Thinking more about it, one difference between a surgeon or doctor and a pilot is that, while they're all skilled, a specialty surgeon or one with a high success rate will be especially sought after. You're recognized on an individual level. Pilots have no uniquely identifying attributes. You might suck at the job and skirt by getting violated day in and day out, but if you get the plane from A to B without crashing it and sweet talk the controller out of giving you a phone number, you're considered on equal footing with Sully. Doesn't seem right. But how could an airline gauge your quality relative to your peers? And what incentive do they have to do so?