United Airlines passenger orders an alcoholic drink on a four-hour flight, only to be denied because of his seat: ‘Bad time to learn’
They will just have drink their alcoholic drink next time.
Flights can get quite boring, especially when you are stuck in a cramped seat for several hours—which might be the reason why some turn a plane into a makeshift club. Some passengers, however, turn to alcoholic drinks to pass the time on a United Airlines flight—only to find they are not allowed to get one.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, a passenger boarded a United flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a birthday weekend, according to the NY Post. But when they requested an alcoholic drink mid-flight, they were allegedly told by flight attendants that those seated in the emergency exit rows were prohibited from being served such drinks.
“A 4 hour Saturday evening flight to San Juan on my birthday eve was a bad time to learn that alcohol is not served in exit rows,” the passenger said. They shared their experience on the r/unitedairlines subreddit.
United Airlines has no policy on alcohol
United currently does not have any policies regarding the serving of alcoholic beverages to passengers seated in the exit row. At most, they only require that the passenger be over 21 years of age. However, going against the flight attendant’s claim may place the passenger in a difficult situation, as the airline has the right to remove a passenger if they fail to comply with instructions and policies, per its Rules of the Contract of Carriage.
On the other hand, neither the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nor the Department of Transportation (DOT) prohibits emergency exit row passengers from drinking or being served alcohol. Flight attendants are only prohibited from serving passengers alcoholic beverages if they already appear to be intoxicated, are being escorted, or have a dangerous weapon, according to Federal Aviation Regulations.
The FAA has concerns about intoxication
Yet, the FAA has raised safety concerns about serving alcoholic beverages to passengers in the emergency exit rows, citing an increase in incidents of intoxication among those seated there. According to its findings, intoxicated passengers may need to be moved from the exit row to a non-exit seat mid-flight, which could leave the emergency exit row unoccupied in the event of an emergency. However, the FAA believes that allowing an intoxicated or unqualified passenger to remain in the exit row poses a greater safety risk than leaving the seat unoccupied.
The FAA also prohibits airlines from seating passengers in the emergency exit row if they are unable to perform certain functions, such as hearing and understanding commands, assisting other passengers, and opening the emergency exit. These abilities can be impaired if passengers are intoxicated.
The exact reason behind the flight attendant’s refusal to provide the thirsty passenger with alcohol remains unclear. But they did receive 5,000 complimentary miles when they filed a complaint with United, which is enough to cover six alcoholic drinks on their next flight, at least.
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