Pilot's rap on booze

A Qantas pilot has been reprimanded for suggesting the crew share a celebratory bottle of champagne after they landed at an international airport on Christmas Day.

The pilot, an Australian, made the suggestion after he landed a Qantas plane at Frankfurt, Germany, on December 25.

Qantas flies to Frankfurt from Australia via London, a long-haul flight that takes more than 24 hours.

The practice of the flight crew and the cabin crew sharing a glass of champagne at the front of the aircraft after passengers had disembarked on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day was once a tradition at Qantas throughout the world.

But drinking company alcohol on board a company plane is banned by the airline, which has a strict drug and alcohol policy.

The captain suggested the drink to a cabin crew member, who asked the cabin supervisor.

But the supervisor spoke to the captain, reminded him of the company policy and put the incident in a report to management.

That report has made some Qantas pilots furious. They say the matter should never have reached management.

But a Qantas spokeswoman, who confirmed the incident, said the pilot had not been disciplined or stood down.

She said he had been spoken to by Qantas’s chief pilot and given another copy of the company’s policy on drinking alcohol as a reminder.

“He (the pilot) had the best of intentions, but it was against company policy,” she said.