Originally Posted by gloopy

Bingo.

Somehow their class and craft has been able to hoodwink the BOD's and shareholders into thinking they are some elite group of uniquely talented specialists that can do what no one else in business can do, and they deserve perpetually record breaking compensation, regardless of results and certailly regardless of the long term sustainability of their strategies. That's true to some degree across many sectors of late, but especially in the airline industry.

This is true across the spectrum. From the legacy CEO's (and other upper management positions) that squeeze short term profits by shrinking to profitability today to canibalize their own revenue and marketshare tomorrow, gifting future capacity to new entrants as they go. Or those that outsource everything and make billion dollar mistake after billion dollar mistake, to the regional hacks that just sit there and gorge at the trough of uber eazy FFD money and when either messes it up they both squeal that were it not for their executive talents the company would have lost more and besides its labors fault now give me another raise.

And pretty much all of them salivate over thinking 9-11 was some kind of permanent new world order/high water mark in employee (except them) compensation reduction and from that baseline only partial inflation increases will ever be given, thus making crew costs cheaper than the lowest post 9-11 contract in real monetary value.

As a group, and with VERY few exceptions, they are so over paid and under performing in every respect we could literally do what you suggested and not do any worse, likely do much better and definately save a ton of money.