As a non airline person but with an amateur interest in aviation I have to say I'm amazed by some of the views here. Let me put it to you this way, as a regular fare paying passenger I don't want a pilot turning up, if not blind drunk, then over the limit. In fact I don't want him to have any alcohol in his blood at all. I'm not going to enter the debate about alcoholism, I think it's all been said already in this topic. The simple matter is that I don't want a pilot flying my plane to have their judgment impaired by alcohol, and if they do, I expect the penalty to be pretty bloody severe.
Personally I think 6 months in pokey is derisory. I couldn't care less whether they are fighting alcoholism or not, that is totally and utterly besides the point. I might add that I am not without compassion and lost my closest friend to alcohol related illness in 2009. But if they have a drink problem they should NOT be entrusted with the lives of hundreds of people in a commercial aircraft. As someone said earlier on, you wouldn't want your children to be driven to school by an alcoholic bus driver, so what is the difference exactly? I hope as a punter and one of the many long haul passengers that pay your salaries I have made my point clearly enough.