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3Cforme - Delta Forum Moderator

Just adding general information but back to what I was saying is that her ticket type prohibits her from drinking.

Ahem... cough...cough... latecomer here so please be patient.
Did OP actually see this FA drinking? For all I know they asked for 2 bottles of liquor during pre departure service.
They may very well have bagged it for drinking at the destination.

Since they were occupying passenger seats can't they do whatever they want to do (within reason)? They probably requested jumpseats because that isn't as dependent on seats being empty.

Just a curious question. If you are a airline employee and not working and wearing "street clothes" Why do you wear your work lanyard? It doesn't get you a better seat, it might get you a free drink but other than that why wear it? Is it a "Look at me I work for X airline"? The last thing I would want people to know is that i'm an employee. No need to answer questions, remarks about how I got this eat, etc.

Well, another employee reached out to me via PM - and cited the ops manual! It seems pilots and FAs have different rules in this situation:

"F/As NOT riding in the jumpseat are treated differently than a pilot NOT riding in the jumpseat, provided they are still not wearing a uniform and don't return to the jumpseat. They would be elegible to come alcohol." Absent being a deadhead leg, of course.

FA in the jump seat = no alcohol

FA not in the jump seat (nor returning to jump seat) and not in uniform = OK to consume. Just listing for the jump seat isn't, itself, disqualifying.

So, going back to the original post: Not in uniform and Not in jump seat = no violation.

So most airlines work on "flow back" and while she may have sat in a passenger seat that's not how she's listed on the manifest. She would be listed as a non-operating crew member. Which is a no-go for consuming drinks.

Well ... as an AA GA from long ago, I can say what their rules were back then ...

There was no such thing as "list for the jumpseat". FAs and Pilots, when flying non-rev (IE: personal travel vs "deadhead" which is company travel) are allowed to ride in (their respective type of) jumpseat ONLY if all cabin seats are full. They "list" for the fact that they desire non-rev/standby travel on the flight, but they do NOT "list" specifically for a jumpseat. If memory serves me right, if assigned a jumseat then non-rev service charges were waived ... thus they could not request jumpseat to avoid charges, they would be assigned jumpseat if it was the only option.
They do not need to be in uniform to ride jumpseat. Vacationing Pilots & FAs are (practically) never in uniform. Commuters (again: different from deadheaders) very often are.
I have had crew members graciously, when they were next on the standby list, offer to ride jumpseat to allow another (lower on the list) non-crew employee to have a cabin seat.

If you're in uniform, you may not drink alcohol no matter where you are seated. To passengers, you look like an employee, possibly headed towards duty.
If you're assigned a jumpseat, you may not drink alcohol no matter what you're wearing. You're sitting in an official crewed position; it makes no difference how you "appear" to passengers, you may not drink.
If you're seated in the cabin and are not in uniform, then not only do you appear to be just another passenger, you actually are one. Enjoy your flight, keeping in mind that if your selected beverage/meal/etc is running short, you'll be the 1st to be asked to switch.

As a Gate AAgent on 2nd shift, at 11pm after 8 hours on duty, we were all ready for a drink at our favorite watering hole (and trust me ... said spot was definitely off airport property) :p
Very few of us carried a change of clothes. But we had to remove anything with the name/logo. For us guys, obviously the badge, name tag and ties were off ... but also the belt because the buckle was AA's stylized Eagle. ALL types of logo had to be off.

As for the ID badge still being worn ....
I think 9-11 changed the philosophy on this. My post 9-11 days at AA were all behind the scene HDQ type jobs, so this is just my theory.
In my days at the airport (pre 9-11) my ID was just a card I carried in my wallet. It was my uniform and door keys that gave me access to everyplace I needed to be.
9-11 changed all that. Uniforms no longer proved anything. A key that could open any AA door (at my access level) system wide was worthless. The new TSA decided employees had to go thru screening.
ID's were needed so much/often that they came out of the wallet and onto a lanyard. I think that out of habit, employees today simply keep that lanyard handy at all times they're doing anything airport/airline related.

Deadheading is also having them to return to base even if getting off work. My daughter is an FA and sometimes they can get crew scheduling to change their Deadhead location if they are going "off work" as soon as they land.