MarqFlyer

Long-haul flights dehydrate you enough - I don't see the need for excessive alcohol to make matters worse. I'll usually stop after 1 or 2 glasses of wine.

dchristiva

Dunno. I still have no qualms about having pre-flight and in-flight cocktails, either free or at my own expense. Of course, it does depend on the time of day and what I have to do when I hit the ground, but if it's an evening flight on the way home after a long week of work, I'll indulge a couple of times. I don't mind summoning the FA for a second or third round on a long haul flight. If they give me "a look", I ask if there's something wrong with my request. I've never been denied.

Lounge Expert

Going to try ignite this thread again. Its been a few years and I wondering if people have had any interesting air alcohol stories of late!!

I was returning from Doha to Paris last week on Qatar Airways (Biz) and the young lady beside me gave a very discerning look when I told her the lounge was very nice and I had 3 glasses of wine there. She said "oh, are you drunk", I was like "no".

Its funny, but it made me feel odd about ordering a drink in her company, even with the meal service. I resisted and waited until she fell asleep

sethweinstein

No stories, but if you cap the A's you're onto something. There's no way Air Alcohol wouldn't be a profitable airline.

I guess its hub would have to be in Charlottesville, Virginia.

drewp123

I have managed to single handedly keep the tradition of drinking in the air alive.

Though, the FA aren't always on top of it, so i'm sure me having to repeatedly flag them down raises some eyebrows.

Was recently on a flight with two friends and across the aisle was a honeymoon couple. My friends and I got cut off, and the FA assumed the couple had been drinking with us because we chatted with them and ordered so much. They were cut off, too, after having only had one drink each!

The gentleman was so outraged I couldn't help but find it funny. In fact, he got so belligerent one would almost think he were drunk, but alas was only drunk with rage.

pinniped

My general thought on the topic is that the airlines are discouraging drinking (at least in Y) simply so they won't have to deal with drunks. Continually deteriorating levels of service and comfort combined with booze...doesn't take a roomful of lawyers to decide that might not be a great idea.

But I hear that beer and wine are coming back to the Y cabin on UA TPAC starting January 1, 2015, so maybe I'm wrong on this...

emma69

December in my Canadian office reminds me of my UK offices 10+ years ago, where a drink at lunch time was perfectly normal behavior, especially on Fridays. Have enjoyed the last couple of weeks of the 'festive season' where everyone has been perfectly happy to have a glass of red or bubbly and a chat in the office - actually talking to coworkers is a novel experience, and greatly improved by having a glass in hand!

On planes, unless I am driving at the other end, yes, I indulge - I can't sleep on planes, so a movie and a G&T or glass of wine is how I tend to pass the time. I've never had an issue getting served by the FAs, if they aren't wandering the cabin I just pop to the back or wait for someone to pass by - the Qantas flight attendants win the prize for 'most eager to pour booze down my throat' last year US-Oz, I was quite sozzled on their gigantic pours, made the 16 hours pass by much more easily!

rdurlabhji

Pretty much this. It depends on the circumstance for me. If I'm going to or coming from a business trip (especially when I will be driving) I would probably have a max of one drink. However when I flew SEA-HKG in J I had several drinks (champagne before dinner, red wine with dinner, scotch after dinner). The purser would fill my glass up without my asking.

drvannostren

I always drink if I'm in J, I SOMETIMES have 1 if I'm in Y.

Depends on the afterwards. If I have to drive right after the flight, obviously I'm capping it at like 1.

But I get that same feeling, some flights I get great service and they'll refill quickly. There's other times where if they won't ask, I won't ask.

That said, there's also times where I'm travelling on a red eye for leisure, and I'll drink through the flight and watch a movie rather than sleep. Because odds are I'm gonna take a nap when I get there anyway, plus I can sleep on a bus/taxi or however I'm getting to where I'm going.

I always have a drink in the lounge, sometimes I'm only in there for 10-15 minutes but I'll have 1, makes it feel like I'm using the benefits being given to me.

Boraxo

Au contraire, I think it is simply laziness. I never have a problem getting a refill upon request. But on many carriers the FAs basically shut down after the meal service is cleared until an hour before landing. Even more so on long overnight flights where the assumption is that everyone is sleeping.

To be fair it may be airline policy to do so in order to save on the cost of spirits.

But in any case, it basically means you have to get up, put on some footwear, and hassle the FA for a refill.

Tchiowa

3 glasses of wine in a 60 minute period and you are legally drunk.

It wouldn't surprise me if eventually airlines banned alcohol altogether. It will only take one violent incident and a lawyer who nails the airline for a few million and it will happen. Kind of like some baseball parks now don't sell beer.

Mabuk dan gila

3 glasses of wine in a 60 minute period and you are legally to drunk to drive a car in probably 'most' places. The definition of "drunk", legal or otherwise, as it pertains to air travel as a passenger, is far less specific, and far more behavior orientated than the BAC legal definition that applies to driving a car.

Tchiowa

Don't know what "mabuk" means but the rest of it is Bahasa for "and crazy" if my failing memory is still working.

Drunk is drunk, IMO. One problem with drunks is that they often don't realize they are drunk. If you are sufficiently impaired that you are incapable of driving a car safely, that's a good enough definition for drunk for me.

jill5172

I usually fly AS and am upgraded most of the time. I notice that as a general rule, I get served refills on my glass of wine less frequently than the men up front. I often have to ask for a refill and with some flight attendants I get a disapproving look, to which I usually respond by downing that glass and then ordering another.

This week I flew DL on several long flights and noticed that unlike AS, they separate their drink services by hours. AS usually does the drink/meal service, then cleans up, and then does a second (or even third on transcon flights) shortly thereafter. DL did the drink/meal service about an hour into the flight, and then took a two hour break, and then brought the drink cart out again about 45 minutes before landing. Not much option to get your buzz on in that instance unless you went to get your own from the back.

dchristiva

I think you'd better consult the BAC chart again. This is not necessarily true.