Imbibers' Rights A plane is not a bar. If someone drinks too much at my favorite tavern, we can push him out the door and call him a cab. Try doing that at 30,000 feet. Fact is, an aircraft is a special place with special rules. Interfering with the crew is a federal offense.
Smoking is a no-no on flights inside the United States.
You can't switch seats without permission, can't use the bathroom whenever you want to, can't leave unless you've got a death wish. Another regulation for the sake of everyone's health and safety wouldn't be such a bad thing, really. Travelers won't go for it, either, because many of them think the right to drink on a flight is written into the Constitution. The Crabby Traveler appears on Tuesdays. Christopher Elliott, a k a The Crabby Traveler, is a Los Angeles-based writer.