[AisleSeatTraveller]

Did you know that a chap in the 1st class Qantas lounge in Melbourne will count the number of beverages you have? And then be a tad irritating……

[GivingupBA]

AisleSeatTraveller wrote:

Did you know that a chap in the 1st class Qantas lounge in Melbourne will count the number of beverages you have? And then be a tad irritating……

Does he work for or is he contracted by Qantas? I suppose he does/is. In which case he doesn’t understand the concept behind the lounge. I won’t be too bothered by someone counting, but I will be if they bother me or irritate me or speak to me about what I’m consuming: then I might report it.

[AisleSeatTraveller]

Counted, commented, caused a major issue (quoted policy / law that’s not applied in Sydney for example), maybe he just had a bad day

[GivingupBA]

AisleSeatTraveller wrote:

Counted, commented, caused a major issue (quoted policy / law that’s not applied in Sydney for example), maybe he just had a bad day

Thanks. Sounds a bit unpleasant for you [or me] to suffer. Although personally I really want to always forgive and understand someone having a bad day, as it happens to all of us occasionally. It would usually be it happening twice that would make me take action.

[K1ngston]

AisleSeatTraveller wrote:

Did you know that a chap in the 1st class Qantas lounge in Melbourne will count the number of beverages you have? And then be a tad irritating……

I would have had another drink to get over it …. and if I had been with Martyn another 2 or 3!!!

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Montysaurus

[MartynSinclair]

K1ngston wrote:

I would have had another drink to get over it …. and if I had been with Martyn another 2 or 3!!!

Is he / she from ‘AA’ or a bean counter from finance? i.e. exactly what is his / her purpose? Perhaps the polite thing is to invite him/her to join us for another drink….

[rferguson]

Australian laws are really strict regarding the serving of alcohol….some would say OTT. They changed a good 15 years ago and if I remember right it was driven by the amount of drink drivers causing fatal accidents (which wouldn’t seem to apply in an airline departure lounge).

The Australian Government required that anyone that serves alcohol to the public to complete a course at a local college for ‘Responsible serving of alcohol (RSA)’. The person undertaking the course receives a certificate and has to present it to an employer whether it be a pub or an airline.. Even QF Cabin Crew need to complete it, hence why a request for two alcoholic beverages will usually be politely declined with an ‘i’ll come back with a second one once you’ve finished this one’.

I’m not sure of many of the specifics but I know one aspect pushes an onus of liability onto the person serving you the booze if they know you are already on the verge of intoxication and substantial fines for the business serving intoxicated people. Obviously, this can make many of those serving err on the safe side. Many of my friends have been shocked when they’ve been a little tipsy and been refused service at a bar or pub in SYD during layovers.

In a nutshell:

https://alcoholthinkagain.com.au/Alcohol-Your-Community/Responsible-Service-of-Alcohol

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Polly, Swissdiver, BA789, Tom Otley

[GivingupBA]

rferguson wrote:

Australian laws are really strict regarding the serving of alcohol… ‘Responsible serving of alcohol (RSA)’…. Even QF Cabin Crew need to complete it… onus of liability onto the person serving you the booze… substantial fines…

Thanks very much for that – it puts the event in perhaps a different light: if, IF the lounge staff or someone else were merely following the law or regulations, of course they had to do that. Interesting stuff anyway.

[canucklad]

MartynSinclair wrote:

Australian laws are really strict regarding the serving of alcohol….some would say OTT.

Lets hope St.Nicola of Holyrood isn’t reading this. otherwise I can see another social engineering project hitting us north of the border : )
And to be fair, managing free alcohol does make sense, especially in an aviation environment

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Montysaurus

[TupeloKid]

I was once told by a young scrote on an overnight Virgin flight from Hong Kong to London (bulkhead seat, no one else in the row, flight quite empty, dinner service already over) that my third can of beer should be my last. I expressed some surprise, asking if he/the airline seriously thought that a middle-aged man sitting reading his book was going to be a problem after a pint and a half. He was flummoxed by this and, to save him embarrassment, I declined both the third drink and all opportunities to use the Virgin Hong Kong-London route for the following 5 years.

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[RedBaron]

Times have changed since Australian cricketer David Boon infamously claimed the team drinking record by allegedly consuming 52 cans of beer on the team flight from Sydney to London for the 1989 Ashes series.

[GivingupBA]

RedBaron wrote:

Times have changed since Australian cricketer David Boon infamously claimed the team drinking record by allegedly consuming 52 cans of beer on the team flight from Sydney to London for the 1989 Ashes series.

Impressive, and a good story. But yes, times have changed. I don’t care what or how much people drink before or while flying, but I do care about their behaviour while/ after drinking. When I hear stories about drinkers getting abusive/ fighting with passengers/ abusing flight attendants, these days sometimes followed by the flight diverting and the police arriving, I (of course) think “OK, throw the book at them, ban them, charge them the full cost of the diversion – that might teach them a lesson” – I have no sympathy: people should and must know better in the air nowadays.

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Jacob, Ahmad, Johnnyg, first_class_please, TupeloKid

[AisleSeatTraveller]

only seems to be an issue in Melbourne, a day later in Sydney a chap next to me was served another beverage after claiming to have had a bottle and a half of wine.

previously the shampoo (a few months ago)has flowed very liberally in the Sydney lounge

a little consistency would be lovely

thanks for the responses / input from everyone

[rferguson]

AisleSeatTraveller wrote:

only seems to be an issue in Melbourne, a day later in Sydney a chap next to me was served another beverage after claiming to have had a bottle and a half of wine.

previously the shampoo (a few months ago)has flowed very liberally in the Sydney lounge

a little consistency would be lovely

thanks for the responses / input from everyone

I agree with you on the counting thing. It is not a good measurement of how intoxicated someone is. I’m one of those lightweights that after two glasses of wine I get a bit silly. Yet others can drink a whole bottle of wine and you would think by their outward behaviour they’ve only had a glass. People have different tolerance levels.

Some people tolerate their booze exceptionally well. Drink two bottles of wine and fall asleep for the whole flight. Others become disruptive. Not outwardly aggressive but just loud and inconsiderate to other passengers which is a real pain in the proverbial on a night flight. And the worst group are those that flip unpredictably – from ‘good spirited tipsy’ to a nightmare drunk person that becomes obnoxious.

Even on UK registered aircraft many people are unaware it’s illegal to be drunk on an aircraft. But how often have I seen a drunk person/people on a long haul BA flight? Pretty much every single one. And it’s not always because people have had copious amounts to drink onboard. We are obviously aware of how much booze we are serving someone – but not aware of how much they had before getting on the plane. And in London where most of the lounges are DIY booze service it’s got us into some sticky situations. And do you know you can drink your own DF purchased booze onboard?

In fact i’d say easily 90% of memorable ‘issues’ i’ve had onboard in my 20 years of flying have involved booze. And I can totally understand why – we offer lounges with free booze you can help yourself to. You get onboard and within moments of being sat in your seat we’ll give you more. Soon as in the air we offer a bar service, followed by another. Wine with the meal. You’re desperate for some sleep on this overnight flight so have a nightcap or two. Some will throw in a sleeping pill on top of that. Mix in the dry cabin and higher altitude. Yet, as soon as you show signs of being drunk you are effectively breaking the law. It’s crazy. It reminds me of the ‘all you can drink champagne’ brunches in Dubai where people do just that. Drink all they can. Yet the moment they step outside the bar/hotel they are breaking the law for being drunk.

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[Author]

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