New Mexico To Blame US Airways For The Alcohol

October 2, 2009 at 9:44 AM | by kjb | 0 Comments

If you need a couple of adult beverages to get through your flight, you may not want to choose US Airways for your next trip, especially if you�re headed towards New Mexico. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago a passenger aboard a US Airways flight had too much to drink. After getting off the plane the passenger caused a fatal accident on a highway near Santa Fe. Other passengers reported that the airline served drinks to the person in question despite that fact that he already appeared intoxicated. It doesn�t help that state regulators in New Mexico had already cited the airline twice for over serving its fliers.

All this matters because a federal judge has now ruled that New Mexico officials can prohibit the airline from serving alcohol in the state or when an airplane is flying over the state. With US Airways having a major hub in Phoenix, we�re thinking that a lot of the airline�s planes have to go over New Mexico to connect passengers to elsewhere around the globe.

Obviously the airline is not thrilled and has stated that New Mexico doesn�t have the authority to make these types of claims or regulations. Stuff like this has been going on for some time, and back in 2007 they sued the state because it denied their application for a liquor license. We understand that they just need to boost their revenue�those $7 beers have quite the profit margin.

We�re not too familiar with the legal system, but it appears that everything is now in the hands of state officials. Now that the judge has made a ruling, state officials can move forward with cutting the airline off. We�re thinking that similar issues have happened in other states with other airlines, so this might just be the beginning of a whole lot of legal paperwork. Just remember that drinking and driving is bad, so if you�ve had too much on the plane, sleep it off in the terminal.

Related Stories:
· Judge: NM Can Yank US Airways' Liquor License [AP, via Google]
· Some Pretty Sweet Suites Coming Soon On US Airways [Jaunted]
· US Airways [Jaunted]

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