[Bla1ze]

There comes a time when you have to ask yourselves is supporting RIM worth it. AS a Canadian I was all gun ** about supporting BB. Now I am just embarrassed.

Sometimes.. everyone cares just a little too much.. so what?! Some RIM employees got plastered on a flight.. it's funny it even made news.. end of the day, no one really cares except maybe the two who now have $35K in fines LOL.

I've done worse at family get togethers.

[DenverRalphy]

There are 2 effects:
1) You are right that the higher altitude effect is balanced out by the pressurization. However, I don't believe that the pressurization is equal to ground level pressure (I stand to be corrected on this though).
2) Moisture. Air in a plane is very low on moisture, and this causes the alcohol's effects to worsen.

Today, it is typical for aircraft cabin pressure to be set to around 6000 - 7000 ft for aircraft travelling around 40k ft. I misspoke a bit when I said there were no effects on alcohol period, I meant more that changes in aircraft altitude doesn't have any bearing. For somebody like me who lives in Denver, there'd be little impact on the effect of alcohol. For somebody who typically resides at sea level, there may be increased effect, but not to the extreme that they are falling down drunk 2 hours into the flight.

As for the moisture, that more effects the extremity of your hangover. It's not unheard of for passengers to receive the "instant hangover" if all they consume is alcoholic or caffeine based beverages.

In any case... in reference to the story in this thread, I'd be more inclined to believe the 2 passengers where knocking back more than a few beverages in the airport lounge before even boarding the plane.

[DenverRalphy]

Sometimes.. everyone cares just a little too much.. so what?! Some RIM employees got plastered on a flight.. it's funny it even made news.. end of the day, no one really cares except maybe the two who now have $35K in fines LOL.

I've done worse at family get togethers.

I agree. The news could simply be about 2 drunk men causing a flight to be turned around making an example out of them to serve as a warning to future schmoes acting the same way. Identifying who they're employed with has no real bearing on the story.

[JeepBB]

There are 2 effects:
1) You are right that the higher altitude effect is balanced out by the pressurization. However, I don't believe that the pressurization is equal to ground level pressure (I stand to be corrected on this though).
2) Moisture. Air in a plane is very low on moisture, and this causes the alcohol's effects to worsen.

Yup. Aircraft are typically pressurised to an altitude of a few thousand feet (~6,000ft) for lots of reasons that I won't bore you with.

I'm no Doctor, but I've seen first-hand that it appears easier to get drunk on an aircraft for the same intake of booze. Tho' it's best not to drink at all if you're in either of the two seats right up at the front!

The RIM story made news on this side of the pond as well.

Not the best "drunk on aircraft" story though. A few years ago, a man and woman who didn't know each other previously (you know where this is going... ) got drunk on an aircraft and... erm... cannodled half-naked under a blanket in business class. The stewie threw cold water over them, they were arrested and charged with endangering an aircraft in flight, made the front pages of the newspapers, sacked from their companies, divorced by their spouses, and ultimately had a really bad day!

"When airline passengers go bad... news at 11!" LOL

[slalom]

Well, I never liked Alcoholic drinks, never will too.

You must have lots of ice cubes in your house.

[grunt0300]

This is getting ridiculous. I'm not a BB fanboy, by any means, but what the name of the company these idiots work for is, is immaterial. Would this thread be posted, if they worked for Home Depot, or Sainsbury?

[slalom]

I would think it would have been simpler for the Air Marshall that is now on every flight to just arrest them, zip-tie them to their seats, and wait for the alcohol to put them to sleep. IMHO, it might have been annoying for me to listen to them for a 13 hour flight (until they passed out), but not as annoying as experiencing a much longer delay from having to turn around and drop the jokers off.

....Air Canada = no air marshalls

[DenverRalphy]

....Air Canada = no air marshalls

Ah yeah. Guess I confused North American flights with American flights. Whoops.

[Shlooky]

That's even more bad press for RIM.

[JeepBB]

This is getting ridiculous. I'm not a BB fanboy, by any means, but what the name of the company these idiots work for is, is immaterial. Would this thread be posted, if they worked for Home Depot, or Sainsbury?

Posted here...? Maybe not.

Posted in many places, certainly! "Drunken Execs Brawl In Skies!!!" is excellent newspaper copy.

One of the people in my earlier post worked for a part of my company. Huge embarressment alround coz our company name was added everytime she appeared in the newspapers.

[TheMimic]

The stock is gonna take a beating because of 2 ***** employees? Yes that makes perfect sense.

So will the stock go up if 2 not ***** employees do nothing wrong?

See! Didn't I tell you the stock was gonna take a beating cuz of this!

In case you missed it again, that was sarcasm.

[Rootbrian]

So you are saying bartenders are at fault for every bar fight that occurs, or any disturbance at a bar or club? Of course not. I'm sure when you are in the back of a cop car for giving someone else a black eye, and you tell the police it's the bartenders fault for your actions, and they join you in the cell block for the night...right?

There is a code of conduct at RIM, like any other company. Especially on any duty of business, you are representing the company you work for, as RIM is paying for that flight and you being there. If you have a problem drinking, and can't control your behavior, avoidance is necessary.

People try to shift blame on other people these days, but often don't consider themselves at fault for lack of humility.

This is exactly the case. It's not RIM's fault, it's not Air Canada's fault, it's the two dumb dumbs fault.

Didn't mean to say it was the airlines bartender's fault. Meant it for the two who just couldn't handle their own drinks. Reminds me of my brother, who gets the same way after just one beer, when I remain stable and sensible.

I would be glad to take the place of those two employees.

[sam_b77]

Who those two bozos work for, has nothing to do with the story. I just wish those idiots were Obama & Biden!

As opposed to Bush Jr. who didn't need to be drunk to be an *****.....

[dynot]

This is getting ridiculous. I'm not a BB fanboy, by any means, but what the name of the company these idiots work for is, is immaterial. Would this thread be posted, if they worked for Home Depot, or Sainsbury?

Was going to say the same thing almost word for word. I'm by all means no fanboy myself but was hoping the media's better judgement would leave RIM's name out of it. They usually do.

However, today I was listening to a local talk radio show discussing this incident and to my surprise they did mention RIM. I think that's irresponsible reporting. When you have reporting of major crimes such as mass shootings or anything like that you never hear them mention the employer's name. Or if they do its a fleeting metnion only. This show was referring to them as "these two RIM employees". They should have referred to them by their own names instead. Nothing like getting your name dragged through mud in front of all your friends, family, and acquaintainces to prevent that from happening again.

[grunt0300]

Was going to say the same thing almost word for word. I'm by all means no fanboy myself but was hoping the media's better judgement would leave RIM's name out of it. They usually do.

However, today I was listening to a local talk radio show discussing this incident and to my surprise they did mention RIM. I think that's irresponsible reporting. When you have reporting of major crimes such as mass shootings or anything like that you never hear them mention the employer's name. Or if they do its a fleeting metnion only. This show was referring to them as "these two RIM employees". They should have referred to them by their own names instead. Nothing like getting your name dragged through mud in front of all your friends, family, and acquaintainces to prevent that from happening again.

As a thirty year retiree of the U.S.Postal Service, i used to love hearing the term...GOING POSTAL, NOT!

[EchoTango]

While I, in no way condone the two morons behavior, I have also seen "stews" deliberately rile up folks.

For example, first class you get "free" drinks. I've seen were the stews will serve you one drink and tell you (harshly) that's all you're allowed. I've also had crew who are just so sour faced that you know they're spoiling for a fight. Add in a few drinks and some folks won't take the snarky behavior.

I don't know if that's the case here as they were tried and found guilty but I've seen some pretty scary flight crews.

[1812dave]

If I worked for RIM, I'm sure I'd be drowning my sorrows, too. Is it any wonder those two were smashed? AAMOF, if i still owned the Storm, I suppose I'd want to knock back a few stiff ones.

[KodyShadow]

This is no different than the media targeting one individual at the Stanley Cup Riots in June, just because he came from a "well off" family. Nobody else was picked on but him. Typical media, they spin things to print what is sensational and sells. There is so much negative about RIM at the moment, putting the name RIM in a story will get more online hits.

[anon(2325196)]

it's like blaming mcdonald's for the existence of obesity to say the behavior was the unlimited alcohol's fault, a couple well paid (presumably) rim employees know better than to not handle their booze on a simple plane ride, like, can i please have one of these 2 jobs lost at rim? seriously, could use the work, lol

they each owe air canada over 30 g's too, no? think i read that

obese person blaming mcdonalds - "well, they forced me to buy their burgers and milkshakes with fries and pies because they're open 247 and it's unlimited in supply for next to nothing."

[canuckinnh]

What we should be hearing is that both of these execs were punted by RIM. In this politically correct world standard policy is to fire them given the situation and the cost to the company in terms of reputation and fines from AC

[Blkbear]

What we should be hearing is that both of these execs were punted by RIM. In this politically correct world standard policy is to fire them given the situation and the cost to the company in terms of reputation and fines from AC

Pretty sure the company will let them pay their own fines, rather than pay them for their bad actions. And yup, most companies would fire them for the bad publicity their actions caused, if the company name got into the press with their actions.

[Denny_Crane]

A bit of an update after the hearing:

YOUR QUESTIONS | More on the high-flying RIM execs | Sympatico.ca News