A number of very interesting responses to my post.
A couple of points. I choose to not fly with certain airlines for many reasons including, safety record, comfort and service, my possibly perceived expectation of a certain level of competency of the crew, price and other criteria. Incidents of blood alcohol content issues are certainly noted, as are throwing passengers with children of a flight when they have allocated seats, and similar provocative issues.
As with most of us with a little knowledge, we absolutely refuse to fly with certain carriers who do not meet the standards we expect. I am sure that the people who frequent these forums know exactly which airlines fall into that category. After all, passengers are clients and they are placing their trust in the crew, the drink/flying criteria applicable to them should not be expected to be the same as the crew. (However I also applaud the work being done by some UK airlines to clamp down on idiotic donkeys who frighten and endanger everyone.
If, as has been suggested that some pilots can only perform their function efficiently after consuming alcohol, then I would expect them to find another career which does not involve carrying passengers at 475 kts and 37,000'. This is not barnstorming in the 30's.
Finally, I should have clarified my comment regarding simulator testing. I was thinking more along the lines of a simple test with hand/eye coordination, interspersed mental arithmetic (Speed, height, distance) and perhaps FMC reprogramming. Definitely not full procedural, full motion, etc.
Last edited by ImageGear; 26th Jan 2018 at 20:17.