I think that's pretty subjective...the real answer is "I don't know" because I haven't really thought about it much. But in the same breath, I'm not going to tie my job satisfaction to what Delta or United is doing. I know for a fact they have a better contract. But that does not mean that I must now be miserable over here at AA.

As for military doing better than 121 over the past decade...for the 2001-2012 time period, you're probably right. But in the longer view of history, probably not. And I'd argue that in the future, it probably won't be true either. It's likely that military pay will stagnate for a while. Military families will probably see their medical costs go up, and I predict that we'll see the military retirement system go away and be replaced with a 401(k) style program. They are already starting to roll back housing pay, and benefits like the commissary and others are also shrinking. People are getting RIF'd out of the military, even as they sit deployed overseas.

Considering that the typical military pilot makes around $80,000-120,000 a year for working probably double what a typical airline pilot works, I don't see how you think the military is running away with the "best job ever" title...unless you're only comparing it to the post-9/11 bankruptcy days.