A Delta Air Lines passenger claims a flight attendant refused to serve him more alcohol not because he was drunk, but because of the flight attendant’s Mormon faith.

Delta Passenger Blames Mormon Flight Attendant After Being Cut Off From Alcohol In First Class

A man was traveling from Salt Lake City (SLC) to Cancun (CUN) on Delta Air Lines in first class and claims a “Peter Priesthood” flight attendant cut him off even though he was slowly enjoying his alcohol with food during the 4.5-hour flight.

Here’s the complaint in its full context:

SLC is my home airport. I travel at least monthly for work and take about three vacations per year. I am Diamond and am usually in Comfort+ with an occasional upgrade to first class. On work trips, I very rarely will order an adult beverage on a flight. On vacations that are not long-haul flights, I will imbibe.

I have had my fair share of bizarre interactions and/or observations of the religious SLC-based flight crew over the years, but my recent experience takes the cake. Flew round-trip SLC to Cancun and purchased first class for a special occasion. On the way to Cancun, we had fabulous service, pre-departure beverage, and 3 more drinks over 4 hours and 20 minutes with a full meal and two snacks.

On the way back, we had Peter Priesthood as the first class attendant. This time the flight was 4.5 hours No pre-departure beverage. He took away my 1/3 full first sparkling wine while I was still enjoying my meal and replaced it with sparkling water. I asked him for another sparkling wine and he acted shocked. Had to flag him down for every single thing (no paper towels in bathroom, can we clear my meal tray, etc). He was face down in his phone the majority of the flight or talking football with some football coach one row ahead of me.

After two snacks and a full meal, I requested my fourth (really 3 and 2/3rds as he took my 1/3 glass earlier) and final sparkling wine. He loudly told me that I had drunk two bottles already and he would not over serve me. I was shocked. Since when does 3 1/3 glasses equal two full bottles? WTF? I asked for ice water instead and he completely ignored me and never brought me water.

Cutting People Off When They Are Not Intoxicated Is Unacceptable

What an interesting issue this is. Let’s assume, for purposes of our discussion, that the first class passenger was not showing any signs of being intoxicated. Three glasses of wine throughout a four-hour flight, with meal service and snacks, does not sound over-the-top to me, considering Delta’s glasses are not massive.

My hunch is that the passenger is likely correct that “Peter Preisthood” (a term I had not previously heard of, meaning a devout LDS member) may have let his own personal aversion to alcohol get in the way of his judgment. While the prohibition against alcohol and caffeine is not rigid, many Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) members take seriously the Word of Wisdom, a purported revelation from their prophet Joseph Smith that discourages the use of alcohol, tobacco, and “hot drinks” (and there is no baptism or temple worship for those who consume alcohol).

It’s not inconceivable to me that the flight attendant thought he was doing the man a favor by cutting him off. But it’s not up to a flight attendant to decide for someone that they do not need another alcoholic drink. Rather, the authority of a flight attendant is to watch for any signs of intoxication and then cut off a passenger. Absent those signs, some people can drink like fish with no effect, and as unhealthy as that is, that is their prerogative.

CONCLUSION

A Delta first class passenger was denied an additional alcoholic beverage by a flight attendant who decided that three glasses was enough, despite no visible signs of being intoxicated or even buzzed. The passenger blames the flight attendant’s Mormon faith for limiting his alcohol.

Whatever happened on this particular flight, I think we can agree that religious conviction is not a valid reason for a flight attendant to cut off a passenger from drinking. The only valid reason is signs of intoxication.

What do you think about this issue?

top image: Delta Air Lines