Qantas Frequent Flyer - I got cut off by QF

I got told no more booze for me on QF1 after 7 vodkas! Got told all about responsible serving of alcohol etc, I was quite stunned but took it in good grace, what else could I do?

I've worked in and around nightclubs for nearly 30 years and it's the first time I've been told no more.

Do you think they've passed it on to the crew for the onward to LHR?

Perhaps I was squiffier than I thought, just had four days on The Gold Coast drinking mostly mid-strength booze (thanks Anna!)

Spike

In what class were you travelling?

It might have had less to do with your state and more to do with your diminishing profit margin.

The problem was the vodka. Look like Boonie and stick with the beers :p

Perhaps they had run out of vodka?

The problem was the vodka. Look like Boonie and stick with the beers :pFor those who do not know David Boon (Aussie cricketer) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Boon) holds a record with QF. From wikipedia:-

Boon achieved much fame and notoriety for consuming 52 cans of beer on a flight from Sydney to London before the victorious 1989 Ashes tour that saw Australia regain the trophy after five years of English dominance; the previous record had been held by Rod Marsh, who it is believed consumed 45 drinks (before Boon, the Australian drinking record included a standard spirit and mixer, although there is conjecture as to whether Marsh actually finished can #45, and some believe his attempt only equalled the record of 44 cans set by Doug Walters. Another passionate report of said record claims Boon finished 54 drinks totalling around 19.5 litres of beverages @ 5% alcohol (per 375ml serve), the majority of which consumed at such an altitude that the effects of the alcohol were doubled [9]. Boon is often jokingly referred to as the "Keg on Legs" [10] not only because of his legendary drinking exploits, but also for his "fireplug" build and stature, and dogged, iconoclastic batting displays..

I got told no more booze for me on QF1 after 7 vodkas!

Did you have 7 in the first 30 min of the flight?

interesting.:confused:
Don't think the FA last time I flew J was briefed on this - it really showed when i stepped of the aircraft... :rolleyes:

Sounds like cost cutting to me.

2 friends of mine were on 108 and on the LAX JFK leg were told due to RSA they couldn’t have any more. For gods sake, they only had two miniatures of wine. They were flying Y but even so………

No one can get tanked on those skimpty bottles.

Have you checked the price of those miniatures in the US lately? The crew need to keep the stock for their hotel stays :) Particularly on the LAX-JFK leg as that doesn't have customs bond so no problem removing the bottles from the airplane at JFK :)

interesting.:confused:
Don't think the FA last time I flew J was briefed on this - it really showed when i stepped of the aircraft... :rolleyes:

Same! I don't think any of the FAs on any airline that's ever served me bothered about RSAs. Not that I'm complaining. :D

A worrying development if true. :(

Same! I don't think any of the FAs on any airline that's ever served me bothered about RSAs. Not that I'm complaining. :D

A worrying development if true. :(

Me Three. I've often had FA's in J on MEL-SYD say "well you really should finish this bottle of red sir, we don't like to land with an open bottle!" when there were only 3-4 PAX on a 763 service.

Maybe you struck some bad FA's, or perhaps up front they want people to drink themselves to sleep (on longer sectors) to avoid work:)

Have you checked the price of those miniatures in the US lately? The crew need to keep the stock for their hotel stays :) Particularly on the LAX-JFK leg as that doesn't have customs bond so no problem removing the bottles from the airplane at JFK :)

They don't get off in JFK they do the full round trip back to LAX. Considering a flight attendant was disciplined for taking a chocolate a couple of years ago (crew were searched on arrival HKG) I doubt they would be risking it with booze any more.

I know someone who was cut off on QF years ago....they have avoided them since.

A mate of mine was on the way to beating Boone's record when he was cut off over Darwin on the return trip.

Sounds like a cabin crew member that was properly doing their job. They are not supposed to serve alcohol to intoxicated passengers and 7 vodkas ( unless over a long time ) would be v likely to leave the person inebriated

Dave

Sounds like a cabin crew member that was properly doing their job. They are not supposed to serve alcohol to intoxicated passengers and 7 vodkas ( unless over a long time ) would be v likely to leave the person inebriated

Dave

And where is it in the RSA to say 'we think you've had too many even though you are acting orderly, not causing a fuss or disruption and are being generaly cordial'.

If the OP was quite clearly with faculties, QF had no real reason to cut them off. If they were obviously inebriated then yes.

RSA is a tricky line, but if it's 100% clear the person requesting the alcohol is not exhibiting any of the normal signs of intoxication, there's no reason to cut them off 'just because we think 7 is excessive'.

7 over 3 hours is not really all that much either (I know the OP makes no mention to time, but on a long haul 7+ is nothing).

As I do not know the real situation, I can't comment, but just because the QF crew thought 7 was too many is not a valid reason.

7 over 3 hours is not really all that much either (I know the OP makes no mention to time, but on a long haul 7+ is nothing).

As I do not know the real situation, I can't comment, but just because the QF crew thought 7 was too many is not a valid reason.
From the OP: "...Perhaps I was squiffier than I thought..."

Of course I'm sure I am completely civil, quiet, in control and nice when I've had a few :D

From the OP: "...Perhaps I was squiffier than I thought..."

Of course I'm sure I am completely civil, quiet, in control and nice when I've had a few :D

I'm sure most of us are ;)

And where is it in the RSA to say 'we think you've had too many even though you are acting orderly, not causing a fuss or disruption and are being generaly cordial'..

iirc, there are regulations which make it an offence to be intoxicated on a flight rather just a responsible serving

Dave

iirc, there are regulations which make it an offence to be intoxicated on a flight rather just a responsible serving

Dave

And who is it to decide you are intoxicated? I'm a 6'4" big guy. I can drink far more than a 5'2" skinny guy (most likely). Where is it for QF to say 'sorry sir, you're drunk?' when they have no way of doing so other than observation (which I may exhibit no outward signs of intoxication)?

My point is, If they have no way of telling you're drunk other than looking at you, it's a rather rude move on the FA's behalf cutting you off (and yes I know they have every right to, but it's still not really good customer service).

If they cut me off when I had full control of my faculties, was not loud or raucous, and was keeping to myself, I know I would be pretty upset too (especially if I knew I was not intoxicated)

Sheesh, glad that FA wasn't on my J flight SYD-PER last year - the flight was 4hr15min (we had a tailwind), so about 3hr45min of cabin service, I had a double Wild Turkey and Dry, six glasses of chardonnay with dinner, four glasses of port with dessert (a cheeseboard) followed by three beers (this was after 12 beers in the QP beforehand) - and not a blink when I asked for more drinks.

Dave

Sheesh, glad that FA wasn't on my J flight SYD-PER last year - the flight was 4hr15min (we had a tailwind), so about 3hr45min of cabin service, I had a double Wild Turkey and Dry, six glasses of chardonnay with dinner, four glasses of port with dessert (a cheeseboard) followed by three beers (this was after 12 beers in the QP beforehand) - and not a blink when I asked for more drinks.


I did some big time BMI redemptions on some SQ F flights in Dec last year; the GFC was in full swing and consequently I had the F cabin to myself on a few flights. Needless to say the Krug supply was exhausted quite frequently and I walked through CIQ smashed more than once...:o Was careful not to appear intoxicated of course (or at least was sober enough to not get into trouble) - praise be to mints and face mists.

The lot of you are light weights.

Last time I had a bit night out with friends, over the course of 6 hours I had 7 double Jack Daniels, 3 beers and 2 jager.

19 drinks in 6 hours and I was walking around completely fine. Was drunk thou but not unruly smashed.

However I am 6.4 and 100kg.

The lot of you are light weights.

Last time I had a bit night out with friends, over the course of 6 hours I had 7 double Jack Daniels, 3 beers and 2 jager.

19 drinks in 6 hours and I was walking around completely fine. Was drunk thou but not unruly smashed.

However I am 6.4 and 100kg.

Sorry I will win there. I'm 6'4" and a little bigger :P Half a bottle of vodka or more and i'm still quite with it, just a little chatty. I've often been known to polish off a few bottles of wine to myself in company (that's around 16-17 standard drinks straight up) plus some 'night caps' in the space of 5 hours or so.

That said, i'm half dutch. I have the drinking bloody in me ;)

You can have my share. I don't drink.

Drunks will always deny.

Reason #8173 to become a cheap drunk ;)

That said, i'm half dutch. I have the drinking bloody in me ;)

My surname is dutch and I am of Dutch decent my self.

In what class were you travelling?

It might have had less to do with your state and more to do with your diminishing profit margin.

I was in F.

Did you have 7 in the first 30 min of the flight?
No, but two were before take off


RSA is a tricky line, but if it's 100% clear the person requesting the alcohol is not exhibiting any of the normal signs of intoxication, there's no reason to cut them off 'just because we think 7 is excessive'.

7 over 3 hours is not really all that much either (I know the OP makes no mention to time, but on a long haul 7+ is nothing).

As I do not know the real situation, I can't comment, but just because the QF crew thought 7 was too many is not a valid reason.

You're about right with the timing, it was about 3.5 hours in.

I was most certainly in no way abusive, rude or even unsteady on my feet. I only got up for a piss twice and only got drinks during what I considered during normal service, no pressing of the call bell or going to the galley.

Crew BKK-LHR were brilliant and more than happy to keep 'em coming, although I called it a day after 8 :D

Spike

Haven't we all done the dreaded Friday afternoon MEL-SYD leg and had to hear every crude joke, swearword and pathetic tale of a bunch of loud city lads who were already drunk in the QP, and keep kicking into the back of your seat and wished the FA would refuse them service? IMHO these are the people who should be screened for RSA, as opposed to happy drinkers who can handle it.

Haven't we all done the dreaded Friday afternoon MEL-SYD leg and had to hear every crude joke, swearword and pathetic tale of a bunch of loud city lads who were already drunk in the QP, and keep kicking into the back of your seat and wished the FA would refuse them service? IMHO these are the people who should be screened for RSA, as opposed to happy drinkers who can handle it.

It wasn't a MEL-SYD but I once had to endure 3 hours of seat kicking and a very loud conversation in which almost every other word was a swear-word. Those guys weren't even drinking much from what I could gather.

I consider myself to have a fairly high tolerance of swear-words but it was a bit much to hear F and S words so often at the same time as having my seat kicked while I had my seat upright (in business class to make the matter even more galling).

I'd sooner have a pleasant and quiet or somewhat jovial drunk near me any time than the likes of those people.

My surname is dutch and I am of Dutch decent my self.

Join the club ;)

My surname is dutch and I am of Dutch decent my self.

Mrs og started off Dutch and is now 100% Oz. I suppose that means I'm an "associate" in the club. Hic.

I was born in South Africa. My Dutch heritage came from the 1820 settlers, nearly 200 years ago.

Got a bit of German, British, French (apparently) all thrown in there. Real mongrel.

I too have been cutoff on a SIN - SYD flight a year back. I'd had 5 JDs and was watching a movie. To make it worse they roped the guy beside me into the RSA and he had only had 3 VBs. When I asked why, the FA said he had already served me 6 and the others had served me some as well. I decided since he was blatantly lying I would take it up with the Purser. I had the Purser confront him on the reason why and exactly how
many he had served me. He admitted he had only served me once and the other FA had served me the other times and he didn't know how many I had overall. The outcome was they continued to serve me but I only wanted 1 more before getting some sleep.

It really annoyed me he would lie like that and haven't flown QF since. I was in J. I'm guessing he decided to stop me in case I kept them
awake the whole trip to SYD

It wasn't a MEL-SYD but I once had to endure 3 hours of seat kicking and a very loud conversation in which almost every other word was a swear-word. Those guys weren't even drinking much from what I could gather.

I consider myself to have a fairly high tolerance of swear-words but it was a bit much to hear F and S words so often...

Try 10hrs+ of the same between SYD and LAX from the Chairman and CEO of one of Australia's most prominent companies which I and 10 others endured once. Eventually after numerous complaints from around the cabin the captain came down in the middle of the night and had a word, which did little to alter matters. The crew continued to serve them until they eventually passed out only about 4hrs from LAX. This was before James was a director of QAN.

Haven't we all done the dreaded Friday afternoon MEL-SYD leg and had to hear every crude joke, swearword and pathetic tale of a bunch of loud city lads who were already drunk in the QP, and keep kicking into the back of your seat and wished the FA would refuse them service? IMHO these are the people who should be screened for RSA, as opposed to happy drinkers who can handle it.

In my experience that behaviour is rather unusual, at least at the front of economy.

I was born in South Africa. My Dutch heritage came from the 1820 settlers, nearly 200 years ago.

Got a bit of German, British, French (apparently) all thrown in there. Real mongrel.

half dutch is about as pure as I get. My father was born in the Netherlands. My Mother is Australian, but all her side of the family is from the UK and Scotland.

I haven't done the math, but i'm more Dutch than anything. I blame that for my ability to imbibe large amounts of alcohol:)

On a trip last year from LAX - SYD on UA, dealt with a rather unpleasant young lady and her friends who chose to booze it up then offer randoms the pleasure of joining the mile high club.. I was in J, they in the first few rows of Y.

FA's ended up cutting them off but the damage was already done.

Interestingly, it seemed that the UA staff were more willing to serve despite the additional "security" measures - seems that this only goes so far as preventing liquids coming on to the plane, not going off :D

Qantas has banned spirits and full-strength beer on all its flights within WA because of the drunken behaviour of resource industry workers.

The airline withdrew spirits from its flights across the country, except in WA and Mt Isa, last year because of slow demand and added more premium beer selections.

However, after repeated problems with drunken passengers and with the support of the airline's key resource company accounts, Qantas decided to act, effective this week.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/6405923/qantas-goes-low-octane-on-wa-flights/

Sounds like cost cutting to me.A worrying development if true. :(I don't think this is anything new. In December 2003, a friend was denied service on a SYD-HKG by a QF FA who expressly cited RSA.

Qantas has banned spirits and full-strength beer on all its flights within WA because of the drunken behaviour of resource industry workers.

The airline withdrew spirits from its flights across the country, except in WA and Mt Isa, last year because of slow demand and added more premium beer selections.

However, after repeated problems with drunken passengers and with the support of the airline's key resource company accounts, Qantas decided to act, effective this week.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/6405923/qantas-goes-low-octane-on-wa-flights/

However, they are still serving wine. Wine always has a civilising effect, despite having higher alcohol content than almost any beer.

However, they are still serving wine. Wine always has a civilising effect, despite having higher alcohol content than almost any beer.

We of the civilised class do not guzzle wine as those beer drinkers do beer.

I know this is going to sounds quite unorthodox, but am I the only one who does not really enjoy drinking on an airplane? Except for a pre-take off Champagne, maybe one or two cocktail-like drinks depending on airline, matching wines with the meal and a Port or Baileys after the meal, I don't really drink much more for the rest of the flight?

I know this is going to sounds quite unorthodox, but am I the only one who does not really enjoy drinking on an airplane? Except for a pre-take off Champagne, maybe one or two cocktail-like drinks depending on airline, matching wines with the meal and a Port or Baileys after the meal, I don't really drink much more for the rest of the flight?
I am with you. More than a copy of drinks on a flight I am out and wake up extremely dehydrated.

.... a pre-take off Champagne, maybe one or two cocktail-like drinks depending on airline, matching wines with the meal and a Port or Baileys after the meal, I don't really drink much more for the rest of the flight?
So that's 7 drinks and probably one or two in the Flounge beforehand. This is still a reasonable hit and that also is enough to make me very dehydrated. But then again, a cabin crew that regularly tops up your water glass throughout the flight gets a big ^. This is one reason why I quite like UA Biz trans Pacific - they do it but for whatever reason, QF fail to (and the QF plastic bottle is only good for a few hours without having to find a refill).

and I thought I was bad!:D
7 bottles of dom between 2 1/2(the half was my friend who doesnt consume much)SYD_DXB in EK
but that was over 14 hrs
they said we drank them dry apparently they carry only 8.:(

they said we drank them dry apparently they carry only 8.:(

With 14 max passengers on an A380, 1/2 bottle champagne per person seems a reasonable offering.

Dave

On a trip last year from LAX - SYD on UA, dealt with a rather unpleasant young lady and her friends who chose to booze it up then offer randoms the pleasure of joining the mile high club.. I was in J, they in the first few rows of Y.

Damn. Why do I never see anything interesting on a plane? :rolleyes:

O/T: on a recent JQ flight DRW-SIN, had a friendly couple seated next to me in an exit row. I'm sure the chap had had a few quiet brews in the sterile transit area at DRW (or as I like to call it the most F88kign boring/awful place in AUS) but they were fine. I ordered a few beers on the flight and he and his partner started with a bottle of red wine - one of those 'child/terrorsit proof' bottle where you need a physics degree to get the lid off. On ordering his 2nd bottle the chap struggled with the lid and then Bang off it came, red wine spilt everywhere. According to the FA this meant he was inibreated and therfore no more service, took the half empty bottle of wine off him and instructed his partner not to order any alcoholic beverages for him.

1 - He was in an exit row; If he was in fact inibreated as judged by the FA on this flight (who sought no second opinion), surely this would mean he had to be moved. I am sure any airline doesnt want drunk pax in the exit row having to open the window if there is a crash etc....
2 - No offer to clean up the mess from the FA caused by the stupid bottle, just an obnoxious attitude observed by surrounding pax.
:confused:

Reading the previous posts in this thread it seems like the RSA policy is come by chance depending on your flight, the mood of the crew and which cabin you are flying in.
:rolleyes:

So cheers to everyone having a drink on board in true Aussie style.
:D
^

Reading the previous posts in this thread it seems like the RSA policy is come by chance depending on your flight, the mood of the crew and which cabin you are flying in.
:rolleyes:
^

As the OP it certainly felt like that to me.

Spike

and I thought I was bad!:D
7 bottles of dom between 2 1/2(the half was my friend who doesnt consume much)SYD_DXB in EK
but that was over 14 hrs
they said we drank them dry apparently they carry only 8.:(

8 isn't much to stock for a 14 hour flight. They have at least 3 for each trans-Tasman sector.

8 isn't much to stock for a 14 hour flight. They have at least 3 for each trans-Tasman sector.

I would also suspect that most that have any champagne only have a drink when getting on rather than swigging it down during the flight fromwhat I have seen on flights.

As long as they don't start rationing the perrier , I am ok :)

Dave