I get it that people don't want to get busted and lose their job. But can we just bring a little sanity into the picture when grandpa wants a beer? A card EVERYONE policy doesn't account for these once in awhile obvious situations. In the past, most of the time I just waited till getting on the plane for a cocktail. Flight attendants could care less whether I'm in my 30's or 40's. I just don't see airports as a big concern as centers for underage drinking to warrant these nanny-like policies.

But come to think about it, its not my problem anymore cause I don't fly much. Where I live at age 35, most people see me for who I am age-wise and I would say 90% of my purchases don't require ID. The occasional ID check doesn't bother me because I know that the overall probability of it happening is not that high which reflects a city where management and employees are using their brains!

On a side note, when I was an exchange student in Japan at 17 years old, at the convenience store clerks could care less if my friends and I bought beer. And even if they did care, you could get it in vending machines all over town. That was a quite different experience than what I was used to!