Phil the Flyer

But not close enough to morning for there still to be bacon butties available.

rathin100

Pedantry......

LTN Phobia

I wonder if you can get it if you specifically ask, or is it really off-limits after the end of the normal-human-being breakfast hours (not LTN Phobia breakfast hours which may extend to some bizarre hours - to my pleasure I recently discovered that some hotels continue serving room service breakfast well into the afternoon!)?


Additionally, I am wondering if there is a licensing condition for the BA lounge that says it is for consumption on the premises?

T8191

Daily Mail crossword? Who admitted to doing that?
The equivalent of "Join the Dots", surely?
Admit to The Telegraph or The Times crossword by all means, but surely you don't want to worry about crayoning The Mail crossword?

LTN Phobia

I'm sad enough to use a notepad to do the crossword should I choose to do it with a lounge newspaper, so as not to deprive the next person of the pleasure by completing it for them. I am also a pedant who absolutely has to fold the newspaper as if it had not been read when I am finished with it, and there is no way the newspaper I read would have any grubby fingerprints as I do not like eating and reading newspaper at the same time, particularly in case I end up with oily marks on it
Oh, and never the Daily Mail crossword.

I put it back in the newspaper rack in pristine condition, because that's how I like my newspaper. I don't like imposing upon others what I do not want imposed upon me, although I still maintain I would like to ride the horse lamp one day.

sunrisegirl

That I would pay good money to see!!

Cccharlie

I have been watching this thread with interest and have finally given in to the temptation to respond.

Interesting points of view, but just to put my two penn'th in

If you look carefully, there is information which states that food and beverages are intended for consumption within the lounge

Why do you think that that all the bottles are open when they are put on the various bars in the FLounge? because they do cost money and are supposed to be a benefit for those loyal customers who, through their loyalty have earned the benefits of those lounges to enjoy in those lounges.

If one were to assume that all the amenities in a luxury hotel were similarly there for the taking, I am sure one would soon receive a charge on the cc for that bath robe that might make a good gift.

To hide away a bottle of champagne is not something we would do in a restaurant or bar, or indeed when attending a friends party. Why would an airline lounge be any different?

I feel this is not so much a vase of theft or no theft. More about decent human behaviour.

OK. I will get of my hobby horse now.

roberino

Despite what some people have said above the cost of the item concerned is relevant. True, taking a bag of crisps and taking a bottle of champagne are both technically theft but would you care if someone ate a 50p bag of crisps outside the lounge instead of inside it? One's initial gut reaction to the bottle of champagne and glasses is very different though and it is all about the cost of the item, since both are consumables provided FOC inside the lounge.

Everyone commits minor acts of theft, and it's more often than you would imagine. Ever passed a partly used parking ticket to someone who just arrived? Ever reused a stamp that wasn't post-marked? Ever redeemed a voucher for something that it wasn't strictly for? Of course you have. It's all theft but we're OK with it because of the low price tag.

The OP was clearly bothered by this theft, but it wasn't yet at a level that caused him/her to act to prevent it. Everyone's level is different.

BAHumbug

Actually, glasses are not consumables and I would make a small wager that the glasses were not returned to the lounge post-drink.

The partly-used parking ticket analogy is not, I think, a good analogy. I've paid the relevant body for 2 hours of parking, but only used 1 hour. I am aware the conditions state its not transferable but theft is a strong term and not one I think really applies in this circumstance.

I do agree with your comment about 'scale' though as a general principal.

BAH

matthandy

^ Exactly. I don't understand the arguement that some people give that suggests there needs to be a sign to tell them not to do things which are wrong. I used to live with a rather odd chap who thought it was ok to stay up in the lounge until 3am talking really loudly with his girl friend (it was a rubbishy modern house with thin walls). Myself and my other housemate spoke to him in the morning and his response was 'you should have come down and told me to shut up'. Well how about recognising something is wrong and simply not doing it, rather than needing to be told?! Otherwise the world would be covered in signs.

at240

[said as a non-expert]

From a legal perspective the matter presumably revolves around the terms of use of the lounge which you (presumably implicitly) accept by using it in the first place. If they state that the champers must be consumed in the lounge, then to remove it in this way would clearly violate that agreement and one could imagine (hypothetically!) a lounge sueing someone for the cost of the amount drunk, on the basis that they have taken it away from other customers who were entitled to it.

But that's a civil matter. Would it really be a crime as well? I'd be interested to hear a lawyer's view. Can you be said to steal an item that is complimentary?

UKtravelbear

It's NOT allowed to drink your DF in the departures lounge, gate or even in the air.

As to taking a bottle from the lounge into main departures that's not allowed either as against the various licensing laws. What if the people she were taking it too were under drinking age in the US?


Drinking alcohol is only allowed in designated places - so lounges and bars/pubs. I have seen signs in airports that say 'alcoholic drinks not permitted beyond this point' etc


As to the 'removal' of the champers. I personally regard it as tacky to do that and the person who did this is certainly no 'lady'. How did she even get a full (unopened?) bottle? I assume it's not an open bar?

Even if she asked permission it's still tacky

And yes I have taken newspapers from lounges as there is no guarentee there will be the one I want on board but thats about it

UKtravelbear

duplicate

LTN Phobia

I'm totally and utterly not a lawyer but I would not consider it is stealing, although I would not commit the act myself without asking first. I think it's just 'ill-mannered' or 'inappropriate behaviour' when the item or the quantity is inappropriate. When the item or the quantity is inappropriate, that becomes 'grossly inappropriate behaviour', or potentially theft if the item is not meant for consumption or for taking out of the lounge.

If any item is intended to be taken out of the lounge, then it is not inappropriate to take it as long as the quantity is reasonable and it does not deprive others from doing so.

If someone took a packet of crisps, apple or muffins for personal consumption on the flight, as long as it is a reasonable amount (e.g. one or two), I would not consider it bad behaviour as such though, although I would not do so myself without asking first.

I think there should be a "reasonableness" test to one's behaviour, but each person's moral or behavioural standard as well as what one considers reasonable may vary. What I tolerate or expect others to do may be different from what I tolerate myself to do.

Paralytic

It was tongue in cheek when I said it before, but BA did put up notices encouraging passengers to take food to eat on the plane. I've seen others say there are now signs saying food must be consumed in the lounge so i must be blind for not seeing those I don't typically consume much inside (our outside) the lounge though.

The "grab-everything community" hyperbole does you no credit. Yes, the lounges are for everyone. but BA will have costed what the "average" consumption in the lounge is and it doesn't matter whether someone eats that packet of crisps in the lounge, or eat them on the flight.

I have never seen the crisps or biscuit bowls empty in any T5 lounge, so suggesting some are losing out is far-fetched in my experience.

What about this: what if I open a packet of crisps in the lounge and eat a few but my flight starts boarding. Am I allowed to take that packet with me or do I have to bin it?

What if I open the packet and the flight changes to boarding before I have a chance to eat any. Can I take the full-but-open packet, or do I have to bin it?

Again, there's a big difference between taking a packet of crisps, and a bottle of champagne and some glasses.