In-Flight Showdown: United Flight Attendant Confronts Passengers Drinking Their Own Booze

by Gary Leff

A flight attendant confiscated alcohol from two passengers, while another passenger on board the aircraft filmed. The two women had open mini-bottles that they’d brought on board themselves. They weren’t being discrete – they were cheersing across the aisle of what appears to be a United Airlines Boeing 757.

The crewmember says “I’m so sorry, I’m sorry you cannot” she takes away the bottles. As the flight attendant takes away the first passenger’s bottle, the second passenger says “you want to get some girl?” and brings her own drink closer to her mouth – as the flight attendant grabs it.

There were several women traveling together, and at least one other passenger appears similarly dressed to the two that were drinking. A ‘girls trip’ they decided to bring their own alcohol in a size that can be brought through an airport security checkpoint, rather than buying their own on board.

However it is illegal to consume alcohol on board a commercial aircraft that isn’t served to you by a member of the crew. You actually can bring your own alcohol on board and on some airlines the crew will serve it to you. They have to be able to monitor your consumption.

Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran says she brings “a real wine glass” and will “buy a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc at the airport.” Maybe if she’s flying Cathay Pacific, but sitting in back on American Airlines or United I doubt it.

The women in this video, who served themselves, were lucky if they weren’t written up (on British Airways you’d get a ‘yellow card’). Here’s an old one from American Airlines. I’ve only seen these pulled out twice in my travels over the past decade.

Passengers were also lucky the flight attendant didn’t ask the pilot to radio ahead for law enforcement to meet the aircraft, and to have corporate security investigate and consider banning the passengers from future travel on the airline.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Americans continue to show they are the most pathetic people in the world. It’s almost they are in a race to see how ugly they can be.

  2. If they just pour it into a soda or took a shot discreetly, no one would’ve noticed, but those geniuses decided to hold them up for the camera

  3. @Ray
    You’ve obviously never been around mainland Chinese or Russian tourists. We can’t hold a candle to them.

  4. So why is this 3rd party “Karen” filming it. People using their phones to take video has to stop. It is an invasion of privacy for those that don’t agree to appear in the video, against many airlines’ rules and one of the most narcissistic things anyone can do. God I hope this country gets back to the values of the past some day

  7. As someone writing blogs please check your spelling before publishing. Whilst “discrete” is a word you mean “discreet”.

  8. > So why is this 3rd party “Karen” filming it.

    Nice. Try to BLAME the person recording it.

    Everyone: Please keep recording and posting bad behaviour — they need to learn HUMILITY and SHAME again.

  9. English is not my first language but I can write better than current crop of American high schoolers.

    Discreet means hidden quietly, usually in plain sight.

    Discrete means disjointed, non-linear, not infinitely continuous.

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