[ChrisH]

So now airlines are responsible for determining whether someone has had too much to drink? If a grown adult isn't mature enough to know their limits, it isn't the airlines fault. US Airways being denied serving alcohol on flights into New Mexico? Okay, whatever New Mexico wants. But, USAirways didn't give that person a set of car keys, and ask him to go drive down the wrong side of the road. I find it funny how nobody wants to take responsibility for human stupidity in today's world, but would rather point the finger at something else.

I will call my manager up tomorrow, for the airline I used to work for (I no longer work for the airlines) and will tell him to bring up in his next meeting at the company headquarters that the airlines should start doing breathalizers on all passengers during boarding, and deny boarding to anybody over a certain limit. They can add another fee for that service as well.

I think USAirways did what they could in this situation. It isn't right to move the passenger who is causing a problem to one passenger, to another seat, where they may cause a problem with someone totally different. It made sense to move your wife, since your wife wouldn't have been an issue to someone else. This left the drunk woman by herself. I can see refunding the difference, since your wife was moved to coach, but it was of her own choice, and she could have said no. I don't think touching someone constitutes calling the police, unless by touching you mean she did so in an inappropriate, sexual way. If it was simply she placed her hand on her, in a friendly manner, like people do all of the time, that far from constitutes calling the police, or having the flight crew get involved. I guess they should have diverted the flight, and had police standing by? I'm sure if this drunk woman would have been disruptive during flight, and caused serious concern for safety, they would have done that, but it sounds to me simply like your wife got aggrevated with the woman, and made more of it than it probably was.

Also, bars and clubs regularly sell alcohol to people who are knowingly intoxicated. People leave those establishments and kill people all of the time, unfortunately. The airlines are allowed to sell, and serve alcohol, just like those establishments. Most people do not get drunk on an airplane, like at a bar, and as long as it is allowed, by the government, than you cannot fault the airlines for doing it. That is ridiculous. It isn't the airline's responsibility to monitor a grown adults alcohol consumption, nor what they do once they leave the airport!