Me too. In cases like this, I always wonder, what were they thinking?

I thought this article was going to be about Mark & I 

Not that I'm justifying what they did, because it was clearly in violation of FARs, but they consumed the alcohol the evening prior to the flight. 

The story is being played out as though they'd been doing kegstands in the terminal while they waited for their plane to come in...

Still wrong, still a crime...but at least they got nabbed before the plane took off.

It really makes you wonder what goes through their minds.  Throw away a lifetime of commitment, money and training and a dream job for an all-nighter.  And both of them were intoxicated.  It's a good thing they caught them, two drunk pilots flying a commercial jet is an imminent threat to the lives of everyone.

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Personally I think it should be longer. How long the effects of alcohol remains in your system can vary considerably depending on your metabolism, how much you drink & the time taken to consume it among other things. I don't know what it's like now but some years ago it was not unusual for airline captains to drink heavily on a regular basis. The captain was god in those days & the crew covered up for him, it was usually him. I'm not saying they were all like it but many senior captains of major airlines certainly were. I'm pleased that they finally seem to be cracking down on it athough, as I remarked earlier, this case has taken 3 years to come to court.

Hey, if I can't go Scuba Diving for 24 hours before flying, then you can't drink!  Fair is fair... 

It is really expensive at bars (pubs), but they must have been drinking fancy imports, because I cant even imagine what beer would cost $8.00 each. 

They are idiots, and what's amazing is that their counsel, or the union, or somebody (don't recall exactly who) had the nerve to plead leniency on account of the fact that they were only being pushed back, and thus didn't technically violate the rule about "operating an aircraft" under the influence... pathetic. There are some cases where clear intent should bring the same penalty as having committed an act, and this sure as hell is one of them! And as stated earlier, what a waste- all that time, effort and money to earn that privilege, and they show up for a trip still drunk from the night before!! Even if they were only busted based on reports of their activities the night before, I have to assume they were tested the following morning and were still over the limit. Regardless, leaving the bar drunk only six hours before push-back?!  That's just not right, no matter how experienced one is with alcohol!!
Personally. the thought of even sitting  behind the controls when I'm not 100% sharp gives me the creepy-crawlies. Before I got drunk enough to want to try that, I'd pass out!
I don't even like to drink more than one or two puny drinks when flying commercially as a passenger... even pax have to be on their toes, if something goes wrong.

Ahhh its not that bad, my dad went on a Airlingus flight to barbados.. and the pilot was paraletic

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Yes, but the difference is that you would expect it from an Irishman.

A just verdict.  Jail time as a penalty is not much compared to having already lost their licenses.