moondoggie

One of the two shows I watch on TV each week is 'Airline', which features Southwest Airlines crews and passengers. Am I the only person of the opinion that excessive alcohol consumption is the number one cause of complaints, obnoxious passengers, and time/effort of the gate personnel? Maybe we should have alcohol detectors just prior to entering the Jetway, kind of like the security metal detectors. Whaddayathink?

rb_travelerxATyahoo

I love "Airline"! I don't have cable at home, but I'm moonlighting 3rd shift at a hotel, and watch it at 2am while working, or "working"!

I agree that MANY, or even most problems see to involve pax who've been drinking, I don't think we need any more restrictions. After all, how many passengers have a drink but are NOT a problem?

Patty

I used to love that show when it first aired, but I'm starting to get tired of all of the drunk passenger scenarios! Last night's episode had two of them. Is there not enough other interesting stuff to film?

Do other airlines have the same policy when it comes to drunk passengers? It seems to be a constant problem on Southwest at least that's how they portray it. I've never personally witnessed another passenger denied boarding or deplaned due to excessive alcohol consumption.

Patty

And no, we don't need any alcohol detectors. Most passengers have one or two drinks and don't behave obnoxiously or endanger themselves or other pax.

ms_go

I'm wondering if they are having a hard time coming up with other, interesting stories to tell. I noticed Southwest has an announcement on the homepage of its website right now soliciting people to be on the show.

J_Correa

I've also stopped watching the show due to the focus on drunk passengers. It seems to be the same story told over and over again.

P_M

I think the UK episodes are a lot more interesting. Here's what happened on the episode I watched today: 2 Germans had picked up a tarantula and some lizards in Miami and were connecting through London on their way back to Berlin. The airport personnel didn't know if they could allow them to carry on these "animals" or not, so they were trying to figure out what to do. There was also a lady who was moving to the UK but didn't have all of her paperwork together so they almost had to send her back on the next plane to where she came from. Then they were shipping a Ferrari on another plane as cargo.

I think the issues faced at Heathrow airport are a lot more unique than SW dealing with drunks and overbookings. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a "drunk passenger" episode on the UK shows.

pdxgirl

I don't think we need alcohol detectors at airports, but I wonder why every bar in the airport doesn't have a large sign posted that says: "WARNING - you my be denied boarding if you are intoxicated." I think it comes as a surprise to many passengers that they can't "drink and fly!"