Everyone in this industry deserves a raise, however, airlines very soon will be posting significant losses once again. It's a tragedy because pilots represent the very best in skilled labor, not to mention the high level of responsibility that comes w/ the job. Pilots have worked hard to keep this industry going strong. With that said and based on the assumption that the economy is just great and oil goes back down to $40/bbl like so many folks think will happen, then maybe we all stand a chance of getting raises. My gut feeling is that oil ain't coming back down (at least significantly) and the economy has not yet bottomed out yet. The whole Bear Stearns development should serve as a real wake up call to all of us re: just how quickly things can change. No one saw it coming.

Pilots, unfortunately, should probably be more concerned about preserving current pay and jobs. If we go for big raises, we'll definitely put our more junior pilots out of work and on the steet at a time when jobs will be more scarce in this country.