin this story to the Aussie gutter press and now they have the audacity to try and sue the airline.....
Lay low you bunch of thicko's, shut your traps and thank your lucky stars!
If you can't do that, I urge you, in fact I'll pay for it myself for you guys to go and fly on American carrier and behave the same way in US airspace....I promise you you'll not see the light of day for years!
As an aside, Mr Australia (as you keep going on about it), don't you think its strange how EK alone transports around 20 million people a year through the UAE, the vast majority of which would have had a drink on board (only 18% of EK's pax are Arab), yet this is the first time this subject has raised its ugly head?
Basically, don't worry yourself about the liquor permit issue. If you behave, don't swear at, threaten or wave your wedding tackle at the crew, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about and neither does anyone else.
Remember, its illegal to be drunk in an aircraft under international law, regardless of country and origin of the carrier, and you can be arrested and prosecuted as such!

Who charged them with consuming alcohol without a license? The police or EY?

Disurptive passengers are issued warnings with the final warning being met at the aircraft by the police and then handled by the police.

Once it is in the hands of the police we all can see to what extreme it can go to.

EY has as much control over the AUH police as BA has over the UK police.

Just speaks of the quality management this company has, all focused on being the best without allocating the ressources to meet their objectives.

I was at the airport when this happened, it was appalling and a poor reflection on Etihad, regardless of what the passengers did.

When you have unqualified people who are placed there on the basis of their wasta, you will get nothing more than this abysmal service.

Etihad needs to think forward, the influx of new crew from GF is going to solve the numbers issue but not the quality of the service which on the contrary will suffer.

As long as crew are managed by operations this problem will remain and unlike EK or QR, EY will never be able to dominate the business in any shape or form until it understands this principle clearly.

Hail to Mr. Clark!

Oblaspop agreed all the way, must add though that if your name has any Arab cognitive syllables you probably run the risk of paying a prolonged visit to Guantanamo in the carribean under the hospices of the patriot act.
However EY needs to review the maturity of its service approach, this is the element that differentiates EY from EK, and although EK carry as many passengers, crew are trained to proactively avoid such situations and not allow them to forment.
My experience is that some of the crew have an ambivalent position in regards to alcohol service on board and this can generate quite a stir in premium cabins. (Is this a GF heritage)

This is reflected in the warm champagne served to these passengers and this is wholly unacceptable as a standard.

Oblaaspop, farely true statements but you don't have to flash the tackle to get the attention of the police on arrival. Lets say you have a few beers, get to imigration and get hassled about your visa, you are tired and get a bit theatrical.."is that alcohol I smell sir? come with me..." Or you collect your bags and your "Fragile" package is crushed and the other bags missing,you start complaining and off you go for an alcohol test, two days in the slammer. It doesn't take much, residents here know that, I don't drink and drive, it is to easy to be sitting at the lights and have some idiot hit you from behind. What will the police do when they smell the one beer on your breath.... in the slammer. We know this and adjust accordingly, its a fact of desert life, but the ice cream licking public arriving on vacation don't.

It is hypocricy as ANUS OZ says, but I guess I would rather live with hypocricy and be able to have a beer here than not at all. Unfortunately it is the punters that will get in a jam. Perhaps some industries and cultures will never make a perfect match.