Alcohol on flights ?

It is not alcohol that is the problem - it is the abuse of alcohol and those travellers who abuse it.

People who enjoy one glass of wine with a meal on a long haul flight are not the problem.
*Gabriella if your friends travel for work I can understand that they may not want to drink but now I am retired this is the start of my holiday. I do not want it to be spoiled by abusive drunks either but I do not see why I should not enjoy my glass of wine just because your friends do not like it and I do not behave badly.

I have seen people behaving badly on a plane but that was not due to drink.

Oh Gg54. Over indulgence in any form is seen as a hoot within the upper classes. Behaviour that would no doubt shock someone such as yourself. You certainly would not receive any invitation with such a disapproving attitude.

I'm certainly not 'against' anyone having a drink anywhere but serving alcohol to those who are evidently raucous enough and been drinking pre-flight, should not be happening.
Airborne staff can't refuse...and risk bedlam on board or serve alcohol and risk bedlam.
There has to be another way.
We are, indirectly through our tickets, paying airlines who have to divert their aircraft due to disruptive behaviour.
Disrupting patrons wouldn't go unpunished in theatres or pubs, they'd be ejected so we must find a way of stopping this dreadful behaviour on or before flights.
I'm sure that going without one or two glasses of wine with one airline meal wouldn't kill you. Do you have wine with every meal at home?
The holiday usually starts on arrival, not on an aircraft filled with a couple of hundred strangers.

There is no problem with having a glass of wine during a flight. There is a massive problem with people drinking whole bottles of wine and spirits they have purchased on the way to boarding as well as those offered by the flight crew.

Having been on a flight which was disrupted for the entire five hours by a drunken group of men and women I hate to think what would have happened had there been an emergency. They were in no frame of mind to follow instructions and would have put everyone's lives at risk.

I don’t like this idea of banning something because of a small minority of people: it affects the majority more because if people want a drink when none is available, they will bring their own.

No alcohol in airports or on plane - like no smoking in airports or on plane. If you can’t manage on a cup of tea/coffee or two, you have a problem.

GabriellaG54 wow you are judgemental! I was trying to explain how much effort it would be for airlines to change their approach in business lounges. Why should a traveller not enjoy a drink, alcoholic or otherwise, when on a long journey. Also, when on flights - sometimes for over 12 hours, not enjoy a tipple of their choice. Lighten up!

If you can't manage on a cup of tea or coffee then you have a problem....
Wow. It's not a question of managing
It's a question of what you enjoy, be it tea, coffee, alcohol or whatever. As long as you are not causing a problem, which most don't, it's no one else's business.

Having a glass of wine on a plane is a rare treat for me. We live in a place with no public transport and very strict drink & driving laws (quite rightly) so a glass of wine isn't something we indulge in very often.

On a long overnight flight it helps me sleep for a bit so I can then face my onward flight. Of course no one needs alcohol on a plane or anywhere else but then there are lots of things in life that we don't need but it's nice to have.

The worst behaviour I've ever seen has been on flights to a certain developing country and alcohol was not a factor, the passengers were just out & out obnoxious and entitled.

Do you have wine with every meal at home?
only when on holiday



Anyway, I am not likely to meet you unless you get an upgrade.

Anyway, we're off to the pub

I do enjoy a glass of wine at the start of our holiday and like many enjoy it with my meal. We’ve been lucky and have never been on a flight wth drunken people,but would be scared if people behaved badly.
I am always surprised that on some very early flights people are sat in the bar drinking alcohol before breakfast time.
I just couldn’t,but to some that is the start of their holiday. Stopping it would mean people may drink their own alcohol before arrival at the airport or they would bring it with them.
Zero tolerance is not fair on the people who enjoy having a drink while they wait,and are well behaved. It is only the minority who behave badly,so perhaps bigger punishments if they misbehave on a flight.

GabriellaG54 - you sound like a fun girl!
Glad to hear you're no longer heading for NZ.
But we are.
Enjoy Leeds.

I don’t know anyone who has wine with every meal. ?

Baggs Some airlines will not allow passengers to take duty free bottles on board. Instead they are placed in the hold with an identifying number and returned to the passengers at their destination.

On business class to and from NZ, I can confirm that I could have had (but didn't have) wine with every meal, including champagne with breakfast.

basically I don't think you should have alcohol on flights.

When flying back from America any duty free, be it alcohol , perfume whatever is sealed in bags with your name on and only handed out as you are about to board the plane. At least that stops people starting to drink the alcohol before people even board the plane. While the cheap airlines push the sale of alcohol on board their planes most of the "better" airlines only allow one free alcoholic drink on short haul flights and don't sell any. Really it is the amount of alcohol consumed prior to the flight that causes the problems. Now airport "lounges" are available to anybody willing to pay some people pay just so they so they can drink the free booze and get tanked up before their flight. When you see couples with young children knocking back beer and vodka early on the day how can they possibly look after their children if there was a problem. It's not the people who just enjoy a glass of wine on board who are the problem.

Just stricter controls on alcohol consumption should do the trick.
No need for idiots to spoil it for others.

I don’t know anyone who has wine with every meal.
It gets very confusing on long haul as breakfast could be at UK dinner time.

Ah well, in that case, would it be essential to take a few sips of champagne at breakfast for the sake of my body clock??

Absolutely, although you could dilute it with orange juice and have a Buck's Fizz

Perhaps the airlines which allow drunken passengers on board and freely serve alcohol throughout the flight should be named and shamed.
I've never seen it and hope I never do.

Perfect solution then. Usual breakfast OJ with a splash of champagne ?

Bucks Fizz always reminds me of the occasion, when, my then 6yr old DD on being asked by a waiter what she would like to drink with her meal...she followed my example but politely ordered a F..ks Bizz. ?

And, giggling at the thought of that, I am off to

Jalima1108
I try not to fly much nowadays but NZ only has one other way which takes much longer.
I resent having to pay business or first class for a few hours kip.
(sigh) If only the hoi-polloi were better behaved. ??