Originally Posted by
Irishblackbird
Most of the flying public could care less what a pilot makes, be they well compensated or at poverty level wages. All they see is the paint job on the plane, think it's a mainline carrier, and know that it is going to be a sh!ty experience with lousy customer service and a free body cavity search compliments of tsa. Ticket price is all that matters to the consumer, no one flies because they enjoy the experience, it's a means to an end best accomplished inexpensively.
I get better customer service at jiffy lube, but never stop and wonder what the guy changing the oil makes. I don't care. Just be competitive with cost and the best value compared to your competitors earns my business.
How often do think about the wages of people that provide a good or service to you? From the grocery store, the nurse, the accountant, pizza delivery guy. So why would the average passenger give a hoot what you make. We are not that important as we like of think we are. Our beef for more money is with the stakeholders and management. In fact if the flying public thinks a pay raise for you translates to higher fares they probably will have a more negative view of us.
.02
This too... with flying being so safe now due to all the major technology advancements, making the job an order of magnitude easier than it was 2-3 decades ago, there is also a skills/pay issue.. Pilots today aren't what they were in the day when they earned "a cadillac a month" and the only way to keep wages up is thru unionized force.. if we let the pure free market work, we'd all make a lot less.. even the majors.