Japan Airlines CEO Takes 30% Pay Cut Over Drinking Pilot Scandal... Again!

Seems like there’s two very different issues: first, if pilots are actually showing up to work drunk, that’s bad, period.

But separately: pilots who are self-administering tests in the morning that show presumably minuscule concentrations of alcohol, which nevertheless are non-zero, exceeding the strict zero-tolerance policy, and then grounding themselves over it, because of an extremely strict workplace culture. That’s an example of unintended consequences and overly-strict misapplication of a well-intentioned rule. If Japan Airlines wants their pilots to never drink alcohol, ever, they could make that rule. But it would either drive pilots away entirely, or worse, drive the drinking underground or even into the cockpit. That’s why rules exist at other airlines, allowing pilots to drink in their free time, just not within 8 hours of a flight or with a BAC of over 0.02, for example.

But if an organization imposes a rule that theoretically allows a behavior, but effectively makes it very easy to “fail”, by adopting “zero tolerance” metrics like 12+ hour exclusions or 0.000% BAC limits… of course that’s going to cause disruption.

I mean yes it's a harsh rule, but if I saw constant company-wide emails every few months after each incident I'd take it a lot more seriously and probably just not drink when abroad. It can't be that hard for people without alcohol dependencies. Maybe JAL should offer better alcohol rehabilitation services or something for the few with addictions

It's curious how this seems to exclusively happen to longhaul flights. I wonder how the incident rate of these alcohol issues tracks with seniority

The only difference between Japanese and American pilots is that the Japanese pilots get caught due to more frequent testing, not more frequent drinking. I personally know a United pilot who happens to be an active alcoholic. This individual is a captain who regularly flies 787’s to Asia.

Could just be related to the frequency and duration of layovers.
Most airlines try to avoid crew layovers on short haul flights. If there is a layover, crews are likely to get to the hotel late and leave as soon as they had their statutory rest period. There might not be a window of opportunity to have any alcohol without violating the rules.
Meanwhile, on a longer layover at a long haul destination, there’s more leisure time. After a few drinks, judgment may be impaired, causing crews to drink excessively (or beyond the last point in time they are allowed to drink).

Honestly, I’m more concerned about the rest of the industry and how they arrive to work sloshed and continue flying.

Sure would be nice if American company executives had that level of accountability.

It’s not an addiction, drinking alcohol is part of Japanese culture. You would never get promotion if you don’t drink alcohol at all.

Creditan, one finds it necessary to disagree with your statement “It’s not an addiction”.

In the event that an individual who is about to take responsibility for the lives of hundred(s) of passengers, knowingly reports for a flight with a blood alcohol content above the prescribed threshold, then the lack of self control can clearly indicate an addiction, yes?

what is the usual compensation by JAL for delays due to the pilot? If the flight is departing from EU, there is a regulation but otherwise, it is up to the airline. In the past, I had one incident where JAL was so stingy on compensations (I felt it is in their culture too lol) So I would like to know recent experiences

Exactly. I feel like a lot of these cases are the latter, where there is no actual risk, just an extreme policy.

I will never in a million years understand why pilots drink at all, knowing that there's such strong/harsh regulations surrounding alcohol.

But before anyone starts shrieking about that somehow being wildly unreasonable: tell us how it's any less practical than someone who (in a place where marijuana is legal) chooses to completely abstain, because he knows his company routinely urine tests?