DUPLICATE

Good thing they don't have this rule in the sky club. Had a 2.5 hour layover in Atlanta the other day and they served me 4 screwdrivers. Made only getting 2 on the short flight from Atlanta to Charleston almost bearable. :D

I find these kind of conversations interesting. I think that a lot of folks respond based on their own history, or history of their family/friends. Going to the original post, was the FA being lazy? Don't know that we'll ever know for sure because the intentions of someone are hard to determine and it is easier to just take her words at face value.

I think if it were me, I'd rather get notice that it was my last drink, than order the 5th one and be told no.

I've had my fair share of varying experiences. I enjoy relaxing when I fly, especially in first. I've had FAs give me snark remarks when I asked for another drink, as well as others that have kept the drinks coming with zero attitude.

I've managed four drinks on flights slightly over an hour... I didn't have to drive and felt fine. People handle their alcohol differently. I've seen passengers become obnoxious after two drinks. I have noticed that DL seems to be more generous with their drink offerings than AA.

Agreed. Also US can be stingy, but i guess that is due to the NM lawsuit..

Personally, I dislike the FA's decision. However, I respect it. What would have happened if the OP (who may have been showing signs of intoxication for all we know) stumbled off the aircraft, severely injured himself and choose to sue Delta and the FA for serving him too much alcohol? Similar scenarios happen all the time in this country. As the FA is liable for his/her actions, he/she made a decision they were comfortable with.

Like other posters, I've been overserved way too often; I've never been cut off, even when it was obvious I was intoxicated. But hey, at least I'm a happy drunk :).

In the mid-2000s, my Friday night ATL-LAS flight was delayed about four hours, finally departing around 1AM. As compensation for the delay, free drinks were provided to the entire cabin -- a completely full B764. Honestly, I don't know who made that call, but I've often thought about posting the aftermath on Youtube :).

Rum and Coke??? What are you, in highschool?

Drinking on a plane is a bad idea. Altitude alters blood absorbtion of alcohol, leading to more intense hangovers faster with less drinks to start with. Still, you are a grown up and can make that choice yourself.

Thing is, a plane is not a bar. They will usually cut off anyone after 4, but especially within 3 hours because you are not in some dive in a town, you are in a pressurized metal tube hurtling through the air at 400mph with 130 other people in close quarters. They are not going to play wait-and-see if you get obnoxious, start barfing, or try to open the emergency exit, and they are not going to take your word that you can handle your booze.

"My friends,

"I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey.

"If when you say whiskey you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.

"But;

"If when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the spring in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.

"This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise."

--Mississippi Rep. N.S. "Soggy" Sweat Jr. delivered on April 4, 1952, at a banquet while the prohibition issue was before the Legislature

While I dont agree with only being cut of either, It has happened to me only once.... On a US Airways flight from MSP to PHX. I had 4 drinks and the FA said that 4 is plenty on a 4 hr flight. Never mind the average body can metabolize at least one per hour. She later mentioned that her husband was an alcoholic and she didnt like people drinking.... Regardless, I told her that I disagreed with her cutting me off but it was her right.

Bottom line, some times you get a FA that will be like that. Its only happened once to me in nearly a million flown miles. Chances are, next flight you will be served all that you want.

It's certainly not the FA's job to guard against hangovers! As far as altering absorption, that's not necessarily the case.
Especially after 1 drink beyond what the average person can metabolize? That's a pretty low bar to set as some sort of egregious violation. Unless you're showing signs of intoxication, there's not a lot of cause to cut off. There's not a ticking timebomb present at that point.With that sort of drinking rate, any such behavior is going to be from preflight drinking, and would have shown up by 3 hours in.

You mentioned PFB, so I am assuming you were in F. In my experience, FAs seem to just keep filling them up if you keep asking.

I agree that you can't fault the FA if, in her opinion, she is worried. However, I think she has two options:

1) She could ask you if you are driving.

2) Since you are in F, she could simply make the drinks a little weaker.

The 2nd idea makes especially good sense considering once in Vegas you were unlikely to get a drink that was more than 2% booze. It's hard to complain about the strength of a drink when you aren't paying for it.

Either way, I'm surprised; I got 4 Woodford & Ginger Ales from DTW to MSY (2:20 or so) last week, and have managed to get down 3 wines on flights under 90 minutes on many occasions.

But then.....I'm a lush.

Oh, give me a break. She is just being lazy or the OP is self-conscious and defensive about his drinking - I can't really tell which is the case here. There is no reason at all to not serve this customer.

Really? Can you cite a case where this has happened?

I suggest carrying minis in your toiletry kit. :p

On a handful of occasions, FAs have politely confirmed that I wouldn't be driving before refilling my glass, but I've never been outright denied another drink.

I've managed to down four drinks on the LGA-BOS shuttle without the FA batting an eye, so limiting passengers to four on a three hour flight strikes me as a bit overzealous.

Back when they started serving Glenlivet, I always knew my limit since they only had 2 or so and when I was offered Dewar's as a refill, I knew it was over for me. ;)

I have had FA's ask if I was driving when I arrived just as a hint they might be concerned but never refused a refill. I have no problem with the question and find it actually laudable. ^

Cheers