Originally Posted by
kansas
Completely anecdotal, non-scientific evidence, but something I keep thinking about...
Ten years ago...
Cell phones were just beginning to catch on (bag phones, anyone?).
The internet was also just beginning to catch on.
Economy was booming.
Now, the economy is coming back, and technology such as cell phones, the internet, and countless other things have "sped up" our lives quite a lot. Do you think this "speeding up" is going to stop? I think not. As a result, provided a teleport system of some sort isn't thought up, people will fly more. They'll have to. If so, there will be growth. This is my hope and my belief. Hopefully I am right.
The system already has too many seats in the US. In any case the future is dependent upon the expectations of the next generation of pilots. Back when I first started on this forum I mostly defended myself from arrogant self centered and overpaid major airline captains. Those guys, for the most part, have blown away in the face of the obvious.
Now I mostly spar with 20 somethings who think that 50K is a lot of money. So long as pilots come to the table prepared to earn postman wages the future will be that of continuing losses in pay and working conditions. Pilots are not rare or difficult to come by anymore. Glass cockpits don't require a Chuck Yeager to fly them. The only thing left to prevent pilot wages from descending into the realm of minimum wage is the pilot groups resolve to not show up to work for ski instructor pay. However they seem to keep on coming with new even lower expectations.
I am beginning to miss the old arrogant "I am worth 300K a year" fat captain types.
Skyhigh