After arriving in Minneapolis, the captain and his co-pilot, Betty Pina, vanpooled to the flight crew's designated hotel and met up later in the concierge room set up with snacks and drinks for airline employees.
Afterward, there was supposed to be a short overnight stay, before the two piloted a return flight to Seattle the next morning.
As I don't see a time tag for the landing/next day's takeoff, I wonder what Alaska Airlines rules are on having a cocktail during trips between sectors.
I would hope that the rule on "bottle to throttle/bottle to brief" are well spelled out, or that the SOP has crystal clear guidance on that.
"The crew member didn't feel comfortable flying with (the captain) the next day, so called the (first officer on duty)," Pina said. That report triggered the duty officer's subsequent calls to the captain's room, asking about his fitness for duty, her lawsuit contends. After the captain acknowledged drinking, the duty officer scratched the captain and Pina from piloting the return flight to Seattle, she said. The two instead were put in coach seating on a later flight bound for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Pina said.
There appears to have been something
not quite right going on, but as that is a news story, and Alaska Air doubtless have more detailed info, it's wait and see ... from what is in the article, it would appear that the FO tried to
work within the system, and has gotten frustrated with the response.