I'll be worried when they are pushing weed and peyote on transatlantic flights.

Why didn't you switch seats so the 14 yo wasn't in the solo spot?

They probably assumed he was 18 since he didn't look like he was traveling with family (and they would have known if he was an unaccompanied minor).

Don't you think seeing a bunch of half-pissed travelers trying to navigate security is a teachable moment?

I'm guessing your kids have never seen you drunk. Well, now they know what it looks like. That's easily the best lesson in moderation.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't expect the flight attendant to remember anything specific about me while serving such a large flight. I also think it's part of their "script" to specifically state that they have booze. It's a given that soft drinks are available, free booze is less common, so she was probably just operating a bit on auto-pilot. I also doubt all those passengers were incredibly drunk. They come around with the drink service maybe 4 times max. 4 mini-bottles of wine over 8 hours is not getting anyone that plastered.

I really think you are taking this way too personally.

+1

OP, unless you don't trust your son, I am not sure why you are taking this so personally. They offered, he declined. They always offer alcohol on international flights, and they do not have time to check IDs. Not only that, but I am not certain they have to considering they are flying internationally and are not in any country when offering (who knows on this one -- I am not an international flight attorney, haha).

I wouldn't expect the flight attendant to remember anything specific about me while serving such a large flight. I also think it's part of their "script" to specifically state that they have booze. It's a given that soft drinks are available, free booze is less common, so she was probably just operating a bit on auto-pilot. I also doubt all those passengers were incredibly drunk. They come around with the drink service maybe 4 times max. 4 mini-bottles of wine over 8 hours is not getting anyone that plastered.

I really think you are taking this way too personally.

Anonymous wrote:Seems like the flight attendant explained the situation perfectly clearly. They were "pushing" wine because they wanted to clear their inventory. All your DS had to do was say, "No thanks."

And yes, booze is free on international flights.

Oh, I understand the first time, it was a full flight and I'm sure they can't ID every passenger. It was the times AFTER he, and then me, made it clear that he was underage (I should mention that the vast majority of the time it was the same flight attendant that served our cabin, I'm not talking about a mixup between different attendants.

And I get why they wanted to clear their inventory, but it is just crazy to me that they would rather a drunk load of passengers on a redeye flight rather then wasting a bit of inventory. I think they should have had a more appropriate inventory (and no, this was a full flight, not a case of having an inventory for a full flight, but only having half a flightload).

I manage/partially own a grocery store for a living. We don't order 500 of a fruit that goes bad in a week if we only sell 100 a week on average, we would normally oder maybe 125-150, 200 at most if we think that they will be popular that week. It seemed like that was happening on this flight.

Especially if you are giving it away for free.

Also, my religion does not forbid alcohol, and yes, I have been known to have a drink or two here and there, but I don't want my kids to grow up to think it is perfectly fine to get smashed on an airplane. And also, moderation is an importent lesson to kids, especially at that age where more likely then not they will be exposed to alcohol at parties, and elsewhere pretty soon. If you were their, what you would learn from this flight would be that drinking way too much for the situation is perfectly fine as long as everyone else was doing it, and as long as it was being pushed on you.

I don't think op is weird. What if her/ his religion forbid alcohol? What if she/he or a member of their family has a history of alcohol abuse? I would find this annoying too and would definitely report it. It's also a teaching moment for kids about what "most people" might think vs what our family values.

Anonymous wrote:I was just on a BA flight 2 days ago, did not experience this at all (and have not experienced it on any of numerous other BA flights). Yes BA and most other international flights offer free wine/beer, and they often make that clear when they come around with the cart- but I've never known them to get huffy when someone asks for something non-alcoholic. Is there any chance you and DS read a bit too much into their reactions?

OP Here:

Maybe I did misread the huffiness of them when they served non-alcoholic drinks, but they definitely continued to offer alcohol to my DS well after it should have been abundantly clear he was underage.

They never even said they had soft drinks unless you specifically ordered them, and even if you ordered soft drinks, who knows. The guy in front of me said he wanted a 'coke' and the flight attendant was about to pour rum in to mix when the guy had to stop him because the guy wanted... A coca-cola, not a rum and coke.

My guess is that the flight, for some reason, was overstocked with alcohol/wine, and they were trying to get rid of it before they had to toss it, but I don't see that as a valid excuse. The entire thing was a shitshow, and by the end they were giving people (often quite drunk) two wines or two beers unless they specifically asked for only one.

I will have to say it was mildly funny (in an awful kind of way) watching all these incredibly drunk passengers trying to get through hearthrow security to get to connecting flights (we landed on the tarmac, not at a gate). Though I feel bad for them, and the workers there.

I used to wonder how stuff like this happened, I guess I now know: http://news.travel.aol.com/2011/05/04/iurii-chumak-drunk-british-airways-passenger-gropes-flight-att/.

I would complain because the passengers suffered from very poor customer service. Use all the info they gave you.

I use Air France and of course they have wine, but the attendants are always courteous and offer it appropriately.

Seems like the flight attendant explained the situation perfectly clearly. They were "pushing" wine because they wanted to clear their inventory. All your DS had to do was say, "No thanks."

And yes, booze is free on international flights.

Anonymous wrote:Weird and inappropriate. Icky.

Yes, OP is weird and his overreaction is inappropriate. Icky.

Weird and inappropriate. Icky.

Damn - how to I get myself on one of these flights?

I was just on a BA flight 2 days ago, did not experience this at all (and have not experienced it on any of numerous other BA flights). Yes BA and most other international flights offer free wine/beer, and they often make that clear when they come around with the cart- but I've never known them to get huffy when someone asks for something non-alcoholic. Is there any chance you and DS read a bit too much into their reactions?

Recently (i.e. in the past 4 days) I took a trip to Nigeria with my family. We chose British Airways because it was (relatively) cheap and convenient from Dulles to London, then from London to Nigeria.

It was me, DS14, DD10 and my wife. We thought we had seats all together, but when we got there they changed the seats around and DS was pushed up a few rows while the rest of us stayed the same (this is from Dulles->London). I should mention this was a redeye flight as well.

I noticed early on that the flight attendants were pushing their alcoholic (free) offerings really heavily. Literally 10 minutes into the flight (I should mention, and 8 hour flight) they came around with the cart asking if anyone wanted a drink and specifically advertising their wine selection. I swear every time someone ordered a coke, or water, or any non-alcoholic drink the flight attendants would get all bothered and huffy- they clearly were doing it for the alcohol.

After they come around again, my son comes back and tells me he is annoyed and the flight attendants keep trying to get him to take a wine despite him saying no thank you. Knowing my son (often a bit shy and awkward in wierd situations) I think that he probably didnt even say, "Hey I'm 14" and I guess they just thought he was a young looking 18 year old, but when I tell him to let them know his age, he says he did both times and they still tried to get him to take some alcohol. Keep in mind tis is maybe an hour into the flight and they have come around twice already.

The next time they come around I go up to DS' seat as they approach, just to kind of say 'Hey, I'm his dad, he's 14 and I don't appreciate you trying to serve him alcohol, something that is illegal both in Britain and the U.S. at his age." They come up and I go through my spiel (though, I did add in a tiny bit about how I did not think trying to get their passengers drunk on a redeye flight was a good idea). They then tried to reason with me that wine was not a big deal and that I was overreacting, and also said they were pushing the wine because they could not carry it over to another flight and they had to give it all out. I stressed not to offer it to him again. Of course they continued to until we got to London (he, of course, declined).

The second leg they also pushed wine, but luckily we were in the same row and if they looked like they were going to offer him wine I gave them a mean look.

So my question to more experienced international travelors is:

1) Is this normal for international flights to have a focus on alcohol? To serve it to kids?

2) Do most international flights have free alcohol? Or did I end up in the Alcoholics Anonymous of flights?

3) Is there any way to report this to the airline/the regulatory commissions that oversees airlines? I get that the British drinking age is 18, not 21, but my son is younger then 18, and does not even look 18, so he should not have been asked, and they should have stopped offering alcohol to him when I went up and made sure his age was clear, if not earlier.