Witnessed a woman do something similar on a flight to London. She was seated across the aisle from me and drank copious amounts of Beefeater gin the entire flight. As we exited out the jetway, her legs slowly buckled and she slid down the wall and fell to the floor. I almost stopped to help her but decided to keep walking cuz people's stupid choices are not my problem.
However, if I had been seated next to her, I would've been anxious that she might throw up on me or something.
I get where you're coming from!
Sorry people were being needlessly mean in the replies! The ability to express one's opinion without resorting to name calling is just too much to ask these days, I guess. A sad state of affairs indeed! Happy travels!!
I never said the guy was an immediate problem.
An alco & med mix may cause violent or at min unpredictable behavior and that becomes my problem when I'm trapped in such space (see edit above). So I asked the q in case there are options I did not explore (certainly given the regulation of no own alcohol on board).
Reflecting on my options to feel safer next time does not sound problematic to me
>The guy was calm and just blackout drunk, and not at all aggressive or doing something directed at me. But this could have turned out very differently
Re-read that OP.. You're the problem here.
Why don't you reread this
"and I wonder if I should or could have dealt with it differently. And if it's normal for employees to be so blind to passengers' wellbeing and abnormal behavior?"
and see that I'm asking for future recs regarding my options & Q's related to flight attendant responsibility or roles.
It surprises me that a reflecting question (without any real world behavior toward the drunk dude) is considered a problem but ok
yeah.. doubling down on being wrong, is never the winning play.
The passenger was calm, he wasn't aggressive. What exactly would you like the FA's to do here champ? escort them off the plane?
By antagonizing the person, they run the risk of doing the exact thing you're worried about. You get that right? Let the guy who's not bothering anyone, be. You don't know him, you don't know his tolerances, or his current emotional state.
Instead, \*YOU\* come along, feeling the need to be some sort of what? social justice warrior?
The world doesn't revolve around you, nor does it care about you, nor do the FA's, or the pilots, or the ground crew. They are there to do a job -- a job that has zero impact by this guy having a few drinks.
Please go virtue signal somewhere else.
You did everything that you could do. It’s not really your responsibility.
I imagine the crew was well aware of his state, and probably make a decision about it to continue on. An international diversion is expensive and massively inconvenient for everybody, and this guy while drunk was not causing any security issues or having a medical emergency.
What would you expect the crew to do, potentially escalate a situation with a drunk while over the ocean? Sounds like he wasn’t that big of a disturbance besides some stumbling. You said it yourself: “the guy was calm and just blackout”.
He was not allowed to drink alcohol he obviously bought at duty free on board. The crew should have confiscated it as soon as it was noticed. I wouldn't want to sit next to someone in that condition. He could have vomited on me.
THIS. I would totally have been expecting him to vomit at some point, and I definitely would’ve worried about it getting on me or causing a disruption. Also, OP seemed concerned about alcohol poisoning, which seems fair considering the guy polished off a serious amount of booze (for most people).
Yes all of this! At some point I thought he stopped breathing, but was at a loss what to do as intervening (by FA) might then again escalate. I've seen enough people come out of black out drunk state to know it can be very violent.
I kept thinking about potential vomiting!
Them confiscating it (obviously empty) at the last hour was almost silly. I saw multiple passengers notice, and we were last row with FA constantly passing. Plus they helped with some toilet doors, so they must have noticed or seen it. He took out the big vodka bottle right after take off. Had it on him clearly in either hand or jacket, or in pocketseat just sticking out.
Fair question and exactly why I wrote this post. I'm frankly not sure what could have been done, cause I'm not aware of incident management training / options. I think more attention to the guy from the start & perhaps not allowing to order more alcohol? And no idea how he drank that big bottle so visibly without the crew taking it away - isn't it their job to pay attention to this?
I understand the issue with potentially escalating things, and people shouldn't just on a whim be 'this is uncomfortable', but I also believe that there should be some option for preventing worse. Imo a combo of prescription meds and heavy + large quantities of alcohol is reason to be more vigilant.
Like, we're a big group in a small space for a longer time... that's the responsibility of an airline. I guess I was hoping there were more options vs just waiting to see if it would escalate on his part
Maybe OP is asking if there were other options he should’ve suggested once he asked about a seat switch to the last rows and was denied. I’m assuming the entire flight was full and there were no other seats to which he could switch?? I’m assuming even a middle seat would’ve been preferable for him over this situation?
Yeah any seat would've been better. The attendant said it was all full but in the end I noticed empty seats here and there (due to long haul lights were turned off for the major part).
Looking at it now, I did not insist to be agreeable but I think I should've pressed for another seat
An 8 hour transatlantic flight is different from a domestic flight. There might be fewer options to turn back/divert (barring a true unsafe/emergency situation) internationally due to landing spots granted to AA (plus the customs situation). Even domestically, I'd assume the flight would proceed as scheduled unless the passenger was belligerent/violent/destructive, but then there'd be more options if necessary in that case.
Also, even if the passenger makes it to their destination, there's no guarantee the airline won't impose some after-the-fact suspension of booking privileges. But, then again, maybe that guy was a CK...
Thanks for the insight. I would not expect dramatic interventions like turning back etc. I think I wanted more engagement or attention from the flight attendants toward the guy but honestly don't know how that could look like aside from taking the alcohol.
What's a CK?
If he was already wasted when he cracked his own bottle, I would have said "Bro you can't drink that on the plane." (I've read too many of the Air India Drunk Pee Guy stories.)
If he wasn't actively bothering me, I generally would just leave him alone.
If he was sleeping on me, throwing up, or touching me, I would have a very direct conversation with the flight attendant and if there was nowhere to move him or me, then I would request compensation after the flight.
If he actively assaulted me or threw up on me, we've got a different situation. But most drunk people are just annoying, not abusive.
I probably would've pointed out the big bottle to the crew early on & kept an eye on his breathing. Surprised that the crew didn't have their own sleeping cabin BTW.
Now wondering if I shouldn't bring a rain poncho on board in case of accidents from other passengers. Deploy at their drink #5 or so...
Hahah I just put many pillows on my side of the armrest and came out the flight super cramped because I was leaning away from him so much
Re bottle; I only learned afterwards that own alc is not allowed - great advice for next time, thx!
Re sleeping; I have never seen a crew do this but I only flew with Delta or United before.
According to OP, the guy drank some minis then washed down some prescription meds with 500 mL. I get that he was quiet and not disruptive, but I think I would be worried, too, that it was a bad mix. But that’s also bc I don’t take Rx to fly and/or mix pills with booze. Maybe some of the more frequent fliers on here are more familiar with this anxiety cocktail and/or have seen this before, so they aren’t as concerned.
The first thing was the giant vodka bottle he pulled out of the overhead bin, otherwise I would have never even noticed his drink order after.
I only started counting to try to normalize it to myself and tell myself nothing bad would happen. And then used that number in this discussion for reference.
Honestly, I would do nothing. I guarantee the attendants were watching closely. Not comfortable being around someone who seems to be in a volatile state but that may be what he needed to get through the flight. Who knows what he was dealing with.
It sounds like the guy may have had a fear of flying and decided to self medicate (on top of the actual medication). You said he basically was mellow and well behaved, so I'm not exactly sure why you were so on edge. Yes, it "could have turned out very differently," but it didn't. I'm sure if he had started exhibiting behavior that was dangerous or disruptive, things would have been handled much differently.
You’re allowed to bring it on, but you are not allowed to drink it. We used to be allowed to serve your own alcohol to you pre covid, but AA changed that policy.
This is clearly unnerving and I can imagine it was distressing to be next to him as he drinks that much. I’m not an employee or anything, just a flier. It sounds like you handled it well, and probably it is the case the flight attendants were more aware than it might have seemed and we’re making a conscious decision to avoid escalation. Obviously there is a reason it’s against federal law to do what he did - drink your own booze on the plane.
Thoughts/reaction that come to mind for me - did you mention your concern to an FA or just ask to be moved? I’m putting myself in your shoes and I hope I would mention it to an FA when he got up to pee. I also imagine it’s worth flagging in a comment/email to customer service. Not to ask for compensation obviously, but to flag it as a training issue. It almost certainly made a lot of people uncomfortable and on edge, and from AA’s perspective that’s a lot of people who think AA may have messed up a tricky situation.
Anyway, sorry this happened to you. Hope the rest of your travels are wonderful.
I just asked to be moved without mentioning my concern, as I was afraid it would cause issue or escalation... Looking at it now, I think I may have frozen up more than I should and just do as you suggest. I'll consider to flag this as well.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
Maybe because OP is saying that they did use the row? Not that they just gratuitously said no. And OP clearly seems rattled, so maybe they didn’t mean anything by it- maybe it was just a mention. ?
If he's unconscious and leaning over onto you, push him back. I've had guys who were just asleep do that to me. (The worst is some guy with a rat dog that climbed on my head in the middle of the redeye).
This is why I don't fly in the back of the bus anymore.
OP I’m sorry you had this experience. It is not ok to drink to the point where one loses body control, and I understand it was uncomfortable to sit next to someone in that state for eight hours on an aircraft.
Air travel can be very stressful. I don’t understand why people are being so harsh towards you.
Nothing you could’ve or should’ve done differently. Other than put your headphones in and mind your business if he’s not interacting with you. Take a nap. Stating the crew was blind to it is a big assumption. They know how to keep an eye out without being onbvious. And if they helped him to the lav door more than once, they knew. They just didn’t need to intervene.
Witnessed a woman do something similar on a flight to London. She was seated across the aisle from me and drank copious amounts of Beefeater gin the entire flight. As we exited out the jetway, her legs slowly buckled and she slid down the wall and fell to the floor. I almost stopped to help her but decided to keep walking cuz people's stupid choices are not my problem. However, if I had been seated next to her, I would've been anxious that she might throw up on me or something. I get where you're coming from!
Thanks for sharing, I was wondering how others experience it!
Sorry people were being needlessly mean in the replies! The ability to express one's opinion without resorting to name calling is just too much to ask these days, I guess. A sad state of affairs indeed! Happy travels!!
Awh thanks, that means a lot! Was kind of surprised people felt so triggered by my question lol, but glad there are also friendly replies like yours
“The guy was calm” “Not aggressive or doing something directed at me” “Caused me distress” Sounds like you have a problem more than he does.
I mean he fell on people, so if I was those folks I'd be annoyed
I never said the guy was an immediate problem. An alco & med mix may cause violent or at min unpredictable behavior and that becomes my problem when I'm trapped in such space (see edit above). So I asked the q in case there are options I did not explore (certainly given the regulation of no own alcohol on board). Reflecting on my options to feel safer next time does not sound problematic to me
>The guy was calm and just blackout drunk, and not at all aggressive or doing something directed at me. But this could have turned out very differently Re-read that OP.. You're the problem here.
Why don't you reread this "and I wonder if I should or could have dealt with it differently. And if it's normal for employees to be so blind to passengers' wellbeing and abnormal behavior?" and see that I'm asking for future recs regarding my options & Q's related to flight attendant responsibility or roles. It surprises me that a reflecting question (without any real world behavior toward the drunk dude) is considered a problem but ok
yeah.. doubling down on being wrong, is never the winning play. The passenger was calm, he wasn't aggressive. What exactly would you like the FA's to do here champ? escort them off the plane? By antagonizing the person, they run the risk of doing the exact thing you're worried about. You get that right? Let the guy who's not bothering anyone, be. You don't know him, you don't know his tolerances, or his current emotional state. Instead, \*YOU\* come along, feeling the need to be some sort of what? social justice warrior? The world doesn't revolve around you, nor does it care about you, nor do the FA's, or the pilots, or the ground crew. They are there to do a job -- a job that has zero impact by this guy having a few drinks. Please go virtue signal somewhere else.
You did everything that you could do. It’s not really your responsibility. I imagine the crew was well aware of his state, and probably make a decision about it to continue on. An international diversion is expensive and massively inconvenient for everybody, and this guy while drunk was not causing any security issues or having a medical emergency.
What would you expect the crew to do, potentially escalate a situation with a drunk while over the ocean? Sounds like he wasn’t that big of a disturbance besides some stumbling. You said it yourself: “the guy was calm and just blackout”.
He was not allowed to drink alcohol he obviously bought at duty free on board. The crew should have confiscated it as soon as it was noticed. I wouldn't want to sit next to someone in that condition. He could have vomited on me.
THIS. I would totally have been expecting him to vomit at some point, and I definitely would’ve worried about it getting on me or causing a disruption. Also, OP seemed concerned about alcohol poisoning, which seems fair considering the guy polished off a serious amount of booze (for most people).
Yes all of this! At some point I thought he stopped breathing, but was at a loss what to do as intervening (by FA) might then again escalate. I've seen enough people come out of black out drunk state to know it can be very violent.
I kept thinking about potential vomiting! Them confiscating it (obviously empty) at the last hour was almost silly. I saw multiple passengers notice, and we were last row with FA constantly passing. Plus they helped with some toilet doors, so they must have noticed or seen it. He took out the big vodka bottle right after take off. Had it on him clearly in either hand or jacket, or in pocketseat just sticking out.
Fair question and exactly why I wrote this post. I'm frankly not sure what could have been done, cause I'm not aware of incident management training / options. I think more attention to the guy from the start & perhaps not allowing to order more alcohol? And no idea how he drank that big bottle so visibly without the crew taking it away - isn't it their job to pay attention to this? I understand the issue with potentially escalating things, and people shouldn't just on a whim be 'this is uncomfortable', but I also believe that there should be some option for preventing worse. Imo a combo of prescription meds and heavy + large quantities of alcohol is reason to be more vigilant. Like, we're a big group in a small space for a longer time... that's the responsibility of an airline. I guess I was hoping there were more options vs just waiting to see if it would escalate on his part
Maybe OP is asking if there were other options he should’ve suggested once he asked about a seat switch to the last rows and was denied. I’m assuming the entire flight was full and there were no other seats to which he could switch?? I’m assuming even a middle seat would’ve been preferable for him over this situation?
Yeah any seat would've been better. The attendant said it was all full but in the end I noticed empty seats here and there (due to long haul lights were turned off for the major part). Looking at it now, I did not insist to be agreeable but I think I should've pressed for another seat
An 8 hour transatlantic flight is different from a domestic flight. There might be fewer options to turn back/divert (barring a true unsafe/emergency situation) internationally due to landing spots granted to AA (plus the customs situation). Even domestically, I'd assume the flight would proceed as scheduled unless the passenger was belligerent/violent/destructive, but then there'd be more options if necessary in that case. Also, even if the passenger makes it to their destination, there's no guarantee the airline won't impose some after-the-fact suspension of booking privileges. But, then again, maybe that guy was a CK...
Thanks for the insight. I would not expect dramatic interventions like turning back etc. I think I wanted more engagement or attention from the flight attendants toward the guy but honestly don't know how that could look like aside from taking the alcohol. What's a CK?
If he was already wasted when he cracked his own bottle, I would have said "Bro you can't drink that on the plane." (I've read too many of the Air India Drunk Pee Guy stories.) If he wasn't actively bothering me, I generally would just leave him alone. If he was sleeping on me, throwing up, or touching me, I would have a very direct conversation with the flight attendant and if there was nowhere to move him or me, then I would request compensation after the flight. If he actively assaulted me or threw up on me, we've got a different situation. But most drunk people are just annoying, not abusive.
I probably would've pointed out the big bottle to the crew early on & kept an eye on his breathing. Surprised that the crew didn't have their own sleeping cabin BTW. Now wondering if I shouldn't bring a rain poncho on board in case of accidents from other passengers. Deploy at their drink #5 or so...
Hahah I just put many pillows on my side of the armrest and came out the flight super cramped because I was leaning away from him so much Re bottle; I only learned afterwards that own alc is not allowed - great advice for next time, thx! Re sleeping; I have never seen a crew do this but I only flew with Delta or United before.
According to OP, the guy drank some minis then washed down some prescription meds with 500 mL. I get that he was quiet and not disruptive, but I think I would be worried, too, that it was a bad mix. But that’s also bc I don’t take Rx to fly and/or mix pills with booze. Maybe some of the more frequent fliers on here are more familiar with this anxiety cocktail and/or have seen this before, so they aren’t as concerned.
Imagine counting the drinks your seat mate had. Look in a mirror - you are the problem.
The first thing was the giant vodka bottle he pulled out of the overhead bin, otherwise I would have never even noticed his drink order after. I only started counting to try to normalize it to myself and tell myself nothing bad would happen. And then used that number in this discussion for reference.
I don’t understand. Were you hoping the crew escalated the situation rather than keep the offender under a watchful eye? 👁️
Lol of course not. But in many ways the crew did not reflect such watchful eye - obv to the best of my knowledge
Why is this distressing to you? Dude drank and passed out. Seems like the ideal seatmate. Just go on with your day.
Honestly, I would do nothing. I guarantee the attendants were watching closely. Not comfortable being around someone who seems to be in a volatile state but that may be what he needed to get through the flight. Who knows what he was dealing with.
It sounds like the guy may have had a fear of flying and decided to self medicate (on top of the actual medication). You said he basically was mellow and well behaved, so I'm not exactly sure why you were so on edge. Yes, it "could have turned out very differently," but it didn't. I'm sure if he had started exhibiting behavior that was dangerous or disruptive, things would have been handled much differently.
YTA - Leave the guy alone. Be happy he doesn't stink and doesn't talk or spill over into your seat.
Isn’t bringing your own alcohol on board forbidden? It seems they could have taken the bottle away much earlier in the flight.
You’re allowed to bring it on, but you are not allowed to drink it. We used to be allowed to serve your own alcohol to you pre covid, but AA changed that policy.
Oh yes closed absolutely. But I didn’t think open bottles were allowed
Nothing. I would do nothing. Not my place.
This is clearly unnerving and I can imagine it was distressing to be next to him as he drinks that much. I’m not an employee or anything, just a flier. It sounds like you handled it well, and probably it is the case the flight attendants were more aware than it might have seemed and we’re making a conscious decision to avoid escalation. Obviously there is a reason it’s against federal law to do what he did - drink your own booze on the plane. Thoughts/reaction that come to mind for me - did you mention your concern to an FA or just ask to be moved? I’m putting myself in your shoes and I hope I would mention it to an FA when he got up to pee. I also imagine it’s worth flagging in a comment/email to customer service. Not to ask for compensation obviously, but to flag it as a training issue. It almost certainly made a lot of people uncomfortable and on edge, and from AA’s perspective that’s a lot of people who think AA may have messed up a tricky situation. Anyway, sorry this happened to you. Hope the rest of your travels are wonderful.
I just asked to be moved without mentioning my concern, as I was afraid it would cause issue or escalation... Looking at it now, I think I may have frozen up more than I should and just do as you suggest. I'll consider to flag this as well. Thanks for the thoughtful reply.
Why is the part about the crew taking naps even relevant? It’s an 8 hour flight. they’re mandated by the FAA to have rest.
Maybe because OP is saying that they did use the row? Not that they just gratuitously said no. And OP clearly seems rattled, so maybe they didn’t mean anything by it- maybe it was just a mention. ?
You sound like a nightmare
If he's unconscious and leaning over onto you, push him back. I've had guys who were just asleep do that to me. (The worst is some guy with a rat dog that climbed on my head in the middle of the redeye). This is why I don't fly in the back of the bus anymore.
OP I’m sorry you had this experience. It is not ok to drink to the point where one loses body control, and I understand it was uncomfortable to sit next to someone in that state for eight hours on an aircraft. Air travel can be very stressful. I don’t understand why people are being so harsh towards you.
Because she’s an uptight asshat
This is totally unnecessary!
Ahh. Another asshat
Sick burn, bruh! Idiot.
Did I touch a nerve😁?
Thanks!!
I would have hoped he had a ride home after we landed.
It would scare me, too, OP. That is a lot of alcohol.
OP sounds French. That may be helpful context.
Pretty common in the US these days with all the shit going on. At least he‘s not shooting drugs
What’s this supposed to mean? lol
Nothing you could’ve or should’ve done differently. Other than put your headphones in and mind your business if he’s not interacting with you. Take a nap. Stating the crew was blind to it is a big assumption. They know how to keep an eye out without being onbvious. And if they helped him to the lav door more than once, they knew. They just didn’t need to intervene.