Originally Posted by Flytolive

ALPA negotiated what were possibly the best airline contracts in history in 2000. Then 9/11, two ME wars, historically high fuel prices, SARS, BK laws that grossly favor capital, and a deregulatory global economic crisis made things a bit tough to say the least. But with consolidation and relative stability after 2008 ALPA quickly positively patterned bargained the contracts back up.

But pointing out the 'lost decade' illustrates my point. Was the military offering pilots hundreds of thousands of dollars to stay in back then?