A passenger advises that the airline and cabin attendants allowed two obviously inebriated passenger...

Narrative:

My friend and I boarded a flight from jfk to ZZZZ, first officer. While passengers were still finding their seats, a group of men seated next to us began to consume alcohol they had brought on board. They had clearly been drinking for some time, and were plainly intoxicated. Two of these men, one of whom was so intoxicated he could barely lift his head when addressed a short while later by a flight attendant, were seated in an emergency-exit row. Their behavior became increasingly belligerent until one of them, who was drinking from a 375 ml bottle of whiskey, spat out a large mouthful of it into my friend's face. I alerted a flight attendant, and the purser confronted them with another attendant. They confiscated an enormous amount of alcohol from the men, the almost empty bottle from one of the two men in the emergency-exit row, and a large shopping bag filled with alcohol from one of his friends. The purser then moved my friend to an empty seat away from them, but left the men where they were. I asked that they be removed from the plane since we had not yet left the gate, or at the very least moved to different seats, and the purser refused. At no point did any air carrier employee make an announcement about the requirements for being seated in an emergency-exit row. No one questioned them or anyone else seated in our exit row about our ability or willingness to perform the functions that might have become necessary. The airline's handling of this situation was an egregious dereliction of the company's duty to do everything in its power to ensure the safety of its passengers and employees, especially considering the current need for heightened security in air travel. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following information: the reporter advised that the aircraft was a B757. Reporter further advised that they are not involved in the industry other than as a frequent flyer. Reporter reiterated a strong conviction regarding the resulting deterioration in the level of safety that resulted from their observations and the fact that they wished to pursue the incident until someone paid attention. Reporter advised that they found the route to the ASRS reports through a web search engine.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A PAX ADVISES THAT THE AIRLINE AND CABIN ATTENDANTS ALLOWED TWO OBVIOUSLY INEBRIATED PASSENGERS TO REMAIN IN THE EXIT ROW AND FAILED TO MAKE REQUIRED ANNOUNCEMENTS TO OPERATE THE EXIT IN THE EVENT OF AN EMER.

Narrative: MY FRIEND AND I BOARDED A FLT FROM JFK TO ZZZZ, FO. WHILE PASSENGERS WERE STILL FINDING THEIR SEATS, A GROUP OF MEN SEATED NEXT TO US BEGAN TO CONSUME ALCOHOL THEY HAD BROUGHT ON BOARD. THEY HAD CLEARLY BEEN DRINKING FOR SOME TIME, AND WERE PLAINLY INTOXICATED. TWO OF THESE MEN, ONE OF WHOM WAS SO INTOXICATED HE COULD BARELY LIFT HIS HEAD WHEN ADDRESSED A SHORT WHILE LATER BY A FLT ATTENDANT, WERE SEATED IN AN EMER-EXIT ROW. THEIR BEHAVIOR BECAME INCREASINGLY BELLIGERENT UNTIL ONE OF THEM, WHO WAS DRINKING FROM A 375 ML BOTTLE OF WHISKEY, SPAT OUT A LARGE MOUTHFUL OF IT INTO MY FRIEND'S FACE. I ALERTED A FLT ATTENDANT, AND THE PURSER CONFRONTED THEM WITH ANOTHER ATTENDANT. THEY CONFISCATED AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL FROM THE MEN, THE ALMOST EMPTY BOTTLE FROM ONE OF THE TWO MEN IN THE EMER-EXIT ROW, AND A LARGE SHOPPING BAG FILLED WITH ALCOHOL FROM ONE OF HIS FRIENDS. THE PURSER THEN MOVED MY FRIEND TO AN EMPTY SEAT AWAY FROM THEM, BUT LEFT THE MEN WHERE THEY WERE. I ASKED THAT THEY BE REMOVED FROM THE PLANE SINCE WE HAD NOT YET LEFT THE GATE, OR AT THE VERY LEAST MOVED TO DIFFERENT SEATS, AND THE PURSER REFUSED. AT NO POINT DID ANY ACR EMPLOYEE MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT ABOUT THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING SEATED IN AN EMER-EXIT ROW. NO ONE QUESTIONED THEM OR ANYONE ELSE SEATED IN OUR EXIT ROW ABOUT OUR ABILITY OR WILLINGNESS TO PERFORM THE FUNCTIONS THAT MIGHT HAVE BECOME NECESSARY. THE AIRLINE'S HANDLING OF THIS SIT WAS AN EGREGIOUS DERELICTION OF THE COMPANY'S DUTY TO DO EVERYTHING IN ITS POWER TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ITS PASSENGERS AND EMPLOYEES, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE CURRENT NEED FOR HEIGHTENED SECURITY IN AIR TRAVEL. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR ADVISED THAT THE ACFT WAS A B757. RPTR FURTHER ADVISED THAT THEY ARE NOT INVOLVED IN THE INDUSTRY OTHER THAN AS A FREQUENT FLYER. RPTR REITERATED A STRONG CONVICTION REGARDING THE RESULTING DETERIORATION IN THE LEVEL OF SAFETY THAT RESULTED FROM THEIR OBSERVATIONS AND THE FACT THAT THEY WISHED TO PURSUE THE INCIDENT UNTIL SOMEONE PAID ATTENTION. RPTR ADVISED THAT THEY FOUND THE RTE TO THE ASRS RPTS THROUGH A WEB SEARCH ENGINE.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	593478
Time
Date	200308
Day	Sat
Place
Locale Reference	airport : jfk.airport
State Reference	NY
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	tower : clt.tower
Operator	common carrier : air carrier
Make Model Name	B757 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	ground : preflight
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	observation : passenger
ASRS Report	593478
Person 2
Function	observation : passenger other personnel other
Events
Anomaly	cabin event : passenger contraband cabin event : passenger misconduct non adherence : far non adherence : company policies
Independent Detector	other other : person 1
Resolutory Action	none taken : anomaly accepted
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance Environmental Factor Company Cabin Crew Human Performance Passenger Human Performance
Primary Problem	Passenger Human Performance

A passenger advises that the airline and cabin attendants allowed two obviously inebriated passengers to remain in the exit row and failed to make required announcements to operate the exit in the event of an emergency.