When I was first starting out in aviation the world was much different then. I think that many here either do not know or would like to forget just how things were for airline pilots not all that long ago. Back then airline pilots lived among the top in society. They were paid like surgeons and were well respected. They had much more influence and control over their lives then they do now.

Airline pilots flaunted their wealth. In my home town a JAL captain came home from a long trip one day to a wife with a fist full of divorce papers. Begrudgingly and with head held low he went through the motions of separating possessions with his wife in a solemn manner. She of course got their family house. The day after his divorce was final the JAL captain with a greatly reversed attitude brought his second family to town from overseas and bought the biggest ranch in the county. For decades he had lived a secret life abroad and had siphoned off a fortune from his bloated income into hidden ventures in foreign lands.

My point is not to paint airline pilots from the past as devious but as an example of how much money they use to make, In this case so much that his American wife did not notice the deduction of a small fortune from their communal income. As a high school kid my best friends father was a senior DC-10 legacy airline captain. One day when skipping school my friend brought the mail into the family kitchen table as we sat there eating captain crunch for lunch. .He casually proceeded to open a letter to his father that contained his paycheck for the month. After taking a look at it and not wanting to be rude he slid it over to me for inspection. What I saw amounted to nearly a half years salary for my father.

The DC-10 captain made a shocking fortune and lived like a Greek God. His hobby it seemed was to make atrocious business mistakes. He invested in crazy schemes and real estate developments that seemed to go up in smoke once the check cleared. It all just bounced off and he went on to the next catastrophe. The limits of his income seemed to be boundless. The opportunities that his family had as a result of his airline career were incredible. They spent the summers in France and winters in Hawaii. They bought a huge farm just for a place to ride motorcycles and shoot clay pigeons. They were incredibly well off.

Now before the “love flying” crowd begins to get ramped into action my point is that things have changed considerably. Flying is fun but it has lost much over the last two decades, I think it is important to keep sight of that if nothing more then as a measure of the ground that has been lost. Furthermore income and control over ones life are important elements of overall happiness. A good income means choices. It means having increased control over your life and it serves to help one absorb the blows that life can deliver. Another poster here on APC wrote that in the early 1980s he earned the equivalent of 420K as a 737 captain for USAir. He went on to explain that as a first officer he made more back then than he does now as a senior captain.

It is of the highest morals to desire a life of one who freely follows their passions but it comes at a price. In years past Americans could permit themselves to flights of fantasy. In the new economy the prudent position will increasingly be that of conservation and an eye on the reality of what it takes to make a living. Following your passions are great for those with a cushion to fall on should things go wrong. As a nation we do not have that luxury anymore, Careers need to provide a living and offer a surplus to pay off things like student loans, houses and to self fund a retirement that could last for decades. As pilots wee need the 1970’s back in a big way.

Skyhigh