My observations have been, when you're drinking mixed drinks they tend to be a little more reserved with their offers to get you more. So after your third mixed if you switch to wine (or had started with wine) they will fill your glass constantly and not bat an eye. Almost like wine is less of a problem than the Hard-A.

It's Seattle...the #2 place outside San Fran where everyone knows what is better for you than you do.


So your simple solution would be to not have alcohol on any flight. That would solve the perceived problem immediately. Where's that you live again?

Unless the OP was acting out of line (which by the sounds of it sounds like he/she wasn't) then I have no idea why the FA would cut them off. I have had 4-6 drinks on many MSP-PHX or ATL-LAS flights. Heck, on a TATL a couple weeks ago, the FA seemed to be encouraging me to get hammered....kept replacing my rum and coke and refilling my wine. Must have totaled a good 10 drinks or so by the time the meal service was over. Had a good nap after the meal in BE on the 764s lie-flats :)

To the OP, sometimes it just seems like the FAs want to get on a power trip or do as least work as possible. I am guessing this may have been one of those situations as this doesn't seem to happen too often unless the passenger gets rowdy or starts showing signs of being buzzed/drunk.

So, basically what a lot of you are saying is that at 1 drink an hour I should only get to have my pre-departure drink if I'm on a flight that is less than 2 hours? Sheesh... Glad you are not making the rules around here! Fortunately for me, all the other FAs I have had have been really cool with the drinks and seem to understand that if a passenger is completely calm, coherent and not drinking obscene amounts of alcohol they should just do their gig and bring me another drink.

As you seem to have an opinion on how the FA should do his/her job.

I did not say "to not have alcohol on any flight," where did that come from? Just how big is that chip on your shoulder? See what I did say, bolded above.

What is obscene to one person might be totally mild to another person......

To me, nothing I have observed has been "obscene," but I have observed several passengers get louder and louder with every drink they have been served, and that is none too pleasant. Also, I have only observed any passengers having more than three drinks on one segment (domestic) in F, never in Y, so it would seem like people only want unlimited alcohol and to get relaxed in that way when the juice is free. Obviously different FA's deal with these issues in different ways, and from what I understand, the airlines, and the FAA, grant them that prerogative.

The FA position is to guarantee a passenger's safety and comfort. That's for the individual as well as the group in general.

Many have posted here, that the FA is responsible for the pax that they serve alcohol. They are correct. This is a judgement call. If a passenger gets drunk on a flight, we are in trouble with the company. If the problem becomes so great that it involves the FAA, the FA may face losing h/her flying license. That will almost surely get the FA fired.

Some FA's are better at making the call of cutting someone off than others. One thing is for sure, a FA will not get into trouble for cutting someone off due to their judgement call.

The experienced FA understands how to slowly cut someone off without them knowing it. As they start to sober up, the FA will then serve them normally.

While the OP might be ticked about being reminded about how much they have had to drink, the FA in question does not know this person or their drinking routine. The FA didn't sound lazy, just taking their job really seriously and a little CYA.

A great explanation from an obviously experienced and knowledgeable authority on this issue. Thank you!

On a recent flight, the FA asked me if would like my wine in a tumbler instead of the tiny glass - I loved it!

Each persons own business, but if you have to have more than 4 drinks every time then you have a bigger issue than FA's; whether you can "handle" it or not.

Alcoholism doesn't neccessarily mean getting wasted all the time, but rather a dependancy on it.

DL and Drinks
 

I believe all airlines are bieng very careful now about flyers having too much to drink. This is now part of training.

I am not suggesting that this was a problem re the OP, but there are some that have trouble with alcohol and how it alters one's personality in a negative way.

The FAs are trying to get it right.

The OP was traveling to LAS... should be free flow for pax going to that destination :)

Ironically enough, there is a discussion going on now over on the BA board about someone else's unpleasant experience on a BA flight with a very drunk passenger. One of the cogent points made was that drinking often starts in the airport; certainly there's a better than average chance that anyone drinking seriously in F (i) probably had access to a lounge (never mind a bar), and (ii) probably had at least one drink in that lounge. That means the FA -- who as others have noted may become liable for the pax's actions -- can't assume that four drinks is all the OP had.

I'm no teetotaler -- I usually make a point of trying all the wine selections when riding up in BizE -- but as someone who frequently flies on SU and has endured some extremely drunk fellow passengers on more than one occasion, I think the FA's behavior here was entirely correct. Four drinks in three hours is not stingy or lazy and she warned about the cutoff in advance.

+1 ...

Are there not only 4 Woodfords on the plane anyway? :D Alcohol at altitude impacts me greatly, 3 on that route had more impact than I desired.

I can't help but notice that this has polarized into a fight between those who believe that the FA was lazy, or even worse applying her moral standards inappropriately, and those who believe that everyone who drinks on a plane is an out-of-control alcoholic. There are also the fringey folks who want to believe that everything is a government mind-control issue, but they're easier to dismiss :cool:

Isn't it possible that everyone's a little bit right, especially at selectively chosen times? It seems to me that what everyone here is demanding absolute uniformity of behavior, which is never going to happen and will guarantee that anecdotal threads like this will bloom forever. One side seems to be saying that every FA should serve everyone eligible until just before the rage sets in (and know what that looks like in every case) - and on the other that no passenger imbibe more than an arbitrarily designated amount per hour.

Until we all get alcoholometers installed in our foreheads, this issue will continue to divide the puritans from the libertarians and thanks to all who are providing entertainment for those of us in the middle :D