And this has nothing to do with the value of the employee or what they provide for the company. It has to do with the fact that pilots will do anything to be pilots. Even if that means doing it for a pathetic compensation. FA's have no tie to the job and will leave at some point. So there is some form of retention compensation needed to keep them from hitting up Denny's as a cook. They know pilots won't leave.

The only profession that I know of where people pay to have the job. Are there other jobs out there that people pay a substantial fee to just have?