Thanks FliFast and Fish for your thoughtful responses. I am not an airline pilot, but I travel quite a bit for both business and pleasure, so I have seen what the author of the article is writing about, although I do not necessarily share his sentiments entirely.

Like you, I am saddened (for lack of a better word) by the quality of the flying public today. I dread getting into an airplane filled with people wearing t-shirts and flip flops, carrying their snotty nosed kids, shouting at their overweight wife to hurry along with their five pieces of oversized carry on luggage. I despise some travelers who argue with gate agents over something which nobody has any control. I despise even more those who make derogatory or sarcastic comments about the flying ability of the pilot and the co-pilot.

I have come to know many professionals on this board and I know each one goes to work and does his/her best everyday. It cannot be easy to maintain such an exemplary safety record given management’s many shady tactics to make a buck or two off the backs of labor. As a student pilot myself, I also know that flying an airplane is not simply pushing a few buttons here and there. You guys do everyday what many others only dream about. And I admire the professionalism exhibited. I will get into an airplane flown by any of you anytime.